Robotic Process Automation

Robotic process automation emulates human execution of repetitive processes with existing applications by using software robots which are configured to capture and record these applications in order to process transactions, manipulate data, trigger responses and communicate between different digital systems.

Robotic process automation (RPA) offers several benefits over traditional automation solutions. It enables to save costs and free up resources with a low non-invasive technical barrier. Increased productivity, higher accuracy (and less errors), the ability to streamline regulatory compliance, faster service (and thus enhanced customer satisfaction) and higher consistency are other advantages. An overview of robotic process automation for business and digital transformation.

Robotic process automation or RPA is the development and deployment of software robots or bots to automate rules-based and repetitive mundane tasks performed by people within workflow and process-related applications (often legacy systems) and operations.

Robotic process automation describes both the software which is used to robotize processes as the practice (or process as such) of defining processes and tasks that are best suited for RPA and the strategic approach to effectively design and apply the RPA script, macros and algorithms to the process.

The software robots enabling Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can simulate manual input commands which are traditionally performed by knowledge workers using, for example, their mouse or keyboard.

So, at the core, robotic process automation enables to replicate how people conduct repetitive tasks in an application (e.g. entering data, performing transaction-related tasks). It’s in automating these repetitive tasks that the scripts, macros, algorithms and evolutions come in. The replication is based upon user interface interactions (it looks at how people use the specific application that of course has a user interface so it can be used for the ‘to be automated’ task to begin with).