Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has created ripples in almost every business vertical ranging from Finance, Insurance, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Automobile, Logistics to FMCG due to its widespread business benefits. According to Gartner’s report, its usage has increased by over 25% as compared to last year. A Deloitte survey predicts that RPA will attain almost ‘near-universal adoption’ in the next 5 years.
This technology will become the center of all digital transformation and pave the way for enhanced business growth. Just like its widespread benefits, RPA trends also catch the attention of every professional who directly or indirectly has a stake in RPA related activities. This blog will thus prove beneficial to all such people in knowing where RPA is moving.
We are going to highlight those 10 popular robotic process automation (RPA) trends that will revolutionize the world by leaps and bounds in the times to come.
1. Smart Factories
Manufacturing enterprises need to meet delivery targets while keeping a close watch on efficiency, accuracy, and deadlines. But they often find it challenging to satisfy these crucial business goals with precision. It is believed that robotics systems can help manufacturing units to tackle these challenges with ease by automating a significant portion of their mundane & repetitive tasks using automation. Experts believe that assembly lines supported with automated robotics systems will transform manufacturing units into smart factories in coming times.
2. Rise of Cobots
Increased usage of Cobots is one of the key robotic trends to watch out for in 2022. This bot, which is also known as a collaborative bot, is different from autonomous bots and works independently without any human supervision. These types of robots work in tandem with humans in order to assist or guide them to achieve greater efficiency at work. Their applications are wide-ranging from grinding, polishing, machine tending, blood testing, food packaging to even making coffee! Cobots are engineered to distribute the workload of humans and to make automation easier than before for businesses of all sizes.
3. Labour Shortages & Robotics
COVID-19 pandemic has taught us various lessons. Not just about safe living but also about how to manage labor shortages using digital process automation. RPA has helped countless enterprises to continue their vital business processes, especially at a time when severe restrictions were imposed to limit the VIRUS spread. It assisted companies to run their operations despite manpower shortages. Moreover, in many countries, the working population continues to age and retire. These two factors will further boost the RPA market and pull the attention of enterprises towards robotic process automation (RPA).
4. Intelligent Automation
Smart Process Automation (SPA), the advanced version of RPA, is gaining significant limelight these days. In the coming times, it is expected to drive the robotic process automation market to the next level. Intelligent Automation is not just capable of doing repetitive tasks but also enables enterprises to add an extra layer of intelligence into the system. This enhanced facility helps companies to perform those complex tasks as well where decision-making capabilities are required. It is a next-generation robotic technology that can give you meaningful insights from data as well and can bring radical digital transformation using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities.
5. RPA Cloud Deployment
RPA Cloud Deployment is one of the top robotic trends that can change the landscape of how robotic process automation (RPA) solutions are implemented. It helps companies save huge amounts of the cost involved in setting up the IT infrastructure required for successful RPA execution. Moreover, it enables enterprises to process data at their whims, ensures enough repositories for RPA storage, and helps them to build and deploy bots faster as compared to other modes of deployment. From healthcare, insurance, to banking, RPA cloud deployment is the need of the hour.
6. Eliminating Paperwork
One of the most desired RPA trends is the elimination of paperwork in enterprises and this technology is slowly but steadily moving towards making our world greener. Every office works on piles of data and significant amounts of papers are used to store, process, and manage data. RPA can prove to be a game-changer to extract, file, and process data online. Robotics companies are giving special attention towards this endeavour and ensuring minimization of paperwork across industries. Special and customized robotic process automation services are built to meet this goal.
7. Voice-activated Automation
Siri and Alexa have now become household names. Thanks to their superb capabilities to detect human voices and execute automation of different kinds. These voice assistant tools are the real application of artificial intelligence that are now becoming an integral part of human lives. Right from managing household digital appliances to asking for directions over google, voice-activated automation is helping us in a very fascinating way. Enterprises are also now realizing its potential and opening their doors to embrace it for better business gains. It is believed that voice-activated automation boosts flexibility, productivity, and allows multitasking. Moreover, it is easy to use, convenient, and time-saving.
8. Rise of RPA CoE
The complexities involved in the RPA implementation will push enterprises to establish the RPA Center of Excellence (CoE). It will assist enterprises to better govern RPA and reduce maintenance costs by a significant proportion. An advanced RPA CoE makes the process faster, more efficient, and allows businesses to automate mundane tasks with ease and comfort. A prominent survey reveals that 88% of the enterprises that implemented RPA CoE experienced positive outcomes in a very limited time. Its growth is thus expected to rise further.
9. Focus on RPA Uptime
There are several key metrics that define the outcomes of robotic process automation software. However, the one that is gaining prominence over all other KPIs is “RPA Uptime’. This vital metric tells ‘bot availability’, the percentage of time business processes are ready to execute automation. Bots usually should have an automation uptime of 100%. In 2021, companies have learned that just by merely automating a business process won’t necessarily translate into business success. They are now shifting their focus on RPA Uptime to take their businesses to greater heights. This metric is touted to be amongst the center of all analytics dashboards in the times to come.
10. Special Attention on Data Safety
Data is the new oil and it is undoubtedly one of the most precious assets for any organization. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) also revolves around data and processes tons of electronic files of different formats to manage its functions efficiently. Although it includes high-level encryption, data confidentiality and permits better access control, still there is a long way to go. Whether it is to protect customer data from hackers, ensure better security internally or ensure robust confidentiality in sectors like healthcare, finance, and banking, data security will be the area of high priority.