Find your answers to the most frequently asked questions about Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

1. What is RPA?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a productivity tool that allows a user to configure one or more scripts or bots to “observe” the way a trained user performs a particular task and the various decision points involved in accomplishing that task, and to replicate the process within an overall business or IT process. The result is that the bots can be used to mimic or emulate selected tasks. These may include manipulating data, passing data to and from different applications, triggering responses, or executing transactions.

2. Why do businesses need RPA?

RPA is automating business processes that are performed on computer systems. Software robots are developed to simulate humans working on repetitive business processes. The simulation by the robot removes the effort from the person and eliminates human error which improves the quality of the outcome. RPA software robots are capable of working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, thus enhancing productivity of an organisation.

3. Where can I use RPA?

RPA is used across industries and business sizes. Some samples of RPA in action are call center operations, customer support, invoice processing, compliance reporting, customer order processing, employee onboarding, employee payroll, scheduling systems, claims administration etc.

4. Will RPA cause job-losses?

RPA is not a replacement of the tasks performed by the humans, rather RPA is the tool that helps a business accelerate their staff productivity by providing an efficient working environment. Adoption to RPA technologies can help a business save or make money by both freeing up the staff to serve customers and provide better, more accurate and updated customer propositions. RPA actually leads to more sustainable growth and further creation of more jobs in the long run.

5. Are RPA jobs in demand?

The RPA sector is fast growing. Various RPA job roles currently have great demand across different industry sectors globally. This results in a high demand for workers to fill RPA jobs. And currently, there’s a low supply of people entering them.

6. What is the Robotic Process Automation Foundation (RPAF) Certification?

There are many RPA courses offered by various RPA solutions technology giants in the market. What sets the RPAF course by Service Automation Framework Alliance apart is that it is an introduction to RPA concepts and technologies, and how they can be used in professional organizations to increase quality and efficiency. Accredited by APMG International, the RPAF is a vendor-neutral, comprehensive, and practical course that explains the fundamentals of RPA drivers and technology, as well as the workflow design aspects and techniques. The course covers practical guidance that will teach you how to set up bots that execute processes, and how your organization can set the first steps with the implementation of RPA.

7. Do I need to have a degree in computer science or IT to sit for the RPAF Certification?

Although familiarity with basic IT process language is preferred, it is not a prerequisite. The RPAF certification is targeted for anyone who is starting or leading an automation transformation program, from business / project managers to automation engineers and architects.

8. What is the duration to complete the RPAF Certification?

The RPAF course includes sixteen (16) hours of instructor-led training and exercise facilitation including participation in unique exercises designed to apply concepts. The final 60-minute examination, consisting of 40 multiple-choice questions. Successfully passing (65%) in the exam leads to the Robotic Process Automation Foundation (RPAF) Certificate.

9. Can RPA work in any software application?

Yes, RPA is fully agnostic and can be used to automate and integrate data in any application (on-premise or cloud-based) and in any interface or server including Citrix.

10. Is RPA affordable?

To determine the cost of RPA software for your organization, it’s important to identify which tasks would benefit most from automation. Look for labor-intensive activities within your team’s workflow that require the same physical motions without a lot of conscious thought. Monotonous tasks are the best candidates for robotic process automation.

11. Are there specific benefits one can expect with RPA in support offices?

Yes, absolutely. The whole point of RPA software is to reduce human effort using a more efficient method. Workflow optimization through robotic process automation is about one-third of the cost of offshore outsourcing.
Also, robots work 24/7/365, learning at the speed of programming and work at speeds impossible for humans to achieve. What’s more, RPA tools require very little IT support. Only a small staff is required for monitoring robot performance, managing output quality, improving efficiency, and keeping the functions of the RPA technology relevant. With networked robots, any human interface requirements are minimal since updates are simultaneously transmitted universally.

12. How is RPA most commonly used?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions are most commonly used to automate repetitive tasks within a given workflow. Activities that occur over and over again are the ideal candidates for RPA, as they don’t require human intervention.

13. What sized companies benefit from robotic process automation (RPA)?

Companies from small (5 staff) to large corporates benefit from RPA. Robotic automation has no restriction on the size of the company. Some of our clients are very small (5 employees) and some of them are large corporates (with multiple offices).

14. What’s the best way to deploy RPA Technology?

Companies should always start with an automation opportunity assessment, whereby quantified benefits should drive the RPA deployment roadmap. They should identify the task use cases they wish to optimize with RPA as well as the outcomes in terms of revenues, costs, and risk management. The value proposition shouldn’t be only about lower headcount or higher capacity and margins, but also about improved customer experience and relationships, and employee morale.

15. What are the Biggest Benefits of RPA?

The biggest benefits of RPA are increased efficiency and cost-savings. RPA frees up human workers to focus on higher-level jobs that demand human intelligence. It also reduces costly human errors. And RPA is often able to perform routine tasks more quickly than people can.