"Is robotic process
automation really a new thing or just a new name for Business Process automation?" Everybody has this question. RPA’s roots
can be traced through the evolution of software robotics, so it may
look similar to business
process management. RPA is really a subset of BPM and it really focuses on automating mundane human tasks and processes.
BPM (sometimes used interchangeably with business process automation) isn’t a specific piece of software but an approach to streamlining business processes for maximum efficiency and value. It is an in-depth look at how processes are operating, identifying areas for improvement, and building solutions – usually from the ground up. BPM is about making sure the infrastructure of your business processes is solid and decoupled from the implementation technologies. RPA, on the other hand, is designed to operate processes as a human would, so it exists on a more surface level. It’s faster to implement, ready to use with almost any software, and easily altered or updated to adapt to the changing world. As far as I see it, RPA and BPM are not in conflict with each other. They both have the same goal with different implementation strategies.
While you certainly could use RPA to handle high frequency processes which had previously been performed by humans, perhaps what is really needed is an overhaul of your workflow. If a certain type of transaction makes up the bread-and-butter of your organization’s service, for example, you’ll want to make sure that process is as tight, efficient, and self-contained as possible. There are times when you have to transform the process itself rather than relying on a surface-level fix. That’s is a good case to use BPM.
But transforming a business structure isn’t always feasible. It requires a lot of development and a lot of investment (time and money). You may not have the luxury to build from the ground up. That’s when RPA may be the most fitting solution. If nothing else, you can use RPA to continue operations while investigating a deeper fix.
Consider this analogy to self-driving cars: a BPM approach would require us to rip up all paved roads and install infrastructure for the new cars to move about on their own, while an RPA approach seeks to operate an existing car just as a human would. Google's self driven car is addressing the problem from an RPA angle, because replacing all roads (especially in the U.S.) is just unfathomable. That’s not to say that RPA is always the better option – not at all. The key is knowing the difference and using both tactics to their best advantage.
BPM (sometimes used interchangeably with business process automation) isn’t a specific piece of software but an approach to streamlining business processes for maximum efficiency and value. It is an in-depth look at how processes are operating, identifying areas for improvement, and building solutions – usually from the ground up. BPM is about making sure the infrastructure of your business processes is solid and decoupled from the implementation technologies. RPA, on the other hand, is designed to operate processes as a human would, so it exists on a more surface level. It’s faster to implement, ready to use with almost any software, and easily altered or updated to adapt to the changing world. As far as I see it, RPA and BPM are not in conflict with each other. They both have the same goal with different implementation strategies.
While you certainly could use RPA to handle high frequency processes which had previously been performed by humans, perhaps what is really needed is an overhaul of your workflow. If a certain type of transaction makes up the bread-and-butter of your organization’s service, for example, you’ll want to make sure that process is as tight, efficient, and self-contained as possible. There are times when you have to transform the process itself rather than relying on a surface-level fix. That’s is a good case to use BPM.
But transforming a business structure isn’t always feasible. It requires a lot of development and a lot of investment (time and money). You may not have the luxury to build from the ground up. That’s when RPA may be the most fitting solution. If nothing else, you can use RPA to continue operations while investigating a deeper fix.
Consider this analogy to self-driving cars: a BPM approach would require us to rip up all paved roads and install infrastructure for the new cars to move about on their own, while an RPA approach seeks to operate an existing car just as a human would. Google's self driven car is addressing the problem from an RPA angle, because replacing all roads (especially in the U.S.) is just unfathomable. That’s not to say that RPA is always the better option – not at all. The key is knowing the difference and using both tactics to their best advantage.
- Low technical barriers: Programming skills are not necessary to configure a software robot. As a primarily code-free technology, any non-technical staff can use a drag and drop process designer to set up a bot—or even record their own steps to automate a process through a process recorder feature.
- Increased accuracy: Bots are extremely accurate and consistent – they are much less prone to making mistakes or typos than a human worker.
- Meet regulatory compliance standards: Bots only follow the instructions they have been configured to follow and provide an audit trail history for each step. Furthermore, if steps in a particular process need to be reviewed, bots can also play back their past actions. The controlled nature of bot work makes them suited to meeting even the strictest compliance standards.
- No interruption of work: Operations can be performed 24/7 as these bots can work tirelessly and autonomously without requiring staff to manually trigger bots to initiate business processes. If a human does need to intervene, it is to make a decision or resolve an error.
- Existing systems remain in place: Unlike traditional automation initiatives that may require extensive developer resources to integrate across multiple applications, RPA involves no disruption to underlying systems. Robots work across the presentation layer of existing applications just as a person does. This is especially useful for legacy systems, where APIs may not be immediately available, or in situations where organizations do not have the resources to develop a deep level of integration with existing applications.
- Improved employee morale and employee experience: Employees will have more time to invest their talents in more engaging and interesting work. Bots enable workers to offload manual offload tasks like filling out forms, data entry and looking up information from websites, so workers can focus on strategy and revenue-producing activities.
- Increased productivity: Process cycle times are more efficient and can be completed at a faster speed compared with manual process approaches.
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