There’s a universal truth about the current society we all have to understand: the internet and technology did change things for good. A lot of things involving our daily lives have changed forever since the introduction of the internet as well as new pieces of hardware such as smartphones and computers, lot of things began to change.
The way we handle conversations, for example, is easier than ever, since we can just send an instant message through social media or instant messaging apps, and we can talk to friends and family in an instant. The same can be said from calls to people from other parts of the world, and even getting to know new people is now much simpler.
Of course, the changes brought by technology also splashed a very specific aspect of our society: the way we purchase products, hire services, and of course, manage businesses. This simplified several aspects of business management, and this also simplified our lives as customers and consumers. But a new form of technology is now being introduced to businesses management, known as RPA, Robotic Process Automation.
But before we talk about it, we have to understand how technology did affect business management, to properly understand the advantages of RPA if properly applied.
Technology and Businesses
Back in the day, marketing was handled in a very traditional way. Radio, T.V commercials, posters, and fliers were the pick of marketing, as well as branding campaigns and the use of brand icons, however, the internet changed marketing, and although some traditional methods of marketing are still in use, digital marketing is the way to go.
Digital marketing can be simply described as any form of marketing and advertising that aims at electronic devices such as tablets, smartphones, laptops, and desktops, and benefit from apps and websites.
You can get more information about it at https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/digital-marketing.asp.
Very good examples of these apps and websites include Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, and even Spotify. However, it involves things that were inexistent before, so the way it is handled is slightly different from traditional marketing. An understanding of the websites that are being used for the marketing campaigns as well as how to actually create said campaigns can greatly influence their success.
But technology did not only affect marketing. The way customer service is handled was influenced as well, being simpler and more straightforward. How potential customers browse and purchase product of hire services also changed significantly with the introduction of websites and new applications. Even the way movies, music, and general entertainment is enjoyed, also changed.
We can say that technology did change things for the better, but Robotic Process Automation is making sure that these new technologies are being even more efficient at what they do, but how does it work?
Hardware and Software
To understand RPA, we have to talk about some very specific things: hardware and software. Hardware can be described as the physical tools (a composition of electronic components) that are used to run software and software can be described as the programs introduced in said hardware to fulfill certain needs and follow specific instructions.
To understand RPA, we have to mainly focus on software. Software, which is also commonly referred to as programs, is a combination of instructions created through the use of programming languages, which then create codes that are read by the computer (a combination of software and hardware), then followed for the sake of achieving very specific functions. Examples of software include the YouTube or Spotify apps that can be installed on our phones: one focuses on videos while the other one focuses on music.
There are a great number of programming languages out there, each one focus on specific things, but when it comes to the act of programming itself, there are way too many possibilities, thus, a lot of things can be achieved as long as the hardware allows it. Of course, certain limitations need more straightforward to be followed inside of the programming language as well, and because of those limitations, some programming languages are better than others.
However, there are specific languages that can be used for something known as A.I, or Artificial Intelligence, which is a form of programming that allows a program to work by itself, handling different situations based on its thought process. Although artificial intelligence is a fairly complex topic, there’s a much simpler thing that can grant a lot of benefits, similar to it. Here’s where RPA enters the play.
Robot Process Automation
There’s a branch of programming that focuses on something known as automation, which is the creation of software (or programs, so to speak) that automatically handle certain tasks. This is the core idea of Robot Process Automation: the creation of bots that can handle simple and tedious tasks.
The thing is the speed and precision with which these bots can handle said tasks are often very fast, and spotless. In comparison to how humans handle these tasks, the chances of them making a mistake are highly inferior, so there’s a lot of benefit to programming these bots.
The options of tasks that can be automated is incredibly wide, not only going for software-related tasks that require the use of other programs, but also, physical tasks that involve movement and man labor. The machinery that is used for mass production and manufacturing are good examples of RPA since they are in charge of handling very repetitive tasks that were once in the hands of men.
Why It Matters so Much
The world is more fast-paced than ever. Things now go pretty fast and people dislike the idea of wasting time for the sake of enjoying amenities, services, and products. Now businesses can afford to lose people’s attention, and for that reason, they have to make sure that they are handling things as efficiently as possible.
With that said, all companies out there have a limited amount of resources. Knowing where to spend said resources is what makes a company successful, but it tends to be difficult to handle these decisions when there’s so much to do. For that reason, RPA exists.
Through the use of Robotic Process Automation, companies can start focusing on more important things without having to neglect other aspects of their management. The great thing about RPA is that it can be used on so many things, the possibilities are pretty much endless.
From uploading or scheduling posts on social media for specific product campaigns to creating bots to handle customers’ frequently asked questions inside of websites, RPA is capable of allowing businesses to engage with their customers without the need of the hand of human beings. And of course, it allows businesses to remain competitive in today’s market, which is known for being very competitive and in constant evolution.
However, knowing how to handle it can be tricky. Not everyone knows how to handle Robotic Process Automation since it requires a lot of knowledge and preparation to be able to properly create a bot. That is why, a lot of the time, companies end up hiring professional services providers to handle it for them.
Hiring a Professional RPA Service Provider
There are a lot of RPA service providers that focus on implementation. Implementation means that they focus on finding the best way RPA can be applied in specific circumstances, to benefit from it as most as possible. Although it is a huge investment, the investment is frequently worth it because of the way many businesses benefit from RPA.
Of course, the method and uses depend entirely on the type of need that needs to be covered, but since they are not only trained but experienced in the matter, finding the right method to cover said needs is usually simple and more doable for them.
The main objectives of an RPA service provider are:
- Speed up different processes related to business management
- Improve performance while reducing inefficiency
- Reduce labor costs
- Improve general productivity
The reason why it is always better to hire a service provider in most situations is that they can grant the benefits of RPA and you usually need to hire them a single time. This can go from the creation of a bot that handles customer service inside of a website, to a bot that makes sure that specific emails are sent to specific people at specific times, and even bots that help programmers and staff members inside of a company handle tedious tasks that are very simple, yet time-consuming.
Service providers that focus on RPA are capable of handling these needs and more, but to make sure that you get the most out of them as a customer, you should try to analyze your company’s needs so they have a more precise idea of what they are dealing with. However, most service providers analyze your company’s management process and take decisions based on it, which is why they tend to be spot on about their decisions.