FEATURE: RPA
breaks and they don’t make mistakes
that workers frequently do when tasks are
prolonged and mundane.
Managers usually think that their staff can
attend to both the repetitive tasks (such as
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In a world where KYC procedures are
mandatory, it is essential that these
processes are followed to the letter of the
procedure and not just the spirit of the
procedure. This typically happens in a
high-volume customer environment that
IT’S NOT ABOUT REMOVING PEOPLE,
BUT RATHER ABOUT USING THEM FOR
VITAL PROCESSES AND TASKS THAT
REQUIRE INTELLIGENCE, IMAGINATION,
CONTEXTUALISATION AND CREATIVITY.
change this perception both on the
part of people who implement RPA, as
well as the companies and the individuals
who are the receivers and benefactors of
this technology.
When spreadsheet applications were
introduced, there were certainly some
nervous accountants who saw this software
as a real threat to their jobs. However,
today every person working in finance or
accounting use spreadsheet applications in
almost every task they deal with.
Companies that resist automation, risk
being left behind. Their competitors can
now create more efficient cost structures
with RPA and also deliver better services and
customer experiences.
compiling reports) and the value adding
tasks of interpreting them. However, on
closer inspection, it often becomes clear that
staff struggle to even just get through the
repetitive tasks and make a considerable
amount of errors in the process.
The other side of that coin is that robots
cannot, and should not, interpret the
reports they have created. There will always
be exceptions that do not follow the norm
of the business process, which will still
need the human workers to investigate
and resolve.
IDC forecasts the worldwide RPA software
market will grow at a 49.3% compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) for 2017 to 2022
to reach US$3.7 billion, which is much faster
than the overall cognitive and AI technologies
markets that will represent a 37.3% CAGR
during the same forecast period.
RPA is defining the future of work; the rapid
adoption of this technology is helping
drive business outcomes such as improved
customer experiences and improved service
delivery. Outside the finance department,
RPA reduces the time to resolve queries
and complaints – it makes specific
processes available 24x7 and ensures
more efficient processing. Other examples
include customer on-boarding and account
opening procedures that are simplified
and accelerated with RPA. There are huge
cost savings as a result of productivity
improvements or even fraud detection with
insurance and expense claims.
48
INTELLIGENTCIO
is managed exclusively by humans. IDC
predicts that by 2024, half of structured,
repeatable tasks will be automated and 20%
of workers in knowledge-intensive tasks will
have AI-infused software or other digitally
connected technology as a ‘co-worker’.
These kinds of statistics can understandably
be worrying to individuals who can identify
repetitive tasks as part of their normal
daily jobs. There is a real need however to
It is therefore no longer an option;
companies need to start exploring
the benefits of intelligent automation
technologies. They also need to take stock
of their future skills requirements and how to
reskill and redeploy their staff to more high
level and rewarding tasks.
More importantly, to create an environment
that fosters innovation and human–
machine collaboration. n
www.intelligentcio.com