What is RPA in IT: 5 advantages of the tool for your company

Discover what RPA in IT is and how this new tool can help your company save resources.

It's evident that technology usage has increased significantly and is increasingly present in our daily lives, whether at home or at work. Automation, which was once solely destined for the corporate world, is now part of our everyday lives at home, with gadgets that have come to greatly simplify our lives — just ask Alexa!

In companies, the scenario is no different: the world of automation is becoming increasingly advanced and innovative, moving beyond just machinery and production lines, and now also operating with trained robots and, to some extent, intelligence, in the administrative sector.

Intrigued? We'll explain everything about what RPA in IT is, its main advantages, and implementation challenges. Happy reading!

What is RPA in IT?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is nothing more than an automation technology whereby robots (bots) and intelligent systems (capable of making decisions) are used to perform certain actions or tasks. Don't worry, we'll explain it better.

In short, RPA process automation is a new technological tool capable of automating some parts or even entire processes of corporate activities using robots that work through a user interface just like a person would, meaning the tool can replicate tasks performed by humans.

With RPA process automation, those repetitive tasks that used to take up employees' time are now performed simply and quickly by the robot.

Types of RPA solutions

RPA solutions can be created through software, which basically involves creating an executable file with robot functionalities using programming languages ​​like Python, C#, VBA, AutoHotKey, among others, or through RPA platforms such as UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, and similar ones.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?

The software-based solution has been around longer, so there is a good knowledge base available, specific languages, and frameworks for creating robots, allowing for more complex requirements to be met and integration with other systems. Since they are market technologies, the contractor is not dependent on a specific manufacturer or product, nor tied to licensing rules: the final executable can be used freely on multiple machines at no additional cost. On the other hand, robot creation needs to be done by programmers with support from process analysts.

The solution through RPA platforms, which has become popular in recent years, has the main advantage of eliminating the need for programming and, consequently, programmers. Robot creation is done through a macro recorder that records user actions, along with some visual flow controls. Another advantage is that its visual interface with diagrams already serves as process documentation. As a disadvantage, the available commands usually remain limited to those implemented by the platform, which may eventually not meet the process or integration needs with other systems. Additionally, there is the cost of platform licensing, both to create and execute robots (annual fee), whose initial value, in dollars, is in the five-digit range.

What are these activities?

RPA automation processes can be divided into two categories: ASSISTED, which perform front-end work at a user station and require human supervision, and UNASSISTED, which manipulate enterprise systems in the background, without needing human intervention and can have their execution previously scheduled.

The RPA robot can perform simple activities such as filling screens, capturing data, generating reports, accessing systems, sending emails with or without attachments, and even making some decisions in certain tasks, respecting, of course, the previously established rules inserted into the system.

This means that services such as supplier registration, dashboard generation, invoice issuance, process auditing, payment reconciliation, data aggregation, and many others can be automated, eliminating the need for an employee for these actions.

The fact is that, with the tool's implementation, employees can focus on what really matters: executing their work. Without wasting time on bureaucratic processes and focusing on more strategic tasks.

Now that you know what RPA is for IT, let's understand more about the advantages and challenges of RPA.

Advantages of RPA process automation

We can already say from the outset that implementing RPA brings a great advantage to the company regarding the execution of unproductive tasks, which with robots become automated.

Just knowing what RPA in IT is not enough. It is necessary to go further, to understand that robots are the future of automation and are becoming increasingly intelligent. Having the knowledge to explore the potential of RPA to the fullest can bring a significant competitive advantage to your company.

Let's list the 5 main benefits of RPA process automation:

1 – Availability

RPA robots are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2 – Accuracy and greater compliance

Robots are programmed to follow rules, and they do so. Trained robots perform tasks reliably, minimizing the risk of errors.

3 – Savings

Here we repeat again: elimination of errors during the process (the robot hardly makes mistakes), savings in human labor with repetitive tasks of low added value, and 24/7 availability at no additional cost.

4 – Scalability

RPA enables you to scale your business without needing to increase your team. You can program the robot to work more or less according to your company's demand at that moment, as well as run it on multiple instances simultaneously. Besides, there's the possibility of duplicating, triplicating, and even N-duplicating robots in parallel.

5 – Agility and productivity

Robots can perform work at high speed, continuously, without interruptions. With robots in operation, employees focus more on strategic activities, which is of great value to the company.

Which company sectors can be automated?

Increasingly common in companies, "robotization" comes to aid growth and digital development, and also to optimize procedures and integrate solutions.

From this perspective, it is impossible not to list a department or sector that is not benefited by RPA process automation. Let's mention some:

• Fiscal and Financial;
• Credit and Collection;
• Accounts Payable;
• Tax;
• Facilities;
• Transportation and Logistics;
• Legal;
• Hospitals and Laboratories;
• HR - Human Resources;
• Back Office;
• CSC and BPO;
• Travel.

According to the consultancy Gartner, by the end of 2021, almost 90% of medium and small businesses will have at least one RPA automated process. Cool, right?!

Main challenges of RPA

Let's understand what the challenges of RPA are so that the company ensures success in implementation:

Understanding before implementing

Studying the subject, delving into the topic to take advantage of all the resources the tool offers. Knowing that RPA is not a simple integration system (that's just one of its functionalities), as well as not just a robot that replaces humans.

Investing in qualified partners

Another challenge: when RPA is implemented, the contracted company must ensure that it operates in a secure manner, aligned with the client's strategy, and mainly bringing the proper financial return.

System Integration

For companies with a large number of processes, it is ideal to identify which systems can be integrated and what gains the company will have with this integration. We can already guarantee that optimizing systems is always advantageous.

Training teams

Training the team is necessary so that employees can both operate and interpret the information generated by the new tool. Once done, it ensures successful results!

Highlighting the importance of professionals

This item is quite interesting because when we talk about automation and/or robotization, the controversy of "replacing human labor with robotic" always arises. And we know that the reality isn't quite like that.

To prevent this controversy from arising in the company, it's necessary to make it clear to employees what RPA in IT is and what advantages the tool will bring to the team's daily activities. It's part of the implementation process, and especially, acceptance.

The role of RPA is to reconcile the reduction of operational activities with the increase in intellectual services, making professionals add even more value to the company. With robots performing manual activities, the team can focus more on new business ventures or even reducing response time to clients, among many other options for improvement.

Ready? Do you have an idea of what RPA is for IT now?

So, is your company ready to be part of this team? Get in touch with us, we can help you in this robotization process.