In 60% of occupations, at least a third of daily tasks could be automated. Updating data, getting approvals, sharing information, are tasks many of us are bogged down with every day. So how do we free up time and focus on the tasks that really matter? Many businesses have turned to Robotic Process Automation or RPA which uses software to perform tasks normally carried out by humans. These tasks need to adhere to a set of rules and are typically highly repetitive, examples would be payroll processing, customer onboarding or CRM updates.  In this article we explain more about RPA and the advantages it can bring to your business.
 

Attended and unattended RPA 

When thinking about RPA as a potential workflow automation solution for your organisation, there are two types you need to be aware of – attended and unattended.

Attended automation  

Attended automation automates repetitive, manual, front office tasks and can mimic actions you perform on your desktop or browser. This can be things like mouse clicks by recording and playing back these actions in real time. This requires human involvement. 

Unattended automation 

Unattended automation, on the other hand, allows bots to be triggered automatically to complete full processes. Because they can use triggers and schedule automated events, they’re ideal for accelerating the automation of high-volume tasks across your organisation.

In its simplest form, attended automation requires some type of human involvement whereas unattended automation does not. 

Advantages of using RPA  

We’ve all been there when it comes to completing repetitive manual tasks. Data entry, invoice processing, copy/pasting from numerous spreadsheets. These are all tasks that we must complete but take up crucial time that we could allocate to more important tasks. 

This is where RPA really shines. With RPA you can free up teams to perform higher-value tasks. When the robots are programmed once, they follow the rules every single time. They never get tired or bored and they don’t make mistakes; their results are consistent and reliable. 

Bots also make it simple for organisations to quickly scale up or down, so seasonal workflows and/or surges—across business units, locations, and from desktop to cloud—can be easily accommodated. 

The benefits of RPA in a nutshell 

  • Your teams can spend time on the tasks that matter most 
  • Boosts productivity 
  • Ability to scale – faster and easier to scale up and down 

Cost savings that can come with RPA 

Bots can be a low-cost solution as they don’t require custom code from a development team. They can also be deployed very quickly. For this reason, ROI from implementing an RPA solution can be achieved within a few weeks. 

You can also feel safer in the knowledge that you are meeting compliance requirements. This is due to bots executing tasks consistently and reliably which reduces risks, eliminates the human error factor, and expedites reporting since everything is easily monitored and quantifiable. 

If you’re looking to start your journey with automation, we can help. Bridgeall is a leading Microsoft Gold Partner that provides a range of services to support your journey with automation solutions like Power Automate. Find out more about the services on offer here or download our Power Automate guide for more information on automation solutions for your business.