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RPA 101: Why RPA is better than traditional automation?

/ ~ 4 minutes read

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology used for streamlining business processes by automating routine tasks with data processing that take too much of your employees' time.

People who start learning about RPA sometimes confuse it with traditional automation, a decades-old technology. However, RPA bots, which are also called the digital workforce, have several characteristics that divide them from traditional automation processes.

RPA technology is particularly prevalent in the back-end office functions, billing, invoicing, data transfer and analysis, etc. These tasks are strictly rule-based and usually have detailed instructions on how to perform them. RPA bots work in the same way as these instructions. By creating an algorithm for a bot in Studio Pro, a user can switch to another task because 'digital worker' will perform the designed workflow. This removes the need to employ human resources for that specific function, freeing them up for more analytical and ROI-driven tasks.

Traditional automation differs markedly from RPA in many ways. To begin with, traditional automation solutions are integrated into the existing software system or interact with the system via APIs. At the same time, RPA is capable of working across all different types of applications. Moreover, traditional automation often requires additional changes to the existing IT infrastructure. What's more important, integration of different systems can become a challenge due to limitations of APIs, so traditional automation can be used for a limited number of business processes, while RPA is invasive and flexible enough to automate numerous routine tasks.

RPA is often called a No-API automation or alternative to ‘manual’ integration for its flexibility, scalability and much simpler process of implementation.

Benefits of Robotic Process Automation from Traditional Automation include

RPA requires 0% changes to IT infrastructure

RPA bots usually stay in the front-end of the system and move forward with the task without any changes in IT infrastructure, while traditional automation requires additional system updates.

RPA assists humans

RPA swiftly starts working due to its ability to mimic a user's actions while humans can focus on other assignments. Traditional automation only executes the pre-defined instructions, limiting the scope of tasks that can be automated with it.

RPA is easy to integrate

RPA doesn't require application integration, unlike traditional automation. RPA can even work with no-API and legacy systems, which makes it useful for database updates and other processes in different IT environments.

RPA is flexible

RPA is better suited for more customized engagements — or any task that requires access to multiple applications. Traditional automation can't be that flexible, and every move has to be programmed.

RPA is easily scalable

Traditional automation requires significant time and effort to scale its implementation in the company due to its integration limitations. By allowing users to manage all Robots in one place using Orchestrator, RPA takes away common issues with scaling the automation. 

RPA is easy-to-use

RPA is easier-to-use for business professionals — almost any employee from any department (Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Human Resources, etc.) can be trained to operate RPA bots without having to learn how to code, while programming skills are essential for traditional automation implementation.

Why ElectroNeek RPA is the best alternative to traditional automation?

We know that one-size-fits-all solutions do not work in business environments. So we built ElectroNeek for you to tailor its capabilities to your unique business needs.

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