The Wave of the Future for Small Businesses:

  • Elisa Silverglade
  • March 21, 2023

How RPA Can Revolutionize Your Business In this digital age, it’s no secret that many small businesses are struggling to keep up with the competition. But there is one technology solution that can help them remain competitive and even spur growth: Robotic Process Automation (RPA). According to a recent survey, 81% of business decision-makers agree that RPA is essential for their businesses to remain competitive. With the right implementation, RPA has the potential to revolutionize businesses and spur growth, while also improving employee morale. RPA is now available on a subscription model, making it accessible at SMB budgets for the first time.  Let’s look at the top 8 reasons to get started with RPA. 1. Automate repetitive tasks: One of the most obvious benefits of RPA is its ability to automate repetitive tasks such as data entry, rules-based accounting, auditing and more. This saves time and frees up employees from mundane tasks so they can focus on using special skills for more important projects. This can lead to both increased productivity and improved morale as employees have more time to tackle challenging problems or take on new roles within the company.  2. Increase accuracy: By automating tedious tasks, RPA eliminates human error and ensures accuracy – bots can be 100% accurate. No one likes to make costly mistakes – accurate bots will save your company money while improving employee experience. 3. Reduce costs: Automation means fewer manual labor hours needed, fewer mistakes, round-the-clock productivity, increased employee and customer retention – saving companies money in overhead costs associated with human error, human stamina, employee turnover, customer attrition and more. 4. Streamline operations : By making processes faster and more efficient, RPA helps companies operate at peak performance levels without sacrificing quality or customer service. This leads to a smoother workflow across departments, resulting in improved collaboration, increased productivity, higher profit margins, and better customer service.   5. Enhance security : By automating certain processes, companies can reduce risk through tighter security protocols. For example, by using automated software rather than manual inputting of data, companies can reduce vulnerability risks associated with human error. Additionally, automated software can detect suspicious activity much faster than humans can, resulting in greater protection against security threats like fraud or cyber-attacks.  RPA is also a tool to achieve compliance. 6. Enhance customer experience: By streamlining processes, RPA helps provide customers with faster service and better experiences overall. Customer service reps can resolve issues faster when RPA is behind the scenes fetching information. Customers appreciate quick resolutions to their inquiries, which leads to improved loyalty over time.  7. Improve employee engagement: Automation allows employees to focus on more important projects instead of mundane tasks. Humans thrive when they are appreciated for their creativity, relationship building and problem-solving—this increases job satisfaction as employees feel more engaged with their work. Providing opportunities for new roles within the company and the ability to upskill will make for loyal employees. 8. Automation as a Subscription: Enterprise organizations with million dollar budgets have been making use of RPA for almost 2 decades. For the first time, it is available for small and medium sized business budgets – on a monthly subscription model.  Without enormous project fees and licensing fees, the average small business can make use of digital assistants to achieve all of these benefits! The benefits of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for small businesses are numerous and expansive. From reducing overhead costs and streamlining operations, all the way through enhancing compliance, and customer experience and improving employee engagement – it’s clear that implementing RPA technology has a myriad of positive effects for small business owners. Small business owners who take advantage of a monthly subscription model for RPA will enjoy increased efficiency, greater profit margins, improved customer service, enhanced security protocols – plus much more! If you are ready to  revolutionize your business operations with RPA – reach out today!

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Automated Bots to Make Your Startup More Productive

  • Elisa Silverglade
  • February 8, 2023

Automated bots are increasingly becoming popular today. This presents better opportunities and benefits for startups, including increased productivity and efficiency. What are some of the automated bots that can enhance productivity for your startup?  Key Takeaways: Most startups like yours have limited resources and time – but you need to make the most of what you have to maximize productivity. That’s where automated bots come in. Automated bots are software programs that can automate tedious tasks and processes, allowing you to focus on the more essential aspects of running your business.  These technologically advanced tools are critical in streamlining tasks in various sectors like marketing, healthcare, and customer relationship management. There seem to be countless bots available today designed to accomplish various tasks, of course, making it essential for you to understand what your startup needs the most and make an informed decision.  This guide will discuss different types of automated bots that can help make your startup more productive, and you’ll get expert tips for choosing the perfect bot for your business.  Here are some of the different types of automated bots that can come in handy in improving productivity at your startup.  1. Marketing Bots A strong marketing strategy is vital for any startup’s success, but it takes a great deal of time and effort to execute these strategies. Marketing bots can come in handy by automating the creation of targeted messages and campaigns tailored specifically for your audience.  They can track customer engagement across multiple channels as well, allowing you to gain insights into how effective your marketing efforts are. It is also projected that most businesses – 80% to be exact – will leverage automated bots in some capacity for their operations. Here’s the breakdown of how automated bots are instrumental in the marketing sector: -Better Customer Engagement Chatbots offer a great way to connect with customers on a personalized level. They can handle customer inquiries quickly and accurately while providing a more engaging customer experience than traditional methods like phone support or email support. A chatbot, for example, could answer basic questions like, “What is your return policy?” or “How do I contact customer service?” Chatbots are also available 24/7, so customers can get answers even when your staff is away. This allows businesses to stay connected with their customers and increase satisfaction levels. -News bots News bots are a great way to keep customers up-to-date on your industry’s latest news and trends. They can share relevant stories with customers, helping them stay informed about what’s happening in your business.  News bots also allow you to discuss new products or services that may interest your audience, making it easier for them to discover what you offer.  -Offer product recommendations One of the most powerful use cases for chatbots is product recommendations. Leveraging data from past purchases and browsing habits allows bots to recommend tailored products for each user based on their interests and preferences. This helps businesses increase sales by targeting customers with personalized offers matching their specific needs. This helps boost sales while also improving customer loyalty, as users repeatedly return because they know they’ll get exactly what they need from your business, every time. An automated bot like Bloom Avenue’s Olivia for Facebook Messenger is the perfect tool used today in recommending products for skincare needs. It’s designed to ask questions about your skin and provides personalized recommendations based on the answers so you can find the right products. These bots are incredibly versatile and have shown tremendous potential in marketing. It’s no wonder, with so many robust use cases available for marketing purposes, that many companies are turning to automated bots to amplify their reach and promote their products more effectively. 2. Customer Relationship Management Chatbot Customer relationship management (CRM) is essential to any business’s operations, and automating it with bots makes it even more efficient. CRM bots allow companies to automate many processes related to customer relationship management, such as tracking customer inquiries, monitoring customer satisfaction levels, and generating reports on customer interactions with their brand.  A remarkable 67% of consumers worldwide have taken advantage of bots to enhance customer service purposes. This even comes with additional power to utilize the numerous customer service applications, such as: CRM chatbots, in short, allow businesses to quickly identify opportunities for improvement in their customer relationships while freeing up valuable time that would have otherwise been spent manually managing these processes.  3. Healthcare Management Bots Healthcare management bots are automated software applications that streamline the process of handling workloads and organizational functions. This reduces the administrative workload, as the automated bots take over handling healthcare-related tasks and improve overall efficiency. Automated bots can help healthcare professionals securely access patient records, quickly generate reports, and easily manage billing processes, significantly reducing the time it could take to accomplish these tasks manually. Healthcare organizations can also find the best productivity bots software to organize medical information and improve medical team communication, improving patient service delivery. Automated healthcare management bots are revolutionizing time efficiency in the industry by helping administrators perform time-intensive and powerful tasks with less effort. Tips for Choosing the Best Bots Software for Your Startups Automated bots are a great way to boost your business’s productivity and efficiency. Your startup can save time and money on repetitive tasks when the right bots are used, allowing you to focus on more critical aspects of your business. How do you pick the best bot for your startup with all these options in front of you? Here is how to get started.  1. Understand Your Needs There are different types of bots better suited for various tasks, of course, so it’s essential to consider what tasks you want to accomplish before settling on one. Will your business use a CRM chatbot, a marketing bot, or a different type of bot altogether? Understanding and defining your needs is critical to choosing the best productivity bots software for you. 2. Research Potential Vendors There seem to be an

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Key Takeaways: The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning has caused organizations to start looking for ways to optimize their processes – with even more emphasis on intelligent automation (IA) and robotic process automation (RPA).  These terms may sound the same or, to some, they mean the same thing – but they are not. They are two separate things that happen to have some similarities in how they operate. It is critical to understand the difference between intelligent automation and RPA if you’re looking for the best from your investment.  Are you looking to implement either intelligent automation or robotic process automation in your organization but don’t know where to begin? This expert guide will get you started with the details on the difference between intelligent automation and RPA and how they intersect.  What Is Robotic Process Automation?  Robotic process automation is software designed to automate repetitive tasks by mimicking human activities such as keystrokes or mouse clicks. RPA does not require coding knowledge or an understanding of complex algorithms, unlike traditional automation tools; instead, it relies on simple rules to carry out tasks.  This makes it ideal for businesses that don’t have the resources or expertise to develop custom solutions from scratch. There are endless benefits associated with robotic process automation, including the following. 3 Ways Robotic Process Automation Is Beneficial  Robotic process automation is a powerful tool for streamlining repetitive tasks and processes with the following guaranteed benefits.  1. Cost savings Robotic process automation has the potential to save significant costs associated with hiring more staff or outsourcing labor-intensive projects. Automating routine tasks can eliminate the need for expensive hardware and software purchases and maintenance. 2. Reduced errors Robots are programmed to perform precise numerical operations without errors or variance due to fatigue or error, as usually is with humans. Automated processes deliver results with unparalleled accuracy, speed, and consistency because they are programmed to follow precise instructions without deviation from the prescribed course of action. This reduces costly mistakes and improves overall quality control efforts.  3. Increased Efficiency Robotic process automation also increases efficiency by freeing up valuable employee time that would otherwise be spent on mundane tasks like data entry or customer service inquiries. Automating these processes allows employees to focus on high-value activities that require creative thinking or problem-solving skills. These benefits of robotic process automation make one thing quite clear: it saves time and money – the very goal every business strives for today. Here is a glimpse of the real-world applications of robotic process automation.  3 Real-World Applications of Robotic Process Automation Robotic process automation is a digital tool that can help streamline business operations in various sectors to automate manual and repetitive tasks. Here are some of the three real-world applications of RPA. -Payroll Management Manual payroll management is time-consuming and error-prone. RPA automates time-consuming data entry and ensures accuracy by eliminating human errors. It also allows for faster employee payments, ensuring they receive their wages on time.  -Customer Support RPA is also critical in customer support and can come in handy in freeing agents’ time to focus on more complex tasks, such as providing personalized customer service. RPA can also automate customer service inquiries by providing automated responses to frequently asked questions or directing customers to the appropriate resources when needed.  -Invoice Processing RPA is also helpful for invoice processing because it allows businesses to process invoices quickly without waiting to be manually entered into a system. Whether used for payroll management, customer support, or invoice processing, RPA has proven its worth with the ability to automate tasks while still producing results at a higher rate than traditional operation methods would allow.  These benefits and real-world applications give you a better understanding of RPA and how it can be used to your advantage. What, then, can intelligent automation do for you?  What Is Intelligent Automation? Intelligent automation (IA) is a set of technologies that can automate business processes. Combining artificial intelligence (AI) with traditional automation tools allows IA to increase efficiency while providing even more accurate results. IA enables organizations to create sophisticated solutions to make decisions quickly, reduce manual workloads, and improve customer experiences. The advancement of AI technology allows it to become more versatile and accessible to businesses of all sizes. Reasonable Benefits of Intelligent Automation for Business Intelligent automation is quickly transforming how businesses operate, and according to McKinsey’s comprehensive report, businesses have witnessed tremendous rewards from leveraging intelligent automation, including: Intelligent automation gives organizations a more efficient and cost-effective approach to running their operations while driving better decision-making. So, how can businesses use intelligence automation?  3 Ways Businesses Use Intelligent Automation  Businesses of all sizes are turning to intelligent automation to increase efficiency and achieve their goals. But how? Here are the three key sectors that are taking advantage of the power of intelligent automation.  1. Banking and Finance Industry IA is used in this industry as the technology can be used for fraud detection and cybersecurity, reducing manual efforts and increasing accuracy. It can also be used to address compliance, risk management, and data analytics.  2. Healthcare By analyzing large data assets, AI-enabled technology can detect patterns that enable healthcare experts to make faster, more informed decisions.  3. Chatbot for Customer Service and Support Chatbot software is one of the most popular IA solutions, as it provides companies with an efficient method of responding to customer inquiries in real-time. This helps businesses handle customer interactions more efficiently with a guarantee of superior service. AI-based technologies are helping businesses unlock their potential in streamlining operations and boosting productivity. Following is a detailed overview of the critical differences between RPA and IA.  Intelligent Process Automation vs. Robotic Process Automation The main distinction between IA and RPA lies in how they approach tasks. Intelligent automation leverages AI to automate complex business operations by using a combination of technologies, including: These tools can carry out multiple tasks simultaneously, allowing businesses to streamline their processes and make faster

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Key Takeaways: Thinking about robotic process automation (RPA) for your business, specifically in finance, is a significant indicator that you’re making the best decisions for your company.  Here’s why. RPA is simply a better way to do business.  Take a finance team, for instance. Any finance team does more than crunch numbers – they enter daily financial data, prepare financial statements, perform monthly expense reconciliation, create spending reports, and so on. These are repetitive tasks that can quickly go wrong with a single miscalculation. An RPA takes over these jobs so your team can focus on more high-level work. And that’s precisely what it did for Palkeet, the Finnish Government Shared Services Center for Finance and HR.  Palkeet’s finance team – prior to integrating RPA into its processes – had to do all the work manually. Palkeet serves 70,000 individual employees, meaning their manual process was an unsustainable setup, one that was bound to fail. Enter RPA. Palkeet introduced RPA to its invoicing department for a test drive, and six years on, they have saved 93,000 person-hours, increased productivity by 20 percent, and reduced manual processes by 50 percent. The Palkeet finance team can now focus on more high-level tasks instead of spending precious time on the 490 tasks it’s currently automating.  Many more businesses can testify to RPA’s impact on their business. Newzoo, for example, boasts 4 times faster end-of-month closing by its finance team and a clear audit trail of finance information – and you can too (if you’re ready to make the jump, that is).  Still not convinced?  This guide digs into the benefits of robotic process automation for finance teams and the common pitfalls of using RPA. But before we get to the nitty-gritty, let’s discuss what an RPA is.  What Is Robotic Process Automation, Exactly? Robotic process automation involves instructing robots to perform simple, repetitive tasks and automate specific workflows so people don’t have to. These “robots,” though, aren’t robots in the literal sense. It’s more like software designed to automate specific tasks. RPAs have already solidified their position in fintech with their ability to streamline mundane tasks and get the work done faster and more efficiently. Whether it’s expense reimbursements, budget forecasting, or even basic accounting, RPAs have the edge over manual labor.  Benefits of RPA in Finance It’s not surprising that RPA adoption rates have shot up to 20 percent in the last year alone. Here are more reasons business decision-makers are moving towards RPAs in finance to automate simple business tasks. 1. Increased Efficiency The standout benefit of RPAs is their ability to complete tasks more efficiently than humans. Set your parameters, and you can count on RPAs to get the job done. They can collect data automatically, analyze it, and create detailed reports so you can make more informed financial decisions.  The best part? RPAs will immediately send you an alert if they have a problem implementing an instruction you give so that you can review the issue manually. This way, you get work done correctly and without error. That’s efficiency.  RPAs can complete menial processes that most finance teams would like to avoid, and they do it much faster. Finance teams don’t want to copy and paste the same data for four hours straight. RPAs, on the other hand, don’t mind (can’t mind) the task and can do it in half the time – plus, RPAs don’t go on coffee breaks. 2. Increased Scalability Staying with systems that just don’t scale is a significant contributor to disarray in businesses that are expanding quickly. You want to grow to serve your customers better and have an even better business operations system. This isn’t easy if your finance team has to manually perform accounting tasks on a large scale. That’s why it’s an excellent idea to bring in RPAs. RPAs make it easy for your team to tackle massive increases in accounting, like tracking payroll for over 2,000 employees, without sacrificing accuracy.  You can also train new talents and hires to work with your RPA system. Why? RPA systems give your finance team a more defined operational structure, one they can teach new hires to use. 3. Better Compliance Management Every finance team needs to conduct audits on finance data and systems, disclose problems in finance processes, and provide quarterly reports to the relevant regulatory organizations. To do this, your team has to stay current on the ever-changing regulatory compliance standards.  Compliance with these regulations increases consumer confidence in your business, eliminates financial crime, and protects your investors. Get these regulations wrong, though, and you’ll attract unwarranted fines and penalties.  RPAs are better than manual labor in this regard as well – in fact, 38 percent of business decision-makers say RPA improves business compliance.  You can program these regulations into RPAs, so the RPAs will follow them as they automate your tasks. This is a great way to ensure you’re on track with compliance, as RPAs have a low (sometimes zero) mistake rate, higher coverage, and little to no human involvement.  RPA systems also combine data from several sources to increase the effectiveness of financial and regulatory reporting. You can do away with manual data collection and compilation methods, which greatly simplifies financial reporting. 4. Improved Credit Risk Management Indifferently granting credit limits to customers without conducting sufficient background checks is one of the main reasons for high bad debt rates. Executives can’t be entirely blamed for these rates, of course, as they may not have the time or the necessary information to analyze the credit risk profiles of their clients. An RPA can get the job done.  Add a new prospect to your client management system, and from there, you can leverage RPA bots to track their credit risk profiles and log them into your credit checking system. Your RPA can then automatically locate pertinent data, such as credit risk score, and save this data in a single database.  Tasks like this, even though they’re fairly simple, can be tedious

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In the Summer of 2020, the pharmaceutical company, Takeda, faced a challenge. Takeda was running a clinical trial of potential Covid-19 treatments. Most clinical trials face a recruitment phase that takes up to two months as recruiters need to: Covid-19 was changing fast, and Takeda needed to speed up recruitment by a significantly increased margin. So, the pharmaceutical company implemented a new, time-saving innovation: robotic process automation (RPA). For Takeda, RPA benefits involved completely automating recruitment tasks, which included: Takeda’s pilot study of RPA had phenomenal results. The company estimated it could automate 4.6 million hours of office work tasks per year—freeing up its employees to do the work they actually enjoy.  Today, RPA is poised to become the next step in the digital transformation revolution. But what does that mean for your workplace? This guide aims to answer that question. Join us to learn the answers to your most pressing questions about RPA. Then, learn about ten well-established benefits RPA could offer to your office.  Robotic Processing Automation: Overview Robotic processing automation—or, RPA—is a programmable automation software application. RPA makes it easy for a person to build virtual robots that emulate human actions. This makes it an incredibly adaptable business operation technology. Once you create them, the virtual robots can emulate the way you interact with digital systems and software. They can even learn to mimic keystrokes and the most minute details of tasks.  After the virtual robots are trained, you can deploy them to carry out office tasks. They do them at higher speeds, and with greater accuracy than humans can. How Does RPA Work?  RPA applications utilize virtual machine technology. This lets them replicate the functionality of a physical computer using the software on a different computer.  Pure RPA doesn’t typically use machine learning. Instead, the user must give the robot specific instructions for each task it must execute. These instructions tell the robot exactly what to do and when to do it.  The software environment typically includes a studio wherein you can build your bot and an orchestrator. The orchestrator is a virtual control room where a manager can: The most advanced RPA systems integrate machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI). These are capable of “process mining.” Process mining records and analyzes workflows automatically. With the recorded information, the software application creates new templates for RPA, and templates can further streamline these processes. While RPA seems completely autonomous, a human element is still required as human users must be involved in the description of tasks, known as process analysis.  What Are the Business Benefits of RPA? (Summary) There are many business benefits of RPA. All RPA benefits can be distilled down in three ways: RPA systems can facilitate each of these improvements through multiple functions. Mastering all functions of RPA lets a company take advantage of the technology’s full potential. Why is RPA Transformative? RPA is a key technology driving digital transformation forward. Digital transformation is the process of integrating connected, computing technology into all facets of a business.  Complete digital integration shifts how businesses can reach their goals; it enables far greater goals than they’d pre-supposed. Integration brings business leaders more data and presents it clearly, in turn allowing business leaders to make evidence-based decisions.  Automation streamlines rote work tasks and improves efficiency. It also boosts employee morale, as employees are freer to dedicate themselves to interpersonal or creative tasks. This improved collaboration and increased room for creativity can transform the workplace. It becomes a source of innovation, rather than production. Ultimately, digital transformation can cultivate an era of imagination and specialized skills.  Where Can RPA be Used? Any organization that conducts business tasks on a server can use RPA. RPA needs to be installed on servers (often cloud servers), and the server must meet certain specifications. These specifications can vary depending on the specific RPA application you choose. Once on a server, RPA applications can begin to use the software to automate virtual tasks. The task must have three qualities for an RPA bot to successfully automate it. The task must be something that the RPA: The task should also have a high enough volume to be worth automating. Large-scale repetitive tasks are where RPA systems shine.  Today, many high-tech industries are using RPA to their full advantage. The software can streamline workflows in almost any sector. Currently, the industries applying RPA effectively include companies in:  What Features and Capabilities are Important in RPA Technology? RPA technology handles everything from development to deployment. Across industries, six capabilities of RPA platforms make a difference in their efficacy and quality. Look for these RPA technology features in a platform: Bot-Creation Space Most organizations benefit from a bot-creation designer with a straightforward user interface. The best RPA programs give employees the ability to create bots quickly, with only a few clicks.  Users do much of this work in a less-code or code-free designer. This empowers employees who understand their own tasks to train bots without coding skills.  Employees can train bots on tasks with built-in recording systems. These systems empower bots to learn by observing the employee’s actions on screen. It’s also important for an RPA to offer a manual task editor for more in-depth instruction.  Security Features RPA software needs premium security features. The best platforms’ security maintains compliance with SOC, HIPAA, or PCI DSS. This protects users’ data and prevents any tampering with bots’ instructions with malicious intent. Key security features include: Deployment Options Most organizations prefer RPA technology with cloud deployment options. Cloud deployment empowers organizations to scale their bot deployment readily, without compromising on security. Deployment options also enable organizations to coordinate bots to automate complex processes. This can include desktop deployment options that enable bots to access data on cue to complete tasks.  Rules-Based Exception Handling Rules-based exception handling features are critical to an RPA program’s success. This gives bots a logical next step when they cannot complete a task.  Rules-based exception handling is a set of instructions that tells a

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Robotic Process Automation: The Complete Guide

  • Elisa Silverglade
  • May 12, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic magnified a new challenge for the human workforce. We know that automation saves money over manual workload, and that manual work can cause human error. Now, we can consider human beings becoming sick on a massive scale and unable to perform work in person. RPA, or robotic process automation, is becoming more and more of a hot topic. One reason is that it is a solution when challenged by a pandemic. According to Computer Economics, RPA is picking up steam. As of 2021, 20% of organizations adopted robotic process automation, which is up from a 13% adoption rate in 2020. The previous year, 2019, had an adoption rate of 12%. Are your competitors adopting RPA? Do you want to stay ahead of the curve and edge them out of your market space? Let’s dive into “what is robotic process automation” and how it can both benefit and transform your business. What is Robotic Process Automation? RPA technologies are a game-changer. They automate corporate processes. It is a tool designed to ease human employees from having to perform tedious, repetitive jobs that are of low value. Basically, humans take on higher-value responsibilities and perform tasks that add value versus involving them in jobs that a BOT can manage. RPA Bots mimic human behavior and can replace humans for any tasks that are rules-baed and deterministic. RPA automation repeats a pre-defined operation which is much faster than a human can do because it performs tasks in an automated way. If robotic process automation can be adequately designed and strategized with the proper IT governance, it will be a success for the company. Features and Capabilities How RPA works is you would first log in to a system, software, or application and connect to an API. RPA then transfers documents and folders, copies and pastes data, and fills in forms. Robotic process automation can analyze and extract content from multiple sources like PDFs, emails, documents, scrapes browsers, and more. It will read a database and rewrite it. They can open emails and attachments, as well as make calculations. Is RPA the Same as Artificial Intelligence? While RPA and AI have similarities, they are not the same thing. Robotic process automation works with humans by automating repetitive processes. RPA has certain AI capabilities as well, that can leverage machine learning and natural language processing. The biggest difference between RPA and AI is that RPA leverages structured logic and inputs, while AI leverages unstructured inputs.  Artificial intelligence develops its own logic based on it’s experiences. Why is RPA Transformative? Robotic process automation assists companies in improving their business results. Another way to word it is that RPA can bring forth digital transformation. All the rage today, Forrester Research predicts that the RPA software market may reach as much as $6.5 billion by the year 2025. Where Can RPA be Used? The possibilities for RPA are endless, with its ability to work in pretty much every industry you can think of. It can impact all business units that have processes that occur the same way each time.  In the supply chain, we can use RPA for predictive maintenance, data entry, and after-sales service support. Telecommunication businesses can configure new services along with the associated billing for a new account by using RPA. Other areas where we can use RPA include: Finance and RCM (Revenue Cycle Management) Customer service Shared services Data management Human resources Information technology Sales and marketing While it requires serious planning and forethought before implementing RPA in these areas, these are functions and departments of the business that will find RPA highly beneficial. Types of RPA There are three types of robotic process automation. We will break them down for you. Attended Automation Usually, attended automation is an RPA that will operate on the computer of a user. The most exclusive element of attended automation is that they program every robotic system specific to the user. Whenever a worker needs the robot to execute a process, the robot is available and ready to go. All that needs to be done is that the user activates the robot’s functions. The benefit is accuracy and time-saving features. It is possible to activate a robot automatically with user behavior that is pre-defined with more advanced technology. If an employee is non-compliant with a defined rule or behavior, the robot can do one of two things. The robot could execute the procedure automatically on behalf of the employee or send a message letting the employee know they made a mistake. Unattended Automation RPA that is unattended automation basically runs on a virtual machine. It will have the perspective that an enterprise user will. Leadership will need to understand this. An unattended robot that is performing unattended automation will carry out the procedures for a group of employees, as opposed to being deployed by one user. It will execute a procedure that is delegated by a defined schedule, pre-defined event, or API. The biggest benefit of unattended automation is that it will run on its own, operating on a virtual machine. A user does not need to stop what they are doing or halt carrying out their tasks on their computer or device. It is for these reasons that some companies prefer unattended automation over attended. Especially if the procedure takes a long time to operate. Hybrid Automation Even if your robot moves fast, it still may take a long time to complete a process. Although, it is still far less time than it would take a human to do it manually. When you have hybrid automation, this means that an unattended robot will carry out the parts of the process that demand a human worker to be involved. An unattended robot that operates a virtual machine takes care of the rest of the project. That is why a hybrid approach is extremely versatile as an option. Further, depending on your needs for the project, an employee could launch the process and trigger the attended robot.

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It’s Not About Jobs – It’s About Work

  • Elisa Silverglade
  • January 13, 2014

Last week’s big financial headlines underscore the fact that while the economy may be improving, significant long term unemployment is…

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