What is Robotic Process Automation exactly?

Robotic Process Automation(RPA) is a software technology that makes it easy to build, deploy and manage software robots that mimic human actions in business processes. Robotic Process Automation makes everyone's life easy in this digital era. RPA makes repetitive and boring business processes Or tasks to be completed in less time with more accuracy. 

The each term definition in the Robotic Process Automation is:

• Robotic - An entity which has capability to mimic human actions
• Process - A sequence of steps that leads to a meaningful activity or task
• Automation - Tasks that happen automatically(without human interaction) 

Mimicking human actions to perform a sequence of steps, leading to a meaningful activity, without any human intervention is also known as Robotic Process Automation. The word 'Robot' in RPA is not a physical robot but a virtual system that helps in automating the repetitive manual computing or business tasks. 

In simple words, it is a technology used for software tools that automate human tasks, which are manual, rule-based and repetitive. They can log into applications, enter data, open emails and attachments, calculate and complete tasks and then log out of that application. We can able to automate any business processes, but we need to look out the process is repetitive and rule-based, input is standard and the business process and applications we need to process is stable. If the above four conditions are satisfied then that business process is a good candidate for automation.

• Rule based - The steps in the process can be captured in a pre-defined logic. The exception rate is either low or can be included as well in the business logic. 
• Repetitive - Processes, which are non-repetitive, are not suitable for automation. 
• Standard input - The input in the process should be easily readable by human or using the technology that can be associated with RPA. 
• Stable - Processes and applications that have been the same. If the frequent changes have been made then the process is not suitable for automation. 

Robots are able to:

• Capture data
• Run applications
• Trigger responses
• Make decisions based on predefined rules
• Communicate with other systems

What is a business process? 

A process is a set of interrelated or interacting activities that transforms inputs into outputs. Similarly a business process is a collection of linked tasks that find their end in the delivery of a service or a product to a client. Organizations use processes because planning and executing them under controlled conditions can, among other things, improve compliance, ensure that operational needs are met, help in managing risks and drive improvement. 

Components of a process

• Inputs - The data that given to the process
• Process Flows - The sequences of sub-processes in the process
• Source Applications - The applications in which the process needs to be performed
• Outputs - The results generated by the process

Types of Robotic Process Automation

There are three types -

• Attended automation - The automation process require human intervention to give input or validate the data. 
• Unattended automation - The automation process doesn't require human intervention. The robot is intelligent and have the decision making capability. 
• Hybrid automation - The bot have the capabilities of combination of both attended and unattended automation. 

Tools for RPA

There are several tools available currently for robotic process automation. Some of the popular tools are:

• UiPath
• Automation Anywhere
• Blue Prism
• Pega Systems
• WorkFusion
• NICE and many more.. 

Advantages of RPA

• High Accuracy 
• Cost Saving
• Faster Processing
• Highly secure
• Better customer serviced

Disadvantages of RPA

• Hiring skilled staff
• Initial investment costs
• Process selection

Applications of RPA

• Services
• Financial
• Healthcare
• Education
• Manufacturing
• Government
• Retail
• Telecommunications