[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/09\/business-benefits-of-robotic-process-automation-rpa\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/09\/business-benefits-of-robotic-process-automation-rpa\/","headline":"The robots are here to stay: Learn the benefits of RPA","name":"The robots are here to stay: Learn the benefits of RPA","description":"The business benefits of robotic process automation include digitization, cost reduction, increased productivity. RPA is also simple to use.","datePublished":"2021-02-09","dateModified":"2021-02-10","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/abadesi-osunsade\/#Person","name":"Abadesi Osunsade","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/abadesi-osunsade\/","identifier":492,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/787c132c230ebcc4638cb29423005140c76fc7675f606f5d6d9909191c375833?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/787c132c230ebcc4638cb29423005140c76fc7675f606f5d6d9909191c375833?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FCEE107_RPA_HB_4_02.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FCEE107_RPA_HB_4_02.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/09\/business-benefits-of-robotic-process-automation-rpa\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/intelligent-enterprise\/","name":"Intelligent Enterprise","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Intelligent_enterprise","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q6044119"]}],"wordCount":789,"keywords":["Robotic Process Automation | RPA"],"articleBody":"Why are execs, employees, and the c-suite so excited about RPA? Aren\u2019t these robots supposed to start stealing our jobs? No. They’re not. In fact, they’re making work easier. Some of the business benefits of robotic process automation (RPA) include:Improved profitabilityCost reductionIncreased productivityEase of use\/learningStreamlining of business operationsImproved analyticsEmployee empowermentRPA: Chart your path through 2021When people think about robotic process automation, they often imagine literal robots that look and act like humans. The power of automation fascinates and excites many business leaders and employees alike, but some remain apprehensive of this new and mystifying technology.To take advantage of all the business benefits of robotic process automation, technology experts say that leaders must first abandon their preconceptions about automation \u2013 including their fear that humanoid robots will soon render the workforce obsolete.In previous episodes of \u201cCXO Corner,\u201d our new\u00a0video series, I\u2019ve engaged with such experts to explore my own bias toward automation while learning the basics and truth about RPA. This week, I spoke to Stephanie Atkinson, founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Compass Intelligence and Adrian Kostrz, innovation manager at itelligence, to find out what business leaders need to do to maximize efficiency with RPA.      How robotic process automation became an unsung hero amid uncertainty                Robotic process automation is changing business for the better. Discover RPA benefits like cost-saving, increased productivity, and better CX.      Focus on facts from experts\u201cNow more than ever, businesses are really rethinking their strategies and looking at their humans versus machines versus software and applications and technologies that they\u2019re using,\u201d Atkinson said.She pointed toward the COVID-19 pandemic as an incentive for many businesses to finally get started with RPA. The benefits of automation, including cost savings, productivity improvements, reduced human error, and greater opportunities for value-added work, provide ample reason to get started with RPA, even amid global disruption and changing workforce trends.The pandemic is an opportunity \u2013 not an excuse.\u201cSome of the more specific benefits include things like optimizing repetitive processes, improving workflow, and optimizing workflow, which essentially, in turn, improves customer services and customer experience. In addition to that, you\u2019re saving worker time. We\u2019re looking at processes that are repetitive that we need to shift to RPA,\u201d she said.Find an unhappy employee and automate their workAny business that regularly works with silos or across disconnected systems and processes has a perfect RPA use case, according to Kostrz.\u201cAny data flowing through the channels that are not connected \u2013 the question is, who is building the connection?\u201d He posited. \u201cIt\u2019s people doing that. They\u2019re filling out forms and sheets, all the time, without creating any business benefit. Shifting data from left to right. We don\u2019t want humans doing robot work. This is how most of the journey starts: find a human doing robot work and unhappy with this \u2013 then you have your first use case.\u201dThe key to unlocking the benefits of RPA lies in first finding the value in these small wins. At itelligence, Adrian encourages customers to start small. As those initial engagements begin to go well, customers naturally want to launch more RPA instances.\u201cThe good thing about RPA is that the customers can see the results immediately. We don\u2019t need to run workshops or never-ending projects for a year or even longer to see results,\u201d Kostrz said.Shape the right leadership mindsetIf your business is anything like itelligence or Compass Intelligence, you need to embrace RPA for yourself before you can hope to successfully sell automation to your customers. This change in thinking is usually the most successful when it comes from the top down.\u201cFrom a leadership perspective, leaders have to really think through that and maybe throw out their old way of doing things and really rethink and put together a sound strategy that embraces automation in their business, because businesses are not going to transform without that, and even more so today because of the impact of the coronavirus,\u201d Atkinson said.\u201cWe\u2019re thinking about our human management \u2013 which employees go back to work, and which ones can work from home? Rethinking our strategy about workplace safety, workforce optimization, definitely lends itself to RPA applications,\u201d she said. \u201cRPA will be vital in that process as companies really start thinking about ways they can really simplify and adopt technologies to help improve processes and workflow.\u201dEach industry will have its own approach on how businesses return their workforces to the office. Atkinson and Kostrz both ask that businesses keep RPA in mind as they develop those strategies.Watch the full conversation here.  Learn more about how RPA streamlines business operations HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"02","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/02\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/02\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The robots are here to stay: Learn the benefits of RPA","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/09\/business-benefits-of-robotic-process-automation-rpa\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]