UNIT III

AUTOMATIX

RPA – Robotic Process Automation

Automation

Automation, in simple words, is technology that deals with the

application of machines and computers to the production of goods and
services. This helps in getting work done with little or no human assistance.
Automation, in simple words, is technology that deals with the application of
machines and computers to the production of goods and services. This helps
in getting work done with little or no human assistance.
In the digital world, automation and software development are two
different terms. Very often, however, one is confused with other. If some
portion of a workflow can be programmed to be done without human
intervention, it can be called automation.

Robotics

Robotics is the combination of engineering, science and technology

that produces a machine called robot. Robotics is a domain here people work
with the development and use of robots. It is mostly used as an alternative of
human beings in various works.

Automation, in simple words, is technology that deals with the

application of machines and computers to the production of goods and
services.

This helps in getting work done with little or no human assistance.

Automation, in simple words, is technology that deals with the application of
machines and computers to the production of goods and services.
What is RPA?

RPA is the use of a software solution to automate manual

tasks. RPA is software Technology that’s easy for anyone to use to
automate digital tasks, with RPA software users can create software robots,
or “bots”, that can learn mimic and then execute rules-based business
process.

RPA involves the use of software that mimics human actions while
interacting with applications in a computer and accomplishing rule-based
tasks. This often requires reading from and typing, or clicking on existing
applications are used to perform the given tasks.

In addition, these software Robots also perform complex calculations

and decision making on the basis of the data and predefined rules.

Some of the technologies being adopted with RPA are as follows:

 Machine Learning

 Natural Language Process

 Natural Language Generation

 Computer Vision

With the inclusion of the preceding technologies, sometimes it is also

referred to as intelligent automation.

What processes can be automated with RPA?

RPA can automate a wide range of tasks, such as data entry, invoice
processing, customer service responses, report generation, and even email
management.
RPA - Robotic process automation (RPA) is a software technology that makes
it easy to build, deploy, and manage software robots that emulate humans’
actions interacting with digital systems and software.

Components of RPA

 Recorder

 Development Studio

 Extensions and Plug-ins

 Bot runner

 Control Center

Evolution of RPA

 Screen Scraping Software

Screen scraping technology saw its first days before the development
of the Internet where it was was the first technology that created a
bridge between current systems and incompatible legacy systems, and
it has more recently been used to extract data from the web on the
presentation layer.

 Workflow Automation & Management Tools

This kind of software eliminates the need for manual data entry and
increases order fulfillment rates, so advantages include increased
speed, efficiency, and accuracy.

 Artificial Intelligence

RPA Platforms

1. Automation Anywhere (AA)

2. UI-Path
 3. Blue Prism

4. Work Fusion

5. Thoughtonomy

6. KOFAX

RPA Prelude

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) enables automation of processes in

business by using software robots.

RPA vs. BPM

What Is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA helps automate monotonous, routine, and time-consuming tasks,

and in turn, allows your team to focus on more important and complex
business tasks. It is application agnostic and is based on low-level events or
triggers like keyboard or mouse use and web page scraping.

However, RPA is more of a surface-level fix and it doesn’t aim at

optimizing processes. Instead, its goal is to try and make processes work faster
by replacing manual human efforts.

What Is Business Process Management (BPM)

BPM focuses on streamlining and reengineering underlying business

processes to drive higher efficiency. It can improve business processes by
analyzing how they work in different scenarios, making improvements to them,
monitoring the modified processes, and continually optimizing them.

It’s important to note that BP

 M is neither a task management tool nor a project management tool.
Like RPA, it focuses on optimizing ongoing and repetitive processes that follow
a predictable pattern.

Though, the two technologies have many stark differences.

RPA vs. BPM - The Difference

RPA BPM

Configures bots to complete

Identifies and streamlines
monotonous and time-consuming
business process to remove
Technology tasks in order to save time and allow
bottlenecks and obtain shorter
employees to focus on more complex
cycles
and high-priority tasks.

Minimizing the number of manual, Re-engineering and modifying

Primary repetitive, and rule-based tasks that business process to improve

Focus don’t need any complex decision enterprise-wide efficiency and

making productivity

Low efforts required as RPA tools can

Comparatively high efforts as BPM
Deployment seamlessly work across your
involves reshaping business
effort organization’s existing applications
processes in your organization
and processes

Business Returns are quick and immediate. Offers high and long-term returns

impact Though RPA implementations may not as implementing BPM leads to

always address the underlying higher efficiency, cost reduction,

inefficiencies in your business agility, productivity, and

 RPA BPM

processes compliance

RPA Implementations

RPA is a powerful transformation tool that can improve your business

as long as you take the proper steps to execute a smart implementation
strategy. While the purpose of RPA is to transfer certain processes from
humans to bots, your human capital is pivotal to a successful transition.

RPA reduces human errors, generally associated with repeating the

same task over and over by rote. Inevitably, mistakes creep in. Furthermore,
RPA can reduce staffing costs while increasing productivity and efficiency.

RPA Implementation Process

1. List out Processes to Automate

Not all business processes are suitable for RPA. Businesses should develop a
strategy to pick the right processes and then prioritize them based on
metrics like complexity and ROI. Think about what automating these
processes will look like its purpose, business context, and how it fits into
future business operations or overall automation journey.

2. Perform Feasibility Assessment

Perform a feasibility assessment for each process to evaluate to what extent

the process can be automated. This is a two-step process, where process
examination and technical feasibility are carried out. The operation user, an
SME (Subject Matter Expert), and an RPA expert should execute this
assessment.

Learn how to perform feasibility assessment here.

3. Readjust

Based on the feasibility assessment report, identify the processes that are
not structured, standardized, optimized, recorded, or not executed as
planned. In this stage, try to re-optimize and restructure the process.

4. Gather User Stories

A user story describes the features of an application to be built from an end-

user perspective. It explains user requirements in detail. It's also important
to get a detailed description of each process to be automated. Based on this
data, develop a process definition document with defined RPA workflows for
the development team.

5. Start Development Process

In this stage, based on the RPA workflows generated the development

process begins. The developers create automated scripts and program code
using RPA tools like UiPath, Blue Prism, and so on. Each RPA tool has unique
capabilities so businesses should be very specific in choosing an appropriate
tool based on their needs.

6. Test RPA Process

Perform thorough testing to study performance in all possible scenarios and
bugs when the process is executed. Send potential performance issues and
bugs to the development team to fix.

7. Reconfirm and Deploy

Once the initial tests and errors are corrected by the development teams,
confirm the results are perfect and deploy the complete RPA solution.

RPA in Industries

Key Benefits of RPA in the Manufacturing Industry

Manufacturing companies are heavily dependent on reliable processes.

They must consistently keep up with an ever-increasing demand for faster
and more efficient production.

But their ability to achieve speed and efficiency is impacted by

enormous effort and human errors due to the high volume of repetitive tasks
and processes.

Implementing RPA in different manufacturing functions can bring some

significant benefits in such cases. They are:

1. Significant Cost Saving

 Implementing RPA in manufacturing involves a one-time cost for the

setup. However, you can expect long-term cost savings in terms of:

o Costs needed for manual labor.

o Costs needed for healthcare and insurance of staff doing manual

labor.
 o Costs are used for maintenance and upkeep.

o Administration cost.

o Uninterrupted work, without any restrictions.

 Imagine the cost savings when your company can enhance its
productivity by performing 24/7 operations with RPA bots.

 According to a Capgemini report, implementing RPA typically results in

up to 20 percent cost savings.

2. Improved Efficiency

 RPA helps manufacturing companies in enhancing efficiency by

reducing the number of human errors.

 With RPA implemented to manage administrative tasks, your workforce

can focus on higher-value operations.

 This way, you can better utilize your budget, resources, and time while
boosting your company's overall productivity without delays or
downtime.

3. Reduced Wastage and Errors

 As manufacturers, we keep seeking ways to cut down waste in

production.

 The RPA bots are great at fixing manufacturing hurdles like manual
lapses, inventory wastage, and process wastage.

 The rule-based execution of RPA solutions brings down occurrences of

errors and increases accuracy. Subsequently, wastage in all forms is
reduced too.
4. Mitigate Labor Shortage

 When you're looking for staff to fill positions, finding skilled manpower
to perform certain processes might also take time, effort, and money.

 However, a one-time investment in RPA can lower this dependence on

manpower, eliminate delays, and increase business efficiency.

5. Improved Back Office Operations

 With RPA in place, manufacturers can dismiss their conventional

systems, which are prone to errors.

 Back office operations such as purchase order creation, inventory

management, and customer or vendor communication can improve
drastically with bots.

 And, you’ll get to work with more reliable digital processes that are
accurate and efficient.

RPA in Telecommunications
 Speed, cost and technology are the three key factors when it comes to
a telecommunications company. Telecom companies can take advantage of
RPA in the following key areas:

Improved Productivity and Scalability

 The ability to handle large volumes of data makes the robotic process
automation the best suitable go-to-market strategy for the
telecommunications industry. Being able to automate back-office
processes eliminates the need for employees to perform redundant
tasks and focus on other critical tasks.

First Call Resolution Benefits

 RPA enables software bots to rapidly access data, thus helping the
telecom agents address the customer demands on their first call
without having to perform repeated follow-ups. RPA promotes FCR
rates thus ensuring customer retention and loyalty.

Cost Reduction

 The major cost reduction involved with implementing RPA in telecom is

that the RPA software license can be used for multiple processes. The
implementation cost is also not as high as that for ERP or Business
Process management. Automating tasks also leads to increased ROI.

RPA in Banking

Incorporating RPA saves labor and operational costs in banks. It also

reduces errors and human tasks significantly. For instance, the processing
cost reduces to 30% to 70% by reducing the turnaround time with banking
automation via RPA technology. The banking sector can leverage RPA in the
following ways:

Improved Customer Service

  From customer on-boarding, verifying customer details to account and
loan inquiry, RPA helps banks reduces the turnaround time. This helps
banks retain their customers and maintain customer loyalty.

Automated Accounts Payable and Closure Processes

 The Traditional process of AP involves gathering invoices from vendors

using OCR (Optical Character Recognition), validating the data in the
fields thus provided and then processing it. RPA automates this entire
process and credits the amount automatically to the vendor’s account.

 RPA also sends automated notifications to customers prompting them

to furnish necessary documents and processes account closure
functions with 100% accuracy.

Enabling KYC and Compliance in Banks

 Statistics show that certain banks invest in KYC compliance figures that
are close to $384 million every year. RPA is used to gather customer
information, validate and process it. Fewer FTEs and round-the-clock
functioning improve productivity and the quality of the compliance
process.

Credit Card and Mortgage Processing

 RPA speeds up the credit card dispatching process by automated

background checks and validation based on given rules and
procedures. As with mortgage processing, banks have to perform
several scrutiny checks such as employment and credit history, etc.
RPA implementation speeds the entire process based on well-defined
algorithms.

Fraud Detection
  Potential frauds are identified before-hand with the advent of RPA.
Automating has led to banks being able to identify accounts that are
likely to cause threats and flags them. Banks can thus scrutinize these
accounts and initiate fraud investigation.

RPA for Customer Care

Amongst the industries embracing RPA benefits, the customer care

industry is no exception. When it comes to rule-based redundant work,
robotic process automation can be relied upon by BPOs. The different RPA
use cases in customer care are as follows:

Automated Data Exchange

 Customer care executives operate in a data-driven world. Critical data

about customers is gathered and insights are drawn from it. RPA
automates the entire process and helps save time and costs by serving
their customers better and faster.

Cost Control

 According to the Institute of Robotic Process Automation, adoption of

RPA reduces operating costs by 25-50%. Operating costs are reduced
with RPA implementation by allocating redundant tasks to these
software bots. This also helps outsourcers and clients to improve sales.

Accurate and Differentiated Workflows

 With very less human intervention, the workflows are accurate and are
performed at a fast pace. Leaving repetitive tasks to be performed by
the software bots, there is a minimum number of the workforce
engaged in the process. This not only brings more accuracy but also
avoids additional costs and saves time.
  Offering differentiated and customized services to customers can be
obtained by implementing RPA in industrial operations. This helps to
maintain customer loyalty.

RPA in Insurance

Collecting important data and automating repetitive tasks is essential

for the insurance industry. For ensuring a better customer experience, the
insurance industry makes use of the following RPA use cases:

Processing Claims

 Studies have shown that processing claims using RPA processes it 75%
faster than the traditional approach. Paper-based processes are
eliminated by RPA which improves the quality and accuracy of the
entire process.

Form Registration Process

 Insurance automation with RPA speeds up the form registration

process by 40%. RPA with artificially intelligent systems reduces the
workload significantly and ensures customer satisfaction.

Regulatory Compliance Updates Made Simpler

 Insurance firms rely on several compliance standards and policies. For

instance, the HIPAA privacy rules and PCI standards can vary and
banks can help their clients stick to these compliance standards by
making use of automated notifications and updates using RPA
strategies.

Risk Mitigation

 RPA allows risk mitigation via RPA by being able to accurately process
data automatically from both internal as well as external sites. This
ensures delivery of work at a faster pace and with 100% accuracy.
RPA in Healthcare Industries

With the growing volume of patients, healthcare industries are

prioritizing on cost reduction and efficiency as two major benefits of RPA
implementation in healthcare services. The key RPA use cases in healthcare
are as follows:

Savings on Human Workforce

 Replacing the workforce that performs mundane and repetitive tasks

can be replaced with RPA implementation. This helps the workforce
from spending time on core activities rather than perform intense and
mundane tasks.

Increased Throughput with Improved Quality

 Healthcare personnel can now tackle the large volume of patients,

especially in providing individual care and attention. Maintaining
medical records of patients, entry processing, claim processing, etc are
automated with lower costs via RPA implementation.

RPA in Manufacturing Industries

Robotic process automation has made manufacturing companies shift

their production units to automated software bots. Assembling of products,
quality checking and packaging and back-end processes have obtained a
40% savings in operational costs via automation. The major use cases are as
follows:

BOM Made Simple

 The Bill of Materials with the list of raw materials for new product
creation provides detailed information. Leveraging RPA makes product
creation faster and ensures accurate and timely creation.

Data Migration
  Unlike traditional data migration, implementing RPA provides proper
planning and execution of moving data from old to new systems,
ensuring cost and time savings.

ERP Automation

 Planning of resources is made easier with RPA implementation.

Managing Inventory, Accounts Payable, Receivable, and other reports
are generated automatically.

 Apart from these key areas, other industries that leverage robotic
process automation strategies are as follows:

RPA in Finance

Managing customer accounts, creating various reports, migrating data

between accounts, updating loan and mortgage data, etc. are major
applications of RPA in the finance sector. RPA helps financial services meet
compliance standards with changing rules.

RPA technology is accurate and hence implementing RPA in financial

services provides significant risk reduction. Faster RPA cycles enhance
finance processes, is highly scalable and rapidly deployable.

RPA in Property Management

Property owners are able to manage their property units systematically

with RPA. Automated processes help property owners reduce the turnaround
time, improve the efficiency of business processes, and save costs.

RPA in Retail Sector

RPA provides the retail industries with solutions such as automatic

inventory monitoring, email sales, extraction of critical information from
manufacturer websites, etc.
RPA in Information Technology Industries

From employee onboarding, due diligence, payroll processing, task

tracking to CRM updating, leveraging RPA in the Information Technology
sector can benefit by automating the highly repetitive tasks. Additionally, it
helps in saving costs and time.

RPA Tools

1. UI-Path

 UI-Path is a highly extensible Robotic Process Automation tool

that helps to automate desktop or web applications.

 It offers global enterprises to design and deploy a robotic

workforce for their organizations.

 The best thing about UI-Path is that it includes a community

edition that comes with drag and drop feature.

 So, the users do not need programming knowledge to automate

the tasks using UI-Path. The community edition is free for the
people who want to learn, practice, and implement RPA.

Features

o It provides multiple hosting options, such as cloud environments,

virtual machines, and terminal services.
o It supports a high range of web and desktop applications.

o It supports the auto-login feature to run bots.

o It includes scrapping solution which works with .Net, Java, Flash,

PDF, Legacy, SAP, with maximum accuracy.
2. Blue Prism

 Blue Prism is an RPA Tool that provides a virtual workforce to the

organizations. It helps organizations to automate manual, repetitive,
and rule-based business processes in an agile and cost-effective
manner. It includes drag and drop support to automate the tasks.

Features

o It is platform-independent so that it can be used on any platform.

o It contains robust features like load balancing, data encryption, and
end-to-end auditing. Thus, every change is audited.

o Blue Prism also supports automation of codes written in Mainframe,

Java, Windows applications, and even web-based applications.

o It supports all major cloud platforms, like Microsoft Azure and

Amazon AWS. So, users can manage most of the tasks centrally.

3. Automation Anywhere

 Automation Anywhere is one of the popular RPA vendors that offers

powerful and user-friendly capabilities to automate any complex
business process.

 This tool is a combination of all the core functions. It combines RPA

with intellectual elements like language understanding and reading
any unstructured data.

 Automation Anywhere is a web-based administration system that

provides control to run and manage end-to-end automated business
tasks for companies.
  It allows automating a broad range of tasks, from basic windows
configuration steps to the ultimate networking and remote database
processes.

Features

o It provides easy integration with different platforms.

o It provides Bank-grade security through authentication, encryption,
and credentials.

o It distributes tasks to multiple computers and rapidly automates

complex and complicated tasks.

o It offers scriptless automation.

4. Work Fusion

 WorkFusion is a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) cloud computing

platform. It automates the monitoring of data feed and helps you to
manage crowd-sourced workers from global talent markets.

 WorkFusion uses statistical quality control to ensure the accuracy of

the work output.

Features

o It can collaborate with multiple users across different workstations.

o It supports quick start / stop automation, just by pressing a button.

o It also has a drag and drop feature.

o It allows organizations to digitize their operations and enhance

productivity.

5. Inflectra Rapise
  Inflectra Rapise is a test automation tool designed for functional and
regression testing of web and desktop applications. It offers a
powerful and flexible test scripting engine that allows users to easily
create and execute automated tests, without requiring advanced
programming skills.

 Rapise provides support for a wide range of technologies, including

web browsers, desktop applications, and mobile devices.

 One of the key features of Rapise is its object recognition

technology, which enables users to automate tests by interacting
with the graphical user interface (GUI) elements of the application
under test.

 Rapise supports both data-driven and keyword-driven testing

approaches, allowing users to easily create and manage large sets
of test cases.

Some of the top pros of Inflectra Rapise include:

o User-friendly interface
o Supports multiple technologies

o Object recognition technology

6. Power Automate

 Power Automate, formerly known as Microsoft Flow, is a cloud-

based RPA tool developed by Microsoft. Organizations can use the
tool to automate workflows and processes by connecting different
systems, applications, and services together. On top of this, the
software was designed to be user-friendly and accessible.
  One of the biggest advantages of Power Automate is that it's
integrated with other Microsoft products and services. It seamlessly
integrates with Office 365, Dynamics 365, and SharePoint, which
helps companies automate processes within the different platforms.

Some of the top pros of Power Automate include:

o Cloud-based RPA tool

o Integrates with Microsoft tools and cloud services

o Intuitive interface and pre-built connectors

7. KOFAX

 Kofax RPA is a flexible RPA tool that offers a wide range of

capabilities, such as web scraping and image recognition. Its visual
process designer enables your company to easily automate tasks
without writing any code.

 It also offers advanced analytics and reporting capabilities that help

track the performance of RPA initiatives and make informed
decisions.

 As mentioned, Kofax is highly flexible. It provides a wide range of

integrations with other systems and applications that help the
business automate tasks and processes within their existing IT
infrastructure.

 It also has robust security features and compliance support, which is

important for companies in regulated industries.

Some of the top pros of Kofax include:

o Flexibile RPA tool

 o Wide range of capabilities like web scraping and image
recognition

o Adanved analytics and reporting capabilities.

8. ServiceNow

 A cloud-based RPA tool, ServiceNow is another great option. With a

visual process designer, there's no need to write code to automate
tasks. The platform also has advanced analytics and reporting
capabilities that help track the performance of RPA initiatives.

 ServiceNow automates manual, receptive tasks by simulating

human actions like typing, clicking, and data entry. All of this frees
up human employees to focus on higher-value tasks.

Some of the top pros of ServiceNow include:

o Cloud-based RPA tools

o Visual process designer to automate without writing code

o Advanced analytics and reporting capabilities

9. NICE Systems

 The NICE system is an intelligent RPA tool which is also known as

NEVA (Nice Employee Virtual Attendant). It operates on both the
cloud and on-premise business software. With the help of this tool, a
variety of tasks can be executed independently without human
intervention. It helps employees to perform repetitive tasks.

 It allows businesses to make accurate inferences with the help of

high-level analytics of structured and unstructured data.
Features

o It supports both attended and unattended automation.

o It is ideal for banks, Finance, HR, etc.

o It provides increased customer satisfaction and productivity.

o It automates ordinary tasks and ensures compliance adherence.

10. Pega

 Pega is an RPA tool that can be used to automate the routine tasks
which are repeated in a workflow. It adds the ability to automate tasks
using the UI of existing applications. It can be beneficial to speed up
manual tasks by automating user actions.

Features

o It provides a cloud-based solution.

o It helps in the deployment of the solutions to the customers.
o It captures insights at the desktop. It gets details of how work gets
done.
o It does not store any execution data in a database. Everything gets
stored in memory.