What is robotic process automation - a guide to RPA

GUIDE (IT Operations Management)
What is Robotic Process Automation?
A Guide to RPA

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What is Robotic Process Automation? A Guide to RPA
Table of Contents:
What is Robotic Process Automation?_________________________________3
Automation Terminology and the Place of RPA_________________________4
What is a Software Robot?__________________________________________6
Enterprise Robotic Process Automation_______________________________7
Intelligent Automation_____________________________________________9
RPA by Industry_________________________________________________10
Robots in the Real World__________________________________________13
The RPA Vendor Landscape________________________________________14
The Future of Robotic Process Automation____________________________15

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The Rise of RPA
Businesses have employed automation software for decades, but in recent years enterprise auto-
mation has achieved an unprecedented level of flexibility and ease-of-use. Software robots have
gone beyond managing simple IT tasks and are becoming a transformational force in business.
Robotic process automation (RPA) is getting a lot of attention lately in the tech media and in the
business world. But what is RPA, why is it important, and what can it do?
What is Robotic Process Automation?
Robotic process automation is a type of software rapidly gaining in popularity across many
industries. From all the hype around RPA, it’s clear that businesses are excited about employing
software robots. What’s less clear to many prospective robotic process automation users is how
RPA software differs from—or improves upon—other types of automation.
The truth is that as a newer technology, the definition of robotic process automation is still some-
what in flux. Vendors and tech experts do agree on this: RPA uses software robots—or agents—to
streamline repeated tasks for both IT and business users.
When robotic process automation first arrived on the scene, the term was almost exclusively
used to refer to the manipulation of systems and applications at the user interface-level. That’s
where the “robotic” part comes in—the robot interacts with systems the same way a human user
does—clicking buttons, typing login credentials into a website, reading words off a PDF, and so
on. This definition of robotic process automation is still at the core of what RPA does. However,
as the technology matures, it’s increasingly being presented as more of a comprehensive enter-
prise automation solution. One that can interact with a GUI, but also one that provides deep
integrations and sophisticated, enterprise-class features.
This shift in focus also expands the benefits of robotic process automation software from shaving
a few hours off a user’s desktop tasks to powering an enterprise-wide digital transformation.
The popularity of robotic process automation has skyrocketed in recent years. Source: Google Trends
Software Robot:
A piece of software
capable of completing
complex repeated
processes typically
performed by a human.

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Automation Terminology and the Place of RPA
Enterprise automation is a hot field with new technologies appearing all the time. The fast pace
of change means that sometimes new IT terminology becomes popular, or old words change
meaning. Before exploring the uses and benefits of robotic process automation, let’s establish
how RPA fits in among the many other automation terms currently in use.
IT Automation
IT automation is an umbrella term encompassing all types of automation software. This name
can cause the misconception that IT automation is limited to the IT department or IT users. In
fact, modern IT automation has many subsets, including facets of RPA, that are designed to be
as intuitive for business users as they are for tech experts.
BPM, BPA, and BPO
Business process management (BPM) focuses on optimizing business processes to improve
operational agility and corporate performance. While BPM refers to a discipline, not a type of
technology (and in theory doesn’t require technology at all), in most organizations it is closely
tied to software solutions for modeling, analysis, automation, and more. Therefore, business
process automation (BPA) is just one branch of BPM.
Business process automation and robotic process automation are often used synonymously.
RPA puts a larger focus on automation at the user interface level. Both BPA and RPA emphasize
ease-of-use for non-programmers and interfaces with cloud and web services.
BPO refers to business process outsourcing or business process outsourcers. It involves the
contracting of specific business processes to a third-party service provider. Robotic process
automation is currently a widely-debated topic in the BPO world, and can be seen as both a
threat and an opportunity for outsourcers. Companies that previously worked with a BPO to
receive inexpensive labor—for example, outsourcing call center work to a developing country—
might suddenly find that it is even cheaper to employ a digital workforce at home. Call centers
are a top candidate for automation with RPA. Not only does the business cut costs, control is
handed back to the in-house team. This should worry any BPOs relying primarily on cheap
human labor.
On the other hand, implementing robotic process automation within the BPO offers the out-
sourcer the opportunity to scale their own business without adding more human workers.
Combining a BPO’s expertise in optimizing processes with an efficient digital workforce of
software robots could create a highly competitive outsourcing company.
Workload Automation and Job Scheduling
Job schedulers are software solutions for executing unattended IT tasks. They’ve been around in
some form since the early mainframe days. The original job schedulers were simple tools for run-
ning a job on a single system at a specified time, and basic job schedulers with a similar purpose
Digital Workforce:
A scalable team of
software robots working
together with the human
workforce to manage
business processes.

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still come built into many systems and applications. For example, UNIX machines come with
cron for scheduling, while Windows uses Windows Task Scheduler.
Modern job schedulers for the enterprise go far beyond those basic functions to provide
cross-platform, centralized scheduling with features like audit trails and automatic notifications.
For these advanced tools, the term “workload automation” has become popular.
Workload automation focuses on IT processes and deep application integrations, while robotic
process automation specializes in the end user and GUI automation. But there’s plenty of
overlap. Ideally, an organization needs RPA and IT job scheduling solutions that work together,
offering automation that spans the entire enterprise.
How it Fits Together: The Automation Continuum
Enterprise automation requirements fall along a spectrum from basic to advanced. At the sim-
plest level is automation designed to improve individual productivity. Knowledge workers are
often inundated with tedious, manual tasks which prevent them from completing more valuable
work. Automation aimed at improving individual productivity might be RPA software installed
on a single desktop computer to help a generate a report automatically. Robotic process automa-
tion scales quite easily to streamline multi-machine processes and enhance team productivity.
The next level of automation involves centralizing control over enterprise applications. Modern
enterprises employ a wide array of business software across every department in the organization.
Maximizing the ROI of those applications involves going beyond any basic built-in schedulers
they have and integrating each application into an enterprise-wide workflow.
GUI Automation:
Automation that
manipulates systems
and applications at the
user interface level,
just like a human.
PERSONNEL
PRODUCTIVITY
ENTERPRISE
AUTOMATION

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Rounding out the automation continuum is automation for systems and infrastructure. Adding
this type of solution allows businesses to enable DevOps, simplify compliance, monitor systems,
and meet SLAs efficiently.
While any organization would love to snap their fingers and have fully-implemented, enterprise-
wide automation, in reality most businesses turn to automation to solve a specific problem or
optimize a single process. What’s important is how their automation expands from there.
Streamlining individual processes can save a team hours every day, but a solution that can’t
expand to other areas of the organization or scale as the business grows provides a poor ROI.
When the company inevitably implements different automation solutions to tackle other
processes, it creates unnecessary sprawl and complexity. A common example is custom script-
ing. Many IT teams write a script or two to take care of tedious tasks. It works at first, but as the
business grows, writing new scripts and maintaining the existing ones becomes as difficult and
error-prone as manual processes.
A digital workforce of software robots can adapt to new requirements and scale along with
the business.
What is a Software Robot?
All the recent talk about robots in business can feel like it came out of nowhere in the last few
years, but the truth is that this is a new name for a familiar concept. Software robots, or bots,
usually refer to what most people know as agents—individual devices running the automation
solution. A robot can be installed on a PC, a physical server, or a virtual machine.
Some RPA vendors also use the term robot to refer to an automated process, or even to each
occurrence of a process, although these definitions are less common. It’s important for a
prospective RPA buyer to clarify with the vendor what a “robot” means to them.
While a robot can be configured for an endless variety of tasks, they can be divided into two
distinct types: front office and back office robots.
Front Office Bots
Front office software robots help to streamline and simplify customer-facing processes like
customer service or sales. These processes are always going to have humans involved to interact
with the customers and make decisions that require human judgement. The front office bots take
over certain tasks in the workflow, freeing up the human workforce to tackle the more important
and rewarding pieces of the process.
For example, a call center might use RPA as a virtual assistant. In order to provide the best
service, call center employees are often trying to access multiple systems on the fly to determine
customer history, current order status, and more. Bots in the call center can help with instantly
pulling this information together and updating the databases based on new calls.
DevOps:
A development and
delivery process
emphasizing an agile
relationship between
development and IT
operations.
Workflow:
The sequence of tasks
in a multi-step process.
Workflows often span
multiple systems, appli-
cations, and departments
and can be manual, auto-
mated, or a combination
of both.

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Back Office Bots
Robotic process automation is also a great candidate for the unattended or background processes
that keep a company running. These are the processes executed by back office bots. Examples
include file transfers, generating reports, or monitoring systems. RPA allows for seamless inte-
gration of back office and front office robotic processes. For example, data collected during front
office transactions could be automatically written into a report and distributed.
Enterprise Robotic Process Automation
Robotic process automation can be used for simple automation on a single user’s desktop or to
build a vast digital workforce that spans the enterprise. So what creates the difference between
basic robotic process automation and enterprise robotic process automation? A combination of
the features of the RPA solution itself, and implementing automation best practices.
Building an Automation Center of Excellence
For an enterprise to reach the point where its digital workforce is efficiently streamlining and
integrating operations enterprise-wide, it needs to establish a foundation of automation expertise,
best practices, and first-in-class technology. We call this a center of excellence. An automation
enter of excellence has two equally-important areas of focus: people and systems.
At the systems level, certain solutions and infrastructure are required to support enterprise
automation, including adequate capacity, high availability or disaster recovery configurations,
and robust security and auditing processes. With those in place, the organization can develop
automation best practices and reusable automation templates for use across the enterprise.
Strong training procedures for anyone using the RPA software is critical to success. Finally,
we recommend developing an ROI calculator to determine how effective automating a given
process would be on the bottom line.
High Availability:
Systems or
components
that can run
continuously
without failure.
Disaster Recovery:
Solutions for avoiding and
dealing with unexpected
crises or downtime.

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The other area of focus is people. Implementation of a new robotic process automation solution
is likely to involve a person or a small team of people who understand the software and are using
it to solve the initial problem. As they implement the company’s first automation instance, these
people and others involved with the project will become evangelists, spreading automation across
the enterprise. In order to keep this process strategic and establish priorities, the best practice
is to create an automation steering committee. It’s also helpful to develop case studies internally
that, along with the ROI calculator, show the value of the automation solution. The more people
in the organization who can envision what automation can do, the easier it is to scale the auto-
mated workforce.
Scalability and Growth
There’s nothing wrong with starting small. Most businesses—even large ones—get started auto-
mating with relatively simple use cases. However, scalability and adaptability are key to successful
enterprise automation.
Some RPA software is designed for desktop automation. These tools can be extremely useful for
improving individual productivity. But a forward-thinking company will implement robotic
process automation that can move easily and cost-effectively from automating an individual
user’s tasks to streamlining any high-volume processes in the organization.
This is done by employing an increasing number of software robots, or agents. Each robot is
limited only by its machine’s capacity—it can execute as many processes as CPU and memory
allow. This makes increasing the size of the digital workforce much less expensive than hiring
additional full-time employees for each job. Furthermore, when requirements change, a robot
can be reconfigured within minutes. Retraining human employees takes more time.
In some industries, it may also be important to scale down at certain times of year. With a
digital workforce, no one needs to lose a job—the robots will be ready to go when business
picks up again.
Maximizing Return on Investment
RPA already has an excellent ROI compared to other automation solutions due to its easy setup
and ability to interface with almost any system or application. The number one way to ensure a
good return on investment for an RPA purchase is to think ahead about whether the solution will
scale to meet future requirements.
It’s also important to identify the right processes to automate. Sometimes the best candidates
are workflows that span multiple departments. These aren’t always obvious, since each part of
the business is concerned with increasing its own productivity. Foster a core team of automation
experts to look at the enterprise as a whole and find automation opportunities.
Not sure how to
calculate your
RPA ROI?
Talk to an
RPA expert
today.

www.helpsystems.com
Too often, inefficiencies in manual processes get baked into RPA workflows, decreasing ROI.
Robots are meant to mimic humans, but that doesn’t mean they need to take the exact steps a
human would. For example, sometimes a human workforce will have redundant tasks in order to
check for errors. Robots don’t need that kind of verification. Documentation and optimization of
each process is key to getting the most out of RPA software.
Here are things to take into consideration when determining the ROI of automating a process:
• What is the current labor cost of the process?
• How much time is spent correcting human errors?
• How many hours will the robots be able to work compared to human employees?
• What is the cost of implementing the solution or configuring new robots?
Naturally, the more uses an organization can find for its robots, the better the ROI, since each
new robot is an inexpensive addition to the digital workforce.
Detailed Operational Analytics
For enterprise-level robotic process automation, it’s important to be able to monitor and manage
automated processes from a central console. Ideally, this console is accessible from any device
and can provide necessary metrics on servers, robots, workflows, and more. Analytics not only
allow the user to keep track of operations and identify problems, they help with optimizing
future workloads.
Security and Auditing
In an enterprise running large-scale automation, a long list of users will probably need access to
the RPA software. The more this list grows, the more important it is to have robust user access
management features. Each individual, team, or department should have only the permissions
they absolutely need. For example, one user might need permission to edit a workflow, while
another should only view it. A robotic process automation solution that doesn’t provide role-
based security isn’t suitable for an enterprise-level automation strategy.
Enterprise robotic process automation solutions also provide detailed logging of each user’s
actions and each task executed. This is useful for internal security and also for maintaining
compliance with industry regulations like HIPAA, SOX, or PCI DSS.
Intelligent Automation
Despite conjuring up mental images of human-like robots from science fiction, robotic process
automation isn’t intelligent in the same sense as AI or cognitive computing. However, it does
have a few qualities that sometimes get referred to as “smart” or “intelligent.”
Cognitive Automation and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence, like IBM Watson or Google’s AI, is self-learning. A cognitive automation
solution might be able to learn when a process is typically executed and run it without being
Software robots work
24/7 and don’t need
vacations, breaks, or
sick leave. Support your
team during down times
and holidays with a digital
workforce.

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asked. A robotic process automation solution will need to be told in advance which conditions are
necessary to execute the workflow. RPA could regularly check market data and run processes based
on that information, but a cognitive solution could potentially make market predictions as well.
Smart Automation with RPA
Unlike cognitive automation and AI, which are still in their infancy, robotic process automation
is a mature technology. There are a wide variety of solutions on the market that are affordable,
easy to implement, and intuitive for any user.
And software robots may not be able to learn as they go, but they aren’t dumb. RPA bots can
make “decisions” based on pre-established conditions. If a file has arrived in the destination
folder, the robot extracts the data for use in a daily report. If no file has arrived, it notifies a
stakeholder. Or, when a support request comes in from a customer, a different process is followed
based on the customer’s support ticket history.
Cognitive technology may someday be incorporated into the typical RPA solution. For now, the
two can still be effectively used together. For example, some companies are turning to intelligent
chatbots to simulate human conversation in certain customer service situations. RPA robots can
work to collect, organize, and use data from the chatbot conversations.
RPA by Industry
Robotic process automation has the flexibility to be transformational in any type of business.
Several major industries are already seeing its benefits.
Financial Services and Banking
Traditionally slow-moving financial institutions face increasing pressure to respond quickly to
customer requests. From entering customer data into new accounts to processing credit card
applications to distributing records, banks and financial services companies move a lot of data.
Unfortunately, they are typically trying to do so in complex environments involving legacy appli-
cations, disparate systems of records due to mergers and acquisitions, and way too much paper.
Robotic process automation can quickly and accurately manage high-volume data transfers and
other processes across complex infrastructure. RPA can also help manage the strict regulatory
compliance requirements in the financial industry.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry requires reliable transmission of sensitive data throughout a wide network
of departments and partners. Records have to stay up-to-date and synced between providers, labs,
pharmacies, and more—and when lives are on the line, there’s no room for human error or
operational delays. Fortunately, moving and manipulating data between disparate systems is a
core competency of RPA software. In the healthcare industry, RPA is used for patient file updates,
claims processing, appointment scheduling, dietary plan management, and more.

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Exceptions
rerouted to
team
Service lines
confirmed
Log into
claims
processing
system
Check for
new claims
Download
claims
Verify claim
data is
accurate
Load data to
EDI system
Match claim
data with
benefits
data
Scan
multiple
datasets for
exception
handling
Exceptions
rerouted to
team
Check
service line
for exception
handling
Process
claim and
pricing
Open COB Calculate
primary
payment,
insurance
status, and
pricing
Validate
provider and
vendor
COB data
confirmed
and available
Finalize
claim
OR OR
The role-based security that is common in enterprise RPA solutions is especially helpful in
keeping sensitive healthcare data secure. Patient information passes through many hands, but the
access that a doctor needs is different than that of a member of the finance or IT staff. A robotic
process automation solution allows each user to have an individual account with role-based
access appropriate to their position.
Insurance
Insurance companies deal with a high volume of paperwork and complicated workflows. A
potential customer requesting a quote—an action that seems simple enough from the consumer’s
perspective—triggers a series of processes that may involve disparate data sources and legacy
systems. RPA easily handles this and other insurance processes.
For example, software robots can manage almost every step in the claims adjudication process,
including logging into the claims processing system, downloading and verifying claims, match-
ing the claims with benefits information, and calculating payments. The human workforce only
needs to deal with exceptions that require human judgement.
Role-based Security:
Security features that
give unique access
permissions to each
user or group of users.
WITHOUT
a Digital
Workforce
Transforming Claims Adjudication
WITH
a Digital
Workforce

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Retail
Retail companies run on information. There are constant updates to sales and inventory data,
often from many different locations. E-commerce sites collect browsing and shopping cart infor-
mation to better advertise their offerings. An increasing number of brick-and-mortar stores have
integrated with mobile apps to allow customers to learn about products while they shop. Robotic
process automation helps integrate all these complex data streams into actionable information.
In retail, RPA is likely to be used for back office tasks like order processing and inventory man-
agement. RPA’s flexibility helps manage processes for stores on different schedules. A software
robot might collect sales data for a report at the end of the day. If no data is received from a
certain store, the bot will check if that store was closed. If it was closed, the robot will continue
the process without that store’s data. If the store was open, a different next-step can be triggered,
like an error notification to the operator or a delay to wait for the data.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry is already known for its physical robots, so software robots are a
natural fit for back office processes like procurement and inventory management. With global
competition rising and customers expecting faster-than-ever delivery, RPA can be key to helping
increase productivity and reduce time to market.
The ERP system is the cornerstone of any manufacturing company. Robotic process automation
can interface with ERP software for comprehensive enterprise data integration and custom
reporting options that may not be available directly from the ERP.
Hi Tech and Telecommunications
Telecommunications is a competitive industry where success is determined by the quality of
customer service provided. At the same time, telecom companies are burdened with a high
volume of repetitive back office processes. These tasks eat into time better spent on customers,
and slow processing speeds and human errors hurt the customer experience.
Robotic process automation increases accuracy, improves operational efficiency, and provides
quick and easy access to data—critical for providing great service.
Energy and Utilities
Utilities are critical to quality of life, so businesses in this sector can’t afford to have any errors or
downtime. Robotic process automation excels at monitoring systems and taking automatic action
if a problem is discovered.
Of course, as in other industries, RPA streamlines back office work like metering processes,
billing, and reporting, as well as front office customer service tasks. Utilities are often highly
regulated, and RPA helps generate the reports an auditor is looking for.
ERP:
Enterprise Resource
Planning software
integrates a broad set
of activities including
product development,
sales, and more into a
single database.

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Robots in the Real World
The overarching benefits of RPA across industries are clear. Let’s look at some specific software
robot examples.
Data Management Bots
Before RPA Every day an employee logs into a website, copies financial data from the site and
pastes it into an Excel report. Then the employee uploads the report to SharePoint.
After RPA Every day a robot logs into a website, copies financial data from the site and pastes it
into an Excel report. Then the robot uploads the report to SharePoint.
IT Services Bots
Before RPA A request comes in for a password reset. Between more urgent tasks, an employee
finds time to complete the request.
After RPA A request comes in for a password reset. A robot intercepts the request, recognizing it
as an easy, rules-based task, and resets the password.
Human Resources Bots
Before RPA A new employee joins the company. He fills out a variety of forms, often asking for
redundant information. An HR employee uses this information to create an IT support ticket. IT
provisions the new user in Active Directory and VMWare and completes the ticket. HR emails
the employee’s new manager that the employee has been successfully onboarded.
After RPA A new employee joins the company. He fills out a form which is automatically synced
with other forms asking for the same information. A software robot reads the information on
the form and uses it to provision the employee in Active Directory and VMWare and email the
employee’s manager.
Claims Processing Bots
Before RPA An employee logs into a claims processing system and checks for new claims. The
employee downloads the claims, verifies them, and loads them into an EDI system. Then the
employee coordinates the benefits. If there is any exception or problem, it is set aside for another
employee to handle later. The first employee calculates payments and finalizes the claim.
After RPA A robot logs into a claims processing system, downloads and verifies any new claims,
and loads them into an EDI system. Then the robot coordinates the benefits. If there is any
exception or problem, the claim is sent to the human employee to look at. The robot takes care
of the rest.
EDI:
Electronic Data
Interchange is the
electronic exchange
of business information
using a standardized
format.

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Accounts Payable Bots
Before RPA An invoice arrives from a vendor by email. An employee downloads the attachment,
matches the invoice against a purchase order in the ERP system, and puts the invoice into the
proper queue for processing.
After RPA An invoice arrives from a vendor by email. A robot uses OCR to read the invoice,
match it to the purchase order, and route it to the proper queue for processing.
Call Center Bots
Before RPA A customer calls to ask about a problem with her order. The human customer service
representative talks to the customer while simultaneously clicking through multiple systems to
find the customer’s information, the status of the order, and her order history. The customer is
forced to wait for the representative to find each piece of data. After the call, the representative
takes the time to add new information acquired on the call to the database.
After RPA A customer calls to ask about a problem with her order. The robot presents the repre-
sentative with all the data he needs to provide quick and friendly service. The representative then
moves on to another call while the robot updates the database.
The RPA Vendor Landscape
The fact that RPA is a newer technology can make it difficult to find your ideal robotic process
automation solution. Understand that on popular software review sites, RPA software may be
found under other names, most commonly business process automation or business process
management. Moreover, vendors are not entirely aligned in how they choose to define robotic
process automation of software robots.
The best strategy is to look at the offerings, not the terminology. Examine your current require-
ments and think about your future objectives. We recommend considering the following areas:
• Deployment time and costs
• Ease of use for business and IT
• Scalability
The Top Players
New companies are entering the RPA space every day, but there are a few established vendors
with top solutions that have been lauded by analysts like Gartner, Forrester, and others. They
include:
• Blue Prism
• Automation Anywhere
• UiPath
• HelpSystems (Automate)
• Kryon Systems (Leo)
OCR:
Optical Character
Recognition is the
recognition of printed
or handwritten text
characters by a
computer.
• Kofax (Kofax Kapow)
• NICE
• Pegasystems
• Redwood
• WorkFusion
• Security and auditing features
• Central monitoring and analytics dashboards
• Pre-built automated actions available

About HelpSystems
Organizations around the world rely on HelpSystems to make IT
lives easier and keep business running smoothly. Our software
and services monitor and automate processes, encrypt and secure
data, and provide easy access to the information people need.
www.helpsystems.com
HelpSystems, LLC. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. (S071RPAGD7)
The Future of Robotic Process Automation
Robotic process automation is just getting started. As the technology matures and becomes more
widespread, we’ll see increasing innovation in automation—both from the creators of RPA
solutions and from the businesses that use them.
One of RPA’s greatest strengths is its ability to interface and merge with other technology. The
next years will see a growth in RPA working with other powerful solutions, including cognitive
computing and business process management applications.
The use of software robots has the potential to change work as we know it. Gartner’s Cathy
Tornbohm says that tasks like data entry and formatting are likely to be replaced by RPA,
while the McKinsey Global Institute claims that about 60 percent of all occupations could see
30 percent or more of their constituent activities automated. This doesn’t necessarily mean lost
jobs, but an opportunity to focus the human workforce on high-value tasks. Through better
integration of systems, the elimination of mind-numbing manual work, and increased
productivity, RPA has the potential to lead digital transformation.

What is robotic process automation - a guide to RPA

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