8 Common RPA Myths Debunked

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has taken a center stage nowadays in almost every technical conversation. People talk about its benefits like saving time, money, and resources by automating repetitive tasks and feel fascinated with its business advantages. But despite all such positive buzz, there is a lot of misinformation spread around it. To truly understand the power of RPA, it is thus imperative to break those misconceptions while facing the truth behind them.

Here in this blog, we are debunking those common myths surrounding robotic process automation.

Fact: Using RPA, you can automate business processes that are rule-based, repetitive, high in volume, low exceptions, stable, and well-defined. In every organization, you will find several business processes that completely fit into these parameters. But wait!! There are several business processes that are complex and where you need to deal with a humongous amount of unstructured data. Human intelligence and complex cognitive skills are required to manage such processes and RPA bots alone are not sufficient to automate such work.

Fact: If you also believe the same then think again. There is no doubt that RPA solutions provide cost benefits to companies and help them save loads of money by reducing operational costs. But the advantages of robotic process automation do not stop here. In fact, its benefits go beyond cost savings, like:

• Improves delivery time
• Brings accuracy
• Ensures compliance management
• Boosts productivity
• Improves employees confidence
• Provides uninterrupted support
• Ensures business continuity
• Enhances process efficiency
• Helps in overall business growth

Fact: Both are popular technologies that are used to automate business processes but completely different in various aspects like

• Robotic process automation can handle rule-based repetitive tasks well but AI can handle simpler as well as much complex tasks where decision-making is required
• RPA mimics human actions so AI mimics human intelligence
• RPA solution works on structured data (mostly) but AI can work upon structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data as well
• RPA is a process-centric technology while AI is a data-centric technology

Fact: Although there is no doubt that you need to pay a significant amount of money for a successful robotic process automation roll-out. But the overall cost-benefit of RPA tools is far too big compared to its initial cost.

• According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), RPA tools delivering 300-800% ROI are a common thing in the industry today.
• It is often said that work done by humans in 15 mins can be completed within a minute by RPA bots.
• Moreover, you don’t need to hire, onboard, or train a bot. What you require is just one-time programming. Unlike employees where leaves, layoff, and formal turnover is a common phenomenon, RPA is insulated with all such things. And thus helps save cost and boosts revenue.
• RPA tools enable 24/7 working.

If you consider all such facts in totality and analyze the cost associated with them, you will find that whatever investment you make in RPA as a Service, your company is bound to make manifold gains as compared to that base investment.

Fact: This is one of the most critical myths that floats around the RPA industry. Automation is invented to eliminate rule-based and mundane tasks. Not to eliminate human jobs. It in fact empowers employees to make greater focus on high-value and more lucrative jobs. Tasks where creativity, innovation, cognitive abilities, and strong logical reasoning are required. RPA streamlines simpler tasks so that employees’ time can be saved to perform more satisfying jobs with better attention and peace of mind. According to one prominent survey done by Forbes, it is found that 92% of employees felt empowered with RPA initiatives in their organization. Moreover, as RPA implementation is increasing with time, it is producing more newer types of jobs in the market (RPA industry) that were not seen before like RPA Analyst, RPA Developer, Solution Architect, Business Analyst, Project Manager, etc.

Fact: Whenever anyone hears the word RPA, the first thing that usually comes to mind is a physical machine with supernatural abilities. And why shouldn’t it be? After all, we are naturally programmed to think the same way by watching famous sci-fi Hollywood movies like “Transformers”. But in reality, RPA is not a machine. It is a software bot made with high-powered computer algorithms to mimic human actions.

Fact: Although, RPA was initially developed to automate simpler or rule-based tasks. But along with time, it has progressed a lot. Its advanced version – Smart Process Automation (SPA) uses the unparalleled capabilities of AI and Machine Learning to provide cognitive capabilities to software bots. It helps organizations to execute complex tasks where critical thinking is required with great ease and comfort. Powerful integration with AI, makes RPA to perform difficult tasks like image recognition, voice analysis, useful pattern detection, etc., which were unheard of before.

Fact: It is often believed by many that RPA is meant for specific industries like Finance and Manufacturing. But in reality, it is easily implemented and can prove beneficial in almost every industry where repetitive and rule-based tasks are performed. In Retail, you can use RPA for order processing, in healthcare for patient appointment, in insurance for claim processing, in banking for fraud detection, etc. Its applications are beneficial for all industries.