Robotic Process Automation a.k.a RPA

Robotic Process Automation also known as RPA in the community is a new Technology on the rise, which uses so called "Bots" to get mundane (or sometimes heavy logical) tasks done, (with) or without any Human Intervention. 

Many industry giants are on the verge of breakthrough and some have already achieved the targeted technology namely Accello (by Virtusa Polaris), Blue Prism and Accenture.

Software Robots 

A software 'robot' is a software application that replicates the actions of a human being interacting with the user interface of a computer system. For example, the execution of data entry into a SAP system - or indeed a full end-to-end business process - would be a typical activity for a software robot.The software robot operates on the user interface (UI) in the same way that a human would; this is a significant departure from traditional forms of IT integration which have historically been based on Application Programming Interfaces (or APIs) - that is to say, machine-to-machine forms of communication based on data layers which operate at an architectural layer beneath the UI.

Code-Free

RPA does not require programming skills: Business operations employees - people with process and subject matter expertise but no programing experience - can be trained to independently automate processes using RPA tools within a few weeks.

Many RPA platforms present a flowchart designer, much like Microsoft Visio: process definitions are created graphically by dragging, dropping and linking icons that represent steps in a process.

Non-disruptive

One of the challenges of traditional IT deployments is that the transformation or change of existing systems is complex and risky. Thus, many large organisations are reluctant to redesign, replace or even to enhance existing systems through the creation of new IT interfaces (or APIs). For this reason, the philosophy behind RPA is to avoid the complexity and risk of such changes where they are not warranted, (or indeed to enable such changes to be prototyped and tested, simply by simulating equivalent input/output via the user interface in lieu of APIs).

RPA tools therefore lean towards "light" IT requirements and do not, for example, disturb underlying computer systems.The robots access end user computer systems exactly as a human does - via the user interface with an established access control mechanism (e.g. logon ID and password) - so no underlying systems programming need be required. This is an important point because, from a security, quality and data integrity perspective, the UI of many applications encapsulates many years of requirements and testing for error prevention, data integrity and security access control. To bypass a UI by creating a new API is a risky undertaking and requires extensive testing in order that the same levels of functionality and protection are maintained.

Business user friendly

RPA’s ease of use and low requirement for technical support perhaps explains why adoption typically originates inside business operations and not inside Information Technology (IT) departments. Because RPA projects do not require expensive IT skills and investment in new platforms, the economic threshold of processes with a viable business case for automation is substantially lowered.