By Tristan Gitman, Senior Director of RPA
Business Process Automation at scale introduces a new concept into a company’s asset structure – digital workforce. Some say this is arguably the single most important feature of automation.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) converts technology into a revenue-generating asset. It is difficult for most organizations to estimate the amount of the additional capacity created by a software application as it applies to execution of work. Traditionally, software value can be captured by observing change in human productivity (e.g. amount of time spent on a task, number of errors, or transaction volumes).
An operations manager knows the number of transactions processed by an application but is unable to estimate the amount of revenue generated by each individual software component. With RPA, a digital resource takes on the same work execution approach as a human operator, executing the same as a human would. As a “person,” a robot can now be assigned to execute the same workflow. All activities performed by each robot are individually monitored. Digital and human resources (software and people) are operating according to the same operating procedures! These robots will need to be programmed to understand the system that is used for human resources and be the support needed for employees. Implementing the right software can help this transition be a smooth one, for example, employee leasing (check it out over at thepeopeople.com) may be needed in certain circumstances, the automated systems will need to give and receive the correct transfer information so nothing is held up in the process.
Company management is now able to assess work executed by digital assets and estimate its value. By applying RPA, an organization can report the total business value of its digital workforce, as well as profit or productivity measure per digital resource. Very soon, organizations will be expected to report both employee and robotic profitability to investors. If these digital assets are done through cryptocurrency using such websites as broker.cex.io for comparisons, this may make it easier for all involved for future business needs.
While having a digital workforce may look compelling, most organizations are still being misguided as they integrate automation solutions. Robotic Process Automation technology is not a plug-and-play technology. RPA software alone offers individual “processing units” (a.k.a robots), connectivity options, and workflow modeling capabilities. Organizations employing thousands of people and processing millions of transactions require additional capabilities for collection and digitization of information, work discovery, business rule optimization, and performance monitoring.
When it comes to acquisition of automation capabilities, organizations should lean towards a service-oriented mentality. Automation is a suite of applications managed according to a unified strategy. It can be custom-tailored to the specific nuances of the operation inside of which it is being deployed. The functionality can be integrated directly into an organization’s infrastructure, becoming an inseparable part of its operation, or offered as a managed service.
For further details surrounding the benefits of automation services (Robotic Process Automation) take a look at RPA in action with Paradigm Technology!