RPA: How Robotic Process Automation is transforming businesses

We used to have a negative view of robots. Movies like "Terminator", series like "Westworld", and even books like "I, Robot" granted us that vision in society. However, what if robots could help us enormously with our day-to-day tasks?

Believe it or not, this is not science fiction. Currently, many technologies allow the robotization of different processes, to alleviate the human workload.

Interested in learning more about it? Below, we will detail what RPA consists of and how it can influence all companies.

What exactly is RPA?

RPA, popularly known as Robotic Process Automation, is all technology-oriented to the use of the software. The idea is that human intervention in computer processes can be reduced, especially in all those tasks that people do not want to perform.

By this, we are not referring to "creative" jobs, but to those that are associated with manual labor and boredom, such as uploading information into large databases. Now, it should also be noted that this process is robotic, but that does not mean that "physical" robots exist.

In this way, when we talk about robots, we tend to think of intelligent machines working in some sectors, such as factories. However, robots can also be 100% computer-based. This means that they are systems that are created purely through the computer. In fact, at Beecker, we call them “digital workers”.

Thanks to the enormous processing power of modern equipment, technologies allow the automation of many processes. In consequence, our digital workers can process information much faster than human beings.

What are the future and present of RPA in different industries?

For many years, RPA was seen by companies as a simple cost-cutting tool. While it is true that it can save money, the important thing is that it can be used to initiate a digital overhaul. Now, companies know that it is a central part of their business transformation, as it positively benefits employees.

Large companies are also relying on this technology. For example, in March 2021, Google announced a multi-year partnership with Automation Anywhere, one of the pioneers of RPA. Both companies will seek to develop tools to streamline API management and generate RPA solutions.

So, thanks to the support of no-code and low-code design, cloud storage, and attractive user interface, bots are really attractive for companies. So, at Beecker, we offer you a developer ID for UiPath that can be very useful for your projects. Now, do you know specifically how RPA influences practice in different industries? We will tell you in detail.

Medical industry

RPA can be very useful in the healthcare sector. The idea is to improve the quality of service, to benefit both patients and the company itself. The goal? To save time and money, especially when it comes to handling large volumes of information.

For example, many hospitals choose to use robotic systems to process information quickly and efficiently. In this way, patient records, medical history, and discharge times can be evaluated without the need for healthcare personnel to keep track of all this data.

When the robots detect relevant information, they generate a notification so that healthcare staff can keep an eye on it. However, this is not the only utility it has: hospital supplies can also be managed, as the stock of remedies can be measured live.

This situation could be seen in the COVID-19 pandemic when people communicated via chat to provide their symptoms. Based on that, they received the suggestion to have a swab or not. If they did, the robot itself reported the result via chat, quickly and efficiently.

It is also something we can see in inpatient care, especially at a distance. Many health centers have digital systems, where a person can talk through the web, an app, or WhatsApp itself. In the future, through options, they should mention their symptoms and the robot could take care of making a possible diagnosis.

Financial industry

RPA technology operates internally to streamline all economic transactions. This situation happens with financial institutions, such as banks, which automate some processes. A clear example occurs with chat rooms. If you try to communicate to solve your doubts, you will first talk to a specialized bot.

However, internally they also do an incredible job. For example, all robots are programmed following the indications issued by the country's government. In this sense, all banks have certain regulations and security protocols for all users.

Thus, if you move more money than is allowed, a robot will be able to analyze that transaction and send you a notification. The same happens if possible "suspicious" movements are detected since the technology can analyze all movements live and thus prevent possible financial fraud.

In the future, robots could evolve to such an extent that they could do your investing for you. You could give them certain parameters and they would take care of the best trades according to your objectives.

Human resources and marketing industry

Finally, all HR sectors can also benefit from the work of RPA. Some tasks can be automated, to save work for the professionals behind each company. A clear example occurs with job applications.

A robot can analyze the candidates applying for a certain position. Based on the characteristics indicated, the system can filter out all those who do not meet the basic requirements you have indicated. If you did not do this, you would have to analyze all the applications manually.

In marketing, it can also be very useful. For example, many robots are constantly analyzing the market to identify the best opportunities. The same goes for assessing the competition, as there are different tools to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of everyone else.

In the future, the RPA could choose the best business strategies. You could even program these robots to follow a specific course of action, related to your company's needs. All this proves that marketing and RPA can become great friends.

RPA: the importance of automation in the workplace

At this point, you will already know that RPA does not have to be a bad thing. Freeing people from tedious activities, which can be automated, allows them to engage in higher-value work. So, instead of doing manual, repetitive work, they can have creative or supervisory roles.

In short, you have seen that RPA is having a great present, but it will also be key for the future. All companies could benefit from this resource to improve their ROI, regardless of the industry to which they belong. So don't hesitate to use it to your advantage.

We hope this information has been helpful! If you want to learn more about this topic, we invite you to read more articles on our blog.