…and how you can avoid falling into this confusion trap
During the last couple of years, the field of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as one of the most of useful and trending technology tool which helps companies in saving time, energy and resources by automating various mundane tasks. Even though, there is a lot of buzz surrounding this technology and its use cases in different industries, misconceptions around it makes it less lucrative for its target audience. Therefore, it is absolutely critical to bust these RPA myths, which would provide more clarity about this technology to a larger audience.
In order to truly understand the value proposition being offered by automation and to debunk the misinformation around it, here are 8 most common RPA myths and truths behind them.
Myth 1 : Anything can be automated
RPA helps you to automate those business processes which are rule-based, repetitive and stable but sometimes, the tasks are quite complex and the managers have to deal with huge amount of unstructured data. Critical problem solving skills and cognitive intelligence are required to do these tasks and the bots alone are not sufficient to automate this type of work.
Myth 2 : RPA and AI are same
Both RPA and AI are meant to automate manual tasks and mimic human abilities, it is very easy to get confused between the two. However, if we dig a little deeper about these two topics, we will find that the differences are more clear.
1. Thinking vs doing – While artificial intelligence is just a human brain which takes care of “thinking process” to make better judgements around the human actions, on the other hand- robotic process automation completes the tasks based on rules and logic which is very similar to the human body that actually “does” things.
2. Process centric vs data centric – RPA focuses on getting the work done, which means it is process centric. RPA tools are generally made for rule and logic based, simple tasks. It relies on clearly defined structured data to complete the tasks. Whereas. AI is data centric, which means AI systems are built with quality data, with a focus on ensuring that the data clearly conveys what AI must learn.
Myth 3 : Automation will destroy jobs
This one is the most prevalent within the RPA industry. The major job of automation is to eliminate rule-based and mundane task, not to snatch away the jobs of humans. Moreover, it empowers human to do the task efficiently with a greater focus. Automation streamlines simpler tasks so that employees can save their valuable time and focus their energy to do more meaningful and valuable tasks.
Myth 4 : RPA is for simpler tasks
Previously, RPA was developed to automate much simpler tasks that requires no-logic based approach. But, over the period of 3-4 years, it has advanced itself to become “Smart process automation (SPA)” which uses unparalleled capabilities of AI and machine learning to provide cognitive capabilities to software bots. It helps various industries to implement those tasks which need critical thinking. Moreover, when RPA is combined with machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI), it becomes intelligent automation (IA). IA uses natural language processing, ML and RPA to provide prescriptive analytics, process unstructured data and automate processes that involve making decisions.
Myth 5 : RPA is killing business process outsourcing (BPO)
There is a common myth among the industry professionals that automation will replace the business process outsourcing (BPO). Instead, BPO providers are using software to their advantage to provide more timely and effective services to their customers.
BPO providers are expected to deliver the best services on a constant basis to compete effectively in the market. Automation is aiding a great support to these providers by helping them automate key tasks and maintain efficiency. It reduces costs, increase accuracy, improve analytics and obtain high client retention with greater customer satisfaction. RPA is innovating the BPO vertical, instead of eliminating it.
Myth 6 : RPA is industry specific
There is a common notion among people that RPA is only meant for certain industries like finance and logistics. But in reality, it could be easily implemented and has use cases in almost every industry where mundane tasks are performed.
It is used in retail industry for order processing, in logistics for inventory management, in legal for contract management, in healthcare for patient appointment. Its applications are present in all industries.
Myth 7 : RPA software robots are 100% accurate
This is a common RPA myth among the industry professionals. Bots are also capable of making mistakes, unlike a common notion about them being 100% accurate. As robots work in a consistent manner, there is a chance that these bots can replicate mistakes present in the workflow. These tasks need to be redone, if detected by humans. To avoid these errors, the processes have to be optimized till a great extent. Regularly monitoring the bot in the early stages of any process could also work.
Myth 8 : RPA = Machines
People generally associate automation with machines having superhuman capabilities. But in reality, RPA is not a machine. It is actually a software bot which is made with high-powered computer algorithms to facilitate humans in the day to day processes.
Demystifying myths
As we can see that there are lots of misconceptions around RPA in the industry, which could be complex pain points for the RPA business professionals to fetch good leads.
Proper understanding of RPA concepts and its usefulness becomes critical to remain competitive and relevant within the industry. Companies that understand the truths behind these RPA myths will disrupt the industry in the long term.
EmergeFlow delivers at every step in the Digital Transformation journey of clients. We have a holistic approach when it comes to RPA consulting and we work relentlessly towards meeting the exact demands of our clients by assisting them in technical support as well as decision making.
