There's a great deal of excitement of late, across multiple industries, regarding the possibilities of robotic process automation. Some may have been skeptical of this automation strategy when it first came on the scene due to concerns about RPA's ability to compete with more sophisticated methods like machine learning. However, Forbes pointed out that numerous RPA vendors heard these expressions of dubiousness and stepped up the capabilities of their product offerings.
If you haven't yet considered how factoring RPA into your business's operations could help streamline numerous processes and ultimately bolster your bottom line, now could be an ideal time to do so. But remember: You'll need full organizational buy-in to implement any such plans. If your chief information officer, chief technology officer or other key members of your c-level staff aren't on board, you may need to find people who are – and YES Partners can help.
The fusion of RPA and AI
Machine learning stands at the vanguard of artificial intelligence as one of its most advanced forms. RPA, by comparison, is somewhat less sophisticated. It efficiently automates numerous tasks, but it lacks the key value proposition of machine learning: namely, the ability to aggregate process data over time and use that information to automate tasks of increasing complexity at mounting levels of performance quality. That said, the former being more complex than the latter doesn't mean they can't work well together.
According to Forbes, the two systems easily connect to each other through the use of API-based interfaces. The business and financial news provider noted that a major Oklahoma City-headquartered insurance firm saw considerable success using machine learning to predict where email should go faster than any previous methods have and RPA to handle the actual routing and rerouting of data. No matter the specific data-based task your firm needs to accelerate, chances are high that RPA, machine learning or a combination of the two can be an appropriate solution.
Determining optimal RPA application
As with many new and novel tech systems or tools, the success of RPA in your business is contingent on how you use it. It's critical not to be blindsided by the tool's broad applicability and apply it without careful consideration of the specific value you wish it to add.
According to The Enterprisers Project, RPA implementation is best begun by outlining which of your organizational processes are repetitive, prone to disruption by human error, heavily rule-based and handled at high volumes. Ideally, a task you improve through RPA should have all or most of those attributes. RPA is even more appropriate for tasks that meet all or many of the aforementioned criteria and also create workflow bottlenecks or silos. Once you've determined where RPA should be applied, you can get around to choosing the right solution for your company.
Emphasizing the human factor
The strictly technical benefits RPA and other cutting-edge systems can offer are undoubtedly exciting. Yet it's arguably the advantages RPA affords human workers that make it so valuable. As Gigabit noted, automation stands out because it eliminates the need for personnel to handle the most tedious parts of their jobs – which, in turn, gives them the time to directly work with customers and co-workers on projects that bring real, substantive value to the organization.
The successful implementation and fruitful application of an RPA initiative will require not only the skills of dedicated IT staff, but also the guiding vision and steadfast support of a strong C-suite. CTOs and CIOs with the ideal combination of open-mindedness and executive experience may not always be easy to find, but that's where the executive recruiters at YES Partners can be of great help to your organization. To see some of the roles we have already successfully placed, click here.
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