RPA: The Rise of the Robot

For those of us that have watched the Terminator films, we all know about 'SkyNet' and what happens when Robots take over from us humans. The films would have you believe that it isn't going to end well...

I am here to set the record straight.

There is in fact a shift in organisations towards robots taking over human functions in the workplace, more commonly known as Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Contrary to popular belief, we don't have a warehouse full of Arnold Schwarzenegger-style cyborgs, armed to the teeth and ready to destroy humanity. Instead, we have a solution that can help organisations improve process efficiencies by taking the human element out of the process and asking a piece of software to log in to a system and perform a series of processes that culminate in an event. They can then do it over and over again in a fraction of the time that it would take one of us mere mortals!

It is known in the industry as 'swivel chair processes'. Put simply, anywhere in a business where a system cannot communicate with another solution without a physical interaction can now be completed through RPA as there is no longer a need to purchase expensive API software. What's more, robots don't need to go on holiday, they don't call in sick, they are available 24/7 and they don't make mistakes. When you consider the high cost of wages and rents that organisations outlay, finding a way to perform a task quickly without taking up any physical space in an office must be appealing to most organisations.

What processes can a robot handle?

Competitor analysis: Robots can check competitor websites for product pricing, automatically alter your own product cost in line with set variances and improve your offering to be more competitive. Imagine you have ten primary competitors, which you compete against for twenty different products. It would take an age to manually compare prices against these products. A robot can have it done, almost instantaneously in some cases, or at the least it can process it whilst we're doing other, more important tasks.

Invoicing: Cross-referencing remittance payments against outstanding invoices. One customer I recently met with had two full time staff members to do this exact process. We have shown them a significant ROI by switching this process from two people to a robot. It's worth pointing out that no humans were injured during this process. They get to keep their jobs but can now be more productive within the business.

The list of tasks that RPA can replace and automate is immense, which will help your business improve its process efficiencies, which in turn can significantly help the bottom line.

Contact Us

We would love the opportunity to tell you more about RPA, your Softcat Account Manager is on hand to arrange a demo, or you can get in touch using the button below. What have you got to lose? Except, "Your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle!" (Arnold Schwarzenegger – The Terminator).