7 Unknown Truths: Debunking Common Misconceptions about RPA and IT Jobs
Over the past few years, a robotic process automation has emerged as a new trend — an innovative and disruptive technology that companies can leverage to save time, money and resources through the automation of back office processes, as well as repetitive tasks.
Business investment in robotic process automation will make a leap from a $216 million market in 2017 to an $870 million one by 2020. And RPA is now being used or investigated by 6 out of 10 Australian and New Zealand organizations surveyed in the Telsyte ANZ Robotic Process Automation Study 2017, according to Gizmodo.
As every new trend, however, it also brings forth uncertainty about how its implementation will affect companies’ operational platform and their employees. UiPath talks extensively about the most common RPA myths on their blog, and going forward we will unmask 7 misconceptions about RPA and IT jobs.
Some IT professionals may consider RPA a threat to their jobs, but software robots are a powerful asset that can free them from menial tasks. Let’s take a look at some unknown truths that debunk the most common RPA misconceptions, and explain how RPA is different from other BPM tools and why 38% of organizations with more than 500 employees from Australia and New Zealand already have an RPA program underway.
- RPA is easy to configure without having programming skills
The truth is that robotic process automation interfaces rely on the drag and drop principle to link steps in a process. As users do this, the code is generated automatically. Which means that business people with no coding skills can be trained to automate processes. Take a look at the development environment from UiPath. At CiGen, we work with UiPath and below you can take a look at a screenshot of the development environment.
2. RPA does not disturb underlying computer systems
According to “The Coming of Lightweight IT” by Bendik Bygstad, “lightweight IT” is a term used to describe front-end, commercially available software that supports processes and is typically adopted outside the control of the IT department. RPA is exactly that, meaning that it sits on top of existing systems. Unlike other BPM tools, it accesses data from the presentation layer using an ID and a password and does not store any of it.
3. Robotic process automation is non-invasive
One of the most common RPA misconceptions is the idea that it builds software robots that interact in new ways with IT systems. On the contrary, the robot software is configured to learn specific rules and then press keys. There are what we call “back office” robots that work unattended, and “front office” robots that work hand in hand with customer-centered staff.
Companies are still in the process of shifting their perspective about robotic process automation as a key tool for digital transformation. UiPath’s Lead Evangelist, Guy Kirkwood, says that “RPA will become the standard way that organizations run their operations.”
