What is RPA in Simple Terms?

Robotic process automation, or RPA, is a form of artificial intelligence that uses computer software to automate simple tasks that human beings would typically perform.

In other words, RPA is software that can act like a robot to perform highly repetitive tasks in the workplace. RPA uses "software bots" or "robots," computer programs that can read and write data. These robots follow a particular process, allowing them to undertake it regularly.‍

Features and Benefits of RPA

Robotic process automation (RPA) is software that enables organizations to eliminate repetitive and rules-based tasks often performed by humans. By eliminating human errors and inefficiencies, RPA helps organizations with growing demand for efficiency, accuracy, and productivity.

As technology continues to advance in virtually every facet of life, it is unsurprising that advances in automation are also progressing. Rather than performing repetitive tasks manually, robotic process automation can free up employees to focus on more challenging aspects of their job.

One of the most apparent benefits of robotic process automation is the potential to increase productivity. An organization can realize significant gains in a relatively short amount of time by eliminating the need for a person to perform monotonous tasks.

While it may take some time for organizations to achieve the same productivity levels, implementing robotic process automation technology can realize significant gains over time.

Another potential benefit associated with robotic process automation relates to accuracy. By eliminating human error and distraction, robotic process automation has the potential to reduce significant misprints and mistakes.

While it may be tempting for employees to ignore other tasks instead of focusing on the ones they need to perform, human error can often lead to mistakes. By utilizing robotic process automation instead, it’s more likely that an organization will receive the same output every time, regardless of who performs the task.

As with any new technology, do your due diligence before implementing robotic process automation. The most significant disadvantage is the possible loss of jobs. While organizations utilizing robotic process automation may significantly increase productivity and accuracy, this increase may come at the cost of some jobs.

There is also some potential for an organization's bottom line to be negatively impacted due to increased upfront costs associated with implementing robotic process automation technology.

Before deciding whether to implement robotic process automation, an organization should research the potential benefits and drawbacks of this technology. While there is much potential regarding robotic process automation, organizations need to understand that this is still a relatively new technology.

Rather than replacing existing systems, organizations should test robotic process automation on a smaller scale before deciding to implement it throughout the entire business.

By working closely with a partner like Thoughtful with experience implementing RPA, organizations can determine how best to utilize this technology in their environment.

‍How does RPA help a company save time and money?

When you look at how a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) implementation can help your company, it comes down to time and money. RPA enables you to save money by automating processes that would otherwise require an employee to do them.

Employees don't have to do the process, eliminating the mental stress of remembering how to do the procedure or being interrupted by other tasks. Of course, this means that fewer employees are needed since RPA allows them to do more work.

Using RPA to do simple tasks saves time — for example, an employee entering information from one screen to another takes a significant amount of time. The employee is then interrupted by other tasks, which takes away from the first task. RPA can eliminate the first task and the interruption of this task.

RPA can also integrate with legacy applications and systems making it easier for employees to use applications they know or have been trained on.