The 6 Defining Robotic Process Automation Trends to Watch in 2024

 

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is becoming a vital tool for enterprises looking to optimize costs, improve efficiency, and enhance user experiences. As macroeconomic trends push for better optimization and cost savings, RPA is increasingly in the spotlight, helping businesses navigate the current challenging business climate.

Maturing RPA Investments

The RPA market has matured, with a growth rate of 22% in 2022 according to Gartner. This is a decrease from the 31% growth rate in 2021 and 63% in 2020, indicating a shift from initial excitement to more calculated and mature investments. By the end of 2024, the RPA market size is expected to surpass $5 billion, reflecting its growing adoption across various industries.

The Rise of Intelligent Automation (IA)

With AI maturity at an all-time high, RPA is evolving beyond basic task automation. It is now being integrated with advanced technologies like process discovery, intelligent document processing (IDP), AI, machine learning (ML), low-code development, and complex workflow orchestration. This evolution, known as Intelligent Automation (IA), combines traditional RPA with the cognitive power of AI, ML, and natural language processing (NLP). IA can automate complex tasks, make decisions, and handle unstructured data, gaining traction in industries like insurance, banking, and finance.

Cloud-Based RPA Takes Flight

Cloud-based RPA solutions are gaining popularity due to their ease of deployment, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. Gartner predicts that over 20% of RPA initiatives will move to the cloud by 2024, providing organizations with greater agility and flexibility.

Democratization with Low-Code/No-Code RPA

Low-code/no-code RPA platforms are making automation accessible to everyone, regardless of technical expertise. These platforms empower business users to automate simple tasks themselves, freeing up IT resources for more complex projects.

The Popularity of Automation Centers of Excellence (CoEs)

Analyst firms predict vendor consolidation, leading enterprises to establish automation Centers of Excellence (CoEs). CoEs bring numerous benefits, including increased efficiency, productivity, cost savings, and improved compliance. They define an automation vision aligned with business goals, identify areas for automation, prioritize projects, and establish governance frameworks for secure, compliant, and scalable automation practices. Additionally, CoEs develop standards and templates for consistent automation development and deployment.

Focus on Governance and Standardization

As RPA adoption grows, organizations are prioritizing effective governance and standardization to ensure consistency, security, and compliance across their automation initiatives. Expect to see more RPA CoEs emerging to manage and optimize automation programs.

Data Management in the Spotlight

Data is the fuel of intelligent automation. Organizations recognize the importance of robust data management practices to ensure accuracy, consistency, and accessibility for their RPA bots. Increased investment in data governance and quality initiatives is expected.

Considerations Before Embarking on Your RPA Journey

  1. Infrastructure: Evaluate your IT infrastructure’s capacity to handle RPA deployment. Consider scalability and integration needs with existing systems.
  2. Data Security: Ensure your RPA solution adheres to data security regulations and best practices to protect sensitive data throughout the automation process.
  3. ROI and Cost Analysis: Calculate the potential return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO) for your RPA implementation.
  4. Proof of Concept: Start with a small-scale proof-of-concept project to assess the feasibility and benefits of RPA in your specific context.
  5. Training and Support: Train your team on using and managing RPA tools, and provide ongoing support for bot development, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
  6. Vendor Selection: Choose an RPA vendor that aligns with your technical needs and budget. Evaluate features, ease of use, scalability, and security. Look for partners experienced in your industry, willing to understand your problem space, and employing a design-led methodology for automation success.

Challenges in RPA Implementation

RPA implementations can sometimes fail for various reasons:

  1. Choosing the Wrong Processes: Not all processes are suitable for automation. Selecting overly complex, non-standardized, or unpredictable tasks with frequent human intervention can lead to failure, especially for beginners.
  2. Focusing on Low-Impact Tasks: Automating simple tasks might provide minimal value, especially if it benefits only one user. Look for processes with broader impact and potential for significant improvement.
  3. Poor Planning and Governance: Lack of clear goals, proper planning, and robust governance can lead to confusion, delays, and ultimately, failure.
  4. Inadequate Resources: Underestimating the technical and human resources needed for successful implementation can hinder progress and create bottlenecks.
  5. Unrealistic Expectations: Setting unrealistic expectations for ROI or immediate results can lead to disappointment and discouragement.

By addressing these considerations and challenges, enterprises can maximize the benefits of RPA and navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape.

About Marlabs

Marlabs designs and develops digital solutions that help our clients improve their digital outcomes. We deliver new business value through custom application development, advanced software engineering, digital-first strategy & advisory services, digital labs for rapid solution incubation and prototyping, and agile engineering to build and scale digital solutions. Our offerings help leading companies around the world make operations sleeker, keep customers closer, transform data into decisions, de-risk cyberspace, boost legacy system performance, and seize novel opportunities and new digital revenue streams.

Marlabs is headquartered in New Jersey, with offices in the US, Germany, Canada, Brazil and India. Its 2500+ global workforce includes highly experienced technology, platform, and industry specialists from the world’s leading technical universities.

Marlabs Inc. (Global Headquarters) One Corporate Place South, 3rd Floor, Piscataway NJ — 08854–6116, Tel: +1 (732) 694 1000 Fax: +1 (732) 465 0100, Email: contact@marlabs.com.

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