When it comes to automating business processes, every manager faces the question of which is better and cheaper - RPA or traditional automation. Although both approaches are designed to solve similar tasks, they have fundamental differences. These are explained in detail by Anton Sergeev, head of RPA at iiii Tech.
RPA (Robot Process Automation) is an innovative technology that emerged in the 2000s, based on software robots that perform routine tasks on behalf of humans. Despite the minimisation of human factor errors, RPA technology is not always a panacea. Let's take a closer look at how traditional automation differs from using RPA.
Technology:
RPA is the use of software robots (digital employees) for the simulation of user actions. It works with the front-end part of the systems involved in the process, interacting with the user interface. Understanding how the system works at the user level is sufficient. Technological limitations no longer play an important role. Anything that a human can do with a mouse and a keyboard can be done by a robot as well.
Traditional automation relies on the use of APIs and other methods for the integration of different systems. In this case, the development team must have a deep understanding of the systems involved to effectively implement their interaction. Traditional automation can also face technology limitations, such as outdated or truncated APIs, limited configuration due to missing application source code, often encountered when automating interactions with legacy systems.
Deployment Speed:
Implementing RPA solutions is often significantly faster than traditional automation, as no infrastructure changes are required. The processes themselves, rather than the technology stack, determine the complexity of the project. Traditional automation can take several months because of the need to adapt and customise the existing infrastructure. Developing, deploying, testing and costing take more time than using RPA.
Customization:
There is a high degree of customisation in RPA solutions. It is possible to create software robots for specific tasks. With traditional automation, the range of tasks that can be solved is often limited to the capabilities provided by the integrated systems and their APIs.
Implementation and Support Costs:
In the short term and on a small scale, RPA can be more expensive than traditional automation (taking into account licensing costs). However, in the long term and with scalability, it becomes advantageous through FTE (Full Time Equivalent) savings, ease of maintenance and licence utilisation. This makes the ROI virtually unattainable compared to traditional automation. Traditional automation becomes more cost effective when solving small and simple tasks on a small scale. But in the long term, the complexity of scalability, the maintenance of a high number of processes and the effort required to make changes can lead to higher capital expenditure.
Scalability:
It is easy to scale RPA solutions. Many Russian and international developers offer low-code and no-code solutions that simplify the creation of new processes, as well as various types of licensing. The management of large robot farms is also facilitated by the presence of orchestrators. Traditional incremental automation of business processes is actually implemented as a completely separate project, requiring more effort and specialists.
Versatility:
Another aspect of RPA is that it can be applied to multiple business processes. This is in contrast to traditional automation, which focuses on automating specific processes. The technology is not tied to a specific area of activity or a specific task. As a result, it is not only used by large corporations, but also by small and medium-sized enterprises where there is a need to automate many business processes. For example, gathering data for the annual board meeting, preparing quarterly or annual reports, or building a customer database. This is particularly the case in industries such as banking, e-commerce, retail, manufacturing, insurance and transport. In these industries, accounting, HR and IT tasks are most often automated by robots. According to a McKinsey study, around 30% of processes in 60% of jobs can be automated.
For any organisation that does not have multiple enterprise systems with modules and third-party services, it would not be cost-effective to implement RPA into the IT infrastructure. In such cases, traditional automation would be more beneficial. Start with two or three core processes, especially if the business is not yet fully digitised.
