Is RPA Dead?
Introducing the Microsoft Power Platform — You may already have it!
The Digital Workplace team at Capgemini Invent are doing a series covering each element of the Power Platform in greater detail. With each edition we will be focusing on how the platform can transform the shape of your organisation and individuals’ ways of working. We will also showcase the benefits, not just cost or time, but how employees experience work, the experience of your customers, and how you can innovate to create entirely new capabilities on low-code/no-code platforms, such as the Microsoft Power Platform.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as a term came about some time ago, perhaps as early as the turn of the millennium. The underlying capabilities, however, have existed for much longer, just increasing in sophistication and how they integrate. Over the last several years, there has been a real boom in demand for this technology, but are the deployments of RPA losing steam?
Back to Basics — The Value Proposition
You can generalise to an extent and say that the momentum behind the RPA trend can be boiled down into two drivers:
1. A relatively quickly developed solution could save huge amounts of time and this provides efficiencies and cost-savings, as well as helps businesses meet customer expectations.
2. The platforms diversifies who can actually develop solutions. With RPA, a solution could be developed by others, such as Citizen Developers, rather than relying on the traditional ‘coder’.
The secret to all of this? You could develop solutions through a nearly identical user interface (UI) to that which individuals do their day job in. You could click record, perform the task you always perform, across however many systems you use, then make some adjustments and tweaks for various possible scenarios. Voila! You have (at least in theory) automated a process.
Now, there are limitations at the core of the technology:
1. Recording steps at the UI level is not as ‘clean’ from a technical standpoint. Imperfections derive from the bot replicating a human rather than using the routes modern technology has made possible. For example, the bot has to click through the interface and type things into it, instead of making a call to an API, as such recordings include every micro-level cursor movement that is later repeated by the bot.
2. Also, we need to revisit who does all of this. Whilst the ability to develop has been widened by RPA, many implementations still rely on some development and deployment/environment promotion being done by a Centre of Excellence, which is not ideal and like conventional application development, relies on a core team.
Beyond Automation
To combat some of these underlying limitations, key players in this market do continue to innovate; introducing forms of AI to improve classic business processes such as digitising documents and storing their data, making API’s available through partnerships, or providing ‘process mining’ capabilities so you can identify the next big opportunity to take time out of your business.
That said, we’re quickly becoming obsessed with the Power Platform. Looking at the above successes and limitations, the Power Platform would appear to be positioned to surpass them:
1. The platform offers a menu of ways to automate, including at the UI level, through workflows, or connecting into a wide variety of cloud solutions such as Cognitive Services and IoT. As well as over 350+ pre-built connectors from online services we know, love and frequently use in our daily business life.
2. The concept of ‘Citizen Development’ is becoming a reality — with a broad range of users able to get started quickly through a combination of good governance and adoption initiatives, meaning organisations can ‘build from the front’.
Organisations that already take advantage of Microsoft 365 and its associated tools, may already have access to the Power Platform. Here are some links to get you started and test your access:
Microsoft has been designated a ‘Leader’ in the 2021 Forrester Wave, demonstrating their investment in the capabilities and the depth of their strategy in this arena, despite being a relatively recent entrant to this specific market.
So to answer the question, I don’t believe ‘RPA’ is dead… but remember it existed in some form before becoming a buzzword and the market is about to become unrecognisable — for the better!
Intrigued? Keep your eyes peeled for the next edition and feel free to leave your comments below.
We’re looking for a Digital Workplace Management Consultant, who will work closely with the Microsoft Power Platform. Does this sound of interest to you or someone you know? Take a look at the link above to find out more.
