Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that allows computer software (known as a “robot”) to repetitively mimic the actions of a human-being interacting with digital systems to execute standard business operating processes, using the same interface a human would; clicks, types, opens applications and keyboard shortcuts. RPA can be thought of as a solution to handle routine or manual tasks that might normally be performed in a company by someone sitting in front of a computer.
RPA has many benefits, for example reduced wage costs, reduced risk of data entry errors and other manual errors, faster service, improved data quality and reduced workload. Essentially, RPA works like a digital assistant for your employees by handling the tedious, simple tasks that sometimes take up large parts of every office worker’s day. For example, credit checks are ideal candiates for RPA; removing this mundane from employees frees them up to concentrate on more valuable tasks. Furthermore, RPA can process these basic tasks much faster and hence reduce the overall processing time.
AI and RPA have much in common but are different technologies. RPA only does what it is programmed to do, however, AI can teach itself. AI and RPA can be combined to take RPA to the next level; RPA can be used to automate the rule-based tasks, whilst AI can bridge the gap where RPA falls short. RPA deals with structured data, where as AI is used to gather insights from semi-structured and unstructured data in text, scanned documents, webpages, and PDFs. AI brings value by processing and converting the data to a structured form for RPA to understand. When RPA and AI are combined any type of data can be handled, be it structured, semi-structured or unstructured.
RPA is here to stay. The faster you harvest its potential, the faster you can create a competitive edge for your business.
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