17 May 2024
by Iryna Mahalias

Robotic process automation: Industry adoption trends and benefits

Guest blog from Iryna Mahalias at PLANEKS as part of our #UnleashInnovation campaign 2024.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) refers to adopting software robots that can take over regularly-done processes typically carried out by manual labor. It is a powerful tool across various domains and scales, optimizing operations, boosting productivity, and allowing employees to focus on more complex tasks while enhancing service quality, compliance, and customer experiences. According to the Abbyy research report, 64% of UK businesses already use process mining technologies, with 28% currently employing RPA and 34% planning to begin within the following years. The solid majority, approximately 91%, consider process mining beneficial, while 87% consider RPA useful for their business. 

Let’s dive into today’s tendencies and benefits of RPA integration across different niches, showcased by respective insights.  

Understanding Robotic Process Automation (RPA) 

RPA automates algorithmic tasks with software robots that imitate human flows within digital ecosystems. Such software communicates with other apps and, depending on the business needs, fulfills tasks such as data entry, data retrieval, form filling, and more.  

Essential Components and Capabilities of RPA Systems 

RPA systems cover core elements: a bot implementation solution, a control dashboard for operating robots and processes, and integration interfaces to work with existing platforms.  

Benefits of RPA Adoption for Businesses 

The core benefits of RPA for businesses are delivered by delegating tasks, streamlining workflows, and optimizing resource allocation. This leads to efficiency gains, cost reductions, improved accuracy and compliance, and enhanced scalability and flexibility.    

Factors Driving RPA Adoption 

Let’s define the core reasons for ordering RPA services: your business efficiency, operations precision, and user satisfaction. 

Technological Advancements in Automation 

Continuous progress in robotization with artificial intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP) have facilitated active RPA integration. Such solutions ensure more intelligent automation so RPA can efficiently handle complex procedures. 

Increasing Demand for Digital Transformation 

The market is under pressure from digital transformation, and it still needs to be outstanding and cater to dynamic customer expectations. RPA takes over human flows and provides seamless integration with environments. 

Competitive Pressures and Market Dynamics 

RPA equips companies with a competitive advantage by streamlining performance, decreasing operational expenses, boosting time to market, and meeting client needs. 

Regulatory Compliance Requirements 

Businesses eliminate regulatory violations by automating processes with embedded controls and audit trails. For example, RPA in banking helps organizations obtain compliance with financial regulations of the UK market, such as GDPR, PSD2, MiFID II, and AML.  

Need for Improved Operational Efficiency 

RPA enables the achievement of elevated operational efficiency and the optimization of resource allocation so that businesses can free up employees, contributing to value-added activities. 

Industries Embracing RPA 

The RPA adoption by industry showcases how this technology can bring efficiency, performance accuracy, and resource optimization to businesses. 

Banking and Financial Services 

In the BFSI sector, RPA is employed for user onboarding, fraud detection, and compliance reporting, ensuring skyrocketed operational efficiency, minimal processing times, and accurate compliance.  

Healthcare 

RPA in healthcare takes over patient data operation, claims processing, and billing. This extends care quality, medical service, and clinical decision-making. 

Retail and E-commerce 

Within the retail and e-commerce sector, RPA helps handle order processing, inventory management, and customer support tasks, guaranteeing timely order execution, personalized interactions, and efficient resolution of customer requests. 

Manufacturing 

In manufacturing, RPA addresses supply chain optimization, production planning, and inventory management, providing real-time insights into production and inventory levels. 

Insurance 

The benefits of RPA in Insurance cover claims processing and underwriting automation, liquidating manual data entry and processing, which can be streamlined. 

Quandri perfectly showcases the successful implementation of RPA in the Insurance industry through seamless collaboration with a trustworthy tech partner. By leveraging automation, Quandri streamlined eDoc and inbound leads processes, resulting in a remarkable 120 hours repurposed monthly. This time savings directly translates to growing productivity and efficiency within the organization. Besides, Quandri experienced a tangible reduction in human error, facilitating enhanced reliability and predictability, with up to 15% error elimination achieved through automation. With a digital workforce in place, Quandri successfully helps clients invest resources toward value-producing activities, ensuring the optimal allocation of their workforce while achieving a remarkable 95% process completion rate.  

Challenges and Considerations in RPA Implementation 

Challenges and considerations in RPA adoption incorporate integrating with existing systems, keeping data security in mind, focusing on efficient skill gaps closing, managing change, and ensuring scalability and maintenance of solutions.  

Future Trends and Outlook 

Statistics demonstrate that RPA is projected to remain relevant in the long run. In fact, the Market Research Community claims that the RPA market size was valued at $5.8 billion in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.4% predicted from 2022 to 2030. It is forecast that the market will reach $38.5 billion by 2030. 

Continued Evolution of RPA Technologies 

RPA technologies will incorporate advanced functionality like NLP and cognitive automation to cope with sophisticated tasks. 

Integration with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning 

A combination of AI, ML, and RPA introduces a range of automation capabilities, allowing intelligent decision-making and elevation of standalone performance. 

Expansion of RPA into New Industries and Use Cases 

RPA will expand into new use cases. To illustrate, automation has become promising for startups and SMEs in sectors like Education, Logistics, and Government services. 

Impact of RPA on the Future of Work and Job Roles 

Job seekers can find roles that require cohesive work with automated software and its development. There’s a range of jobs related to RPA on Indeed, like RPA developers, trainers, leads, and managers. According to Talent, in the UK, the average salary for an RPA developer is £47,950 annually or £24.59/hour.  

Conclusion 

We highly recommend both organizations and government institutions explore and adopt RPA capabilities to streamline operations, bring productivity to the next stage, and become outstanding in their respective domains. 

RPA introduces transformative power in modifying many industries, establishing many prominent startups, and extending human capabilities.


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Iryna Mahalias

Iryna Mahalias

Co-founder & CEO, PLANEKS