Low-Code Software: A Launchpad for Robotic Process Automation
Learn from Sam Babic how companies can use low-code solutions as a foundation for RPA.
Low-code solutions are predicted to play a major role in application development. These solutions can provide a solid foundation for digital transformation. Companies can also take the foundation as a launchpad for RPA. Sam Babic, SVP, chief technology officer, Hyland, discusses how low-code solutions simplify the implementation of an RPA strategy.
More and more organizations are investing in flexible coding solutions like low-code applications, which are expected to play a role in 65% of all application development by 2024, according to Gartner. Low-code solutions make it easier to adapt applications to new business needs, lessening the load on IT teams. They are also laying the groundwork for the next generation of automation technology.
A low-code platform provides a solid foundation for digital transformation. However, organizations can take the next step by using this foundation as a launching point for robotic process automation (RPA). With both low-code and RPA in place, your organization can automate repetitive processes and allow employees to focus on more meaningful tasks.
Repetitive Tasks Are Weighing Your Organization Down
Not surprisingly, mundane administrative work weighs employees down. In many workplaces, repetitive tasks like billing, data entry, and returns processing prevent employees from spending time on more creative work, something 36% of office workers said they would prefer to do, according to our research.
Beyond enhancing employee satisfaction, automating repetitive, manual processes can also lead to reducing costly mistakes. On the other hand, when employees manage administrative processes, the potential for human error increases. It is easy to mistype a number into a spreadsheet or forget where you stored a document. Time spent correcting these mistakes reduces efficiency and jeopardizes timelines.
Additionally, a manual approach can be limiting when you need to pivot quickly. For example, consider what happened when organizations adapted to a virtual environment at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies that handled this transition manually lost out on productivity due to lengthy transition processes. Additionally, they were vulnerable to security risks. The more hands involved, the higher the risk of a security breach due to human error, especially when employees are under a time crunch.
In contrast, low-code solutions enabled employees to adapt quickly. The flexibility that low-code solutions offer can also help your organization unlock an even greater operational advantage — RPA.
See More: The Promise of Low-Code/No-Code: Closing the Skills Gap
How To Optimize RPA for Your Organization’s Needs
RPA uses virtual bots to automate routine business tasks, allowing organizations to direct resources elsewhere. Like low-code solutions, more companies are investing in this technology: 20% of all organizations adopted RPA in 2021 compared to 13% in 2020, according to a study by Computer Economics.
As these technologies grow in popularity, more organizations will take advantage of low-code solutions as a gateway to RPA. Here are three tips to keep in mind as you determine which RPA strategy best aligns with your organization’s needs:
1. Determine the problems you want RPA to solve
When developing an RPA strategy, determine your organization’s goals for the technology. For example, do you want to automate a specific process that is causing your organization problems or continuously automate several processes over time?
A key part of the evaluation process involves understanding what RPA can and cannot do. For a business process to be automated, it must:
- Be rule-based
- Be repeated at regular intervals or have a predefined prompt
- Have defined inputs and outputs
- Have sufficient volume
Once you have an understanding of both your organization’s internal problems and the capabilities of RPA, you will be able to connect the dots and decide on a strategy that brings the two together.
2. Evaluate for integration and user experience
You will want to evaluate RPA solutions for both their integration capabilities and user experience (UX). These two factors are essential for helping your employees adjust to new technology without a high learning curve.
Robust integration capabilities help ensure the RPA software you choose does not disrupt your current systems. These capabilities will also help the software adapt to new systems over time, an area in which organizations that invest in adaptable low-code solutions have an advantage.
Prioritizing UX may seem counterintuitive for RPA software, as RPA reduces the time employees spend on certain tasks. But because of how little employees will interact with the technology, the interactions they do have with it must be seamless. Even if the software is effective, a confusing user interface can create barriers to adoption across your organization.
3. Partner with the right RPA software provider
A knowledgeable RPA provider can help plan, launch, and maintain your RPA solution. Just as importantly, the right provider will understand your industry, business goals and IT capabilities and offer a product that is tailored to your organization’s needs.
Throughout the software’s lifecycle, you need to feel comfortable turning to your RPA provider for expertise. Your provider should be able to help you add new bots and analyze the software’s performance. Ultimately, a solid provider relationship can make it easier to address implementation issues and course corrections to meet your organization’s goals.
Low-code Solutions Make RPA Easy To Implement
RPA can be a valuable part of any digital transformation effort. Fortunately, the simplicity of low-code solutions makes it easier to adopt RPA and incorporate it into your organization’s processes. With the flexibility of low-code solutions and the improved efficiency of RPA, your organization will have the tools to adjust quickly to changing business needs.
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