Robotic Process Automation: Separating Myth from Reality
"
When it comes to searching for robotic process automation (RPA) applications, you will see tons of search results claiming that RPA can automate data entry and data collection to promises of “miracle and magic.” In this blog, we explain what you need to consider before jumping into the sea of RPA.
What is RPA?
Robotic Process Automation is a sophisticated software technology capable of handling computer tasks. It uses software – the ""robot"" – to handle structured, repetitive, rule-based tasks while interacting with applications and information sources just like humans do now.
There are two types of ""robots,"" aka ""bots,"": attended and unattended bots. Attended bots are designed for processes that can be partially automated, meaning the bots would handle a portion of the task, helping to get the work done faster. Unattended bots can execute tasks and interact with applications independent of human involvement.
In short, RPA refers to a bunch of software packages that allow users to ""design, deploy and manage"" their bots for desired automated processes.
What to consider when choosing an RPA vendor
So you’ve learned about RPA and are excited to try out all that it has to offer. However, it can get confusing as RPA has a dynamic market with new vendors offering new and different automation solutions every day.
When hunting for an RPA vendor, one thing to look out for is usability. While many vendors offer RPA solutions, manydo not provide adequate infrastructure to execute higher-level tasks. For example, many vendors claim that their solutions can perform data entry tasks; however, their software is incapable of extracting data from specific sources such as handwritten or scanned documents when it comes to data extraction.
In contrast, Laiye is among the few intelligent automation providers with RPA solutions featuring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities such as optical character recognition (OCR), optical mark recognition (OMR), natural language processing (NLP), and more. In addition, Laiye also provides customized packages that allow users to select the document they want to recognize, such as ID card recognition, bank card recognition, among others.
Furthermore, if you are an independent RPA learner or developer, you might find a variety of software choices, learning materials, and RPA tools online. However, these are usually not provided free from other vendors or are free for a limited time only.
At Laiye, we believe in digital upskilling and empowering individuals to leverage technologies to be future-ready. With the Laiye Learning Zone, you can find free tutorials, educational resources, as well as free RPA tools for an unlimited time, along with access to a bustling community of Laiye learners, developers, and staff. This online learning platform can help you and your team pick up automation with basic to advanced courses on Intelligent Document Processing, Conversational AI, and RPA technologies. You will also be able to receive Laiye official certifications upon course completion.
The truth about process mining
Process mining is essential in business process management as it helps to analyze business processes to identify bottlenecks and measure operational improvements. It is traditionally done manually, with teams involved, over many days. However, with intelligent automation, it is now possible to automate it using Laiye’s AI-powered RPA Chatbot.
When you are looking for this capability in an intelligent automation vendor, you will find that there are many companies online touting myths about it. While it is a capable and versatile tool, it is not a magic bullet that can instantly alleviate all process difficulties but instead assist in speeding up process optimization analyses. A fundamental misconception is that process mining can automatically collect and transform any data. While process mining requires minimal data points, the data provided has to be in the right format, and the software can only report processes that the company has logged. For example, the operations a user performs on an Excel file cannot be logged and hence will not be reported.
Paving the way to automation
If you are a business owner and don't know where, when, and how to get started with RPA in your business, Laiye can offer you the right tools. Laiye Chatbot is capable of process mining that can observe users’ actions securely and generate a task list and ordered flowcharts for automation. This helps speed up and simplify repetitive tasks that will otherwise take a lot of time when done manually.
Why Laiye?
Laiye is Asia’s biggest intelligent automation company with nearly 20 years of experience in developing AI-powered RPA tools. Laiye’s integrated suite of solutions helps businesses get data-driven insights to power business efficiency and decisions. Additionally, Laiye is among only a few companies globally offering process mining tools. Discover more about how we can help your company achieve its full potential with our success stories.
"
