Robotic Process Automation

1. Authored by:
Prabhat Bhadouria
Radhakrishnan R
Robotic Process Automation
A Digital Labor Force
Technology Paper

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RoboticProcessAutomation
Robotic Process Automation
A Digital Labor Force
Contents
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................2
DEFINING ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION (RPA)....................................................................................3
POSSIBLE USAGE SCENARIOS ..................................................................................................................4
THE TOOLS ECOSYSTEM.........................................................................................................................5
BENEFITS TO BUSINESS ..........................................................................................................................5
RPA LABS @INFOGAIN .........................................................................................................................6
CASE STUDY – VIRTUAL OUTPERFORMS HUMAN .......................................................................................7
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................8
ABOUT INFOGAIN .................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................8

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RoboticProcessAutomation
Introduction
The world is moving incredibly fast towards automation. The amount of automation that has embedded
in our day-to-day life right from personal to professional front is amazingly high. The majority of
automation that revolutionized the way of interaction between human and machines started in the
manufacturing domain by automating labor intensive tasks to achieve greater operating efficiency.
Traditionally, automation programs were designed to execute repetitive tasks. There was little or no
intelligence embedded within these programs. The market dynamics and complexities of business
processes have changed the nature of work. This leads to a new way of looking into the automation
process – Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
The term “Robotic Process Automation” may give
an impression of physical robots which is not the
case. RPA is a software-based solution that
comprises of software robots. Just as physical
robots replaced human workers in manufacturing
firms, software robots are now replacing human
workers. They mimic specific actions a person
would take while working on a computer. The
robots are virtual workers who can be trained
quickly in a way which is similar to how an
operational user would train a human colleague.
The robots can process structured and unstructured
data. Activities which were considered complex for
automation have now become automatable. The
software robots operate in a non-intrusive way i.e.
there is no change made to the underlying
technology systems and the processes with their
introduction. The software robots apart from
executing repetitive tasks can take decisions. The
decision making capacity is what differentiates RPA
from the traditional process automation.
RPA’s are designed to be more predictable, consistent and less prone to errors. In addition to RPA’s
enhancing the overall productivity, the robot workforce can be deployed in weeks. Typically, the license
cost of a software robot is less than a human worker making the overall model attractive.

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RoboticProcessAutomation
Defining Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
An Example of RPA usage:
Stephanie works in the accounts department and is responsible for resolving payment collections with
external vendors. In order to do this, she must log in to external web portals and internal systems, gather
data locally and put it into ERP systems for tracking and resolution. RPA performs the exact steps
Stephanie takes, with results that are more reliable and free from error, so that Stephanie can work on
more strategic tasks.
As defined by Institute for Robotic Process Automation (IRPA), RPA is the application of technology that
allows employees in a company to configure computer software or a “robot” to capture and interpret
existing applications for processing a transaction, manipulating data, triggering responses and
communicating with other digital systems.”
Some of the most important features exhibited by RPA are as follows:
 RPA’s are easy to use. They require low level of technical expertise
 RPA’s work on organization’s existing technology. They complement the existing core systems
 RPA’s are non-invasive i.e. processes / systems don’t need to be re-engineered
 RPA’s work on almost any platform
 RPA’s do not require programming skills. Human workers with process / functional knowledge
and no programing experience can use RPA tools with ease and effectiveness
 RPA’s are scalable and flexible
 RPA’s can work with multiple data sources
One of the most common question that arise, ‘Is Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Business Process
Management (BPM) the same’? The table shown below highlights the key differences:
Feature BPM RPA
Business Goal Reengineering existing business process
for better efficiency
Replace human workers with virtual force
for cost reduction
Technology
Goal
New application Automation using existing systems,
process
Touch Point Business Logic layer Presentation layer
Users Software Developers Business Analysts, Administrators
RPA does not replace BPM, on the contrary complements it.

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RoboticProcessAutomation
Possible Usage Scenarios
Robotic Process Automation has tremendous
advantage due to its user-friendly approach and quick
roll out time. By automating and mimicking the human
actions, RPA can improve the overall productivity. RPA
can be used in organizations where people perform
high-volume, highly transactional process functions.
RPA is in vogue today as more and more enterprises
want to embrace technology led operations for better
efficiency. However, one should be wary of Bill Gates
second rule. The most critical aspect here is to identify
the right set of processes for automation.
A representative list of processes that can be considered as potential RPA candidates are listed below:
 Tasks that are data intensive
 Tasks that are repetitive and actions are consistent
 Tasks that are high in volume
 Tasks that are prone to human errors
 Tasks with simple decision making
 Tasks with manual steps that involve activities like upload and download, import and export, data
entry and validation, moving files and folders, web scraping, text mining, opening emails and
attachments.
 Tasks in a system process that require manual intervention
 Tasks in a system process that involve multiple subsystems (internal and external)
Which processes in your business today are repetitive and rules based that can easily be modeled into a
flow chart? Do they really require human intelligence at any point in time? Take a closer look at these
questions and there is high probability that you may come up with multiple opportunities for
implementing RPA in your organization.

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RoboticProcessAutomation
The Tools Ecosystem
The RPA market is rapidly emerging with new genres of automation tools that promise to make
automation processes smarter and efficient.
The maturity level of RPA tools can be categorised into different categories depending on their intelligence
and decision making capabilities. This includes the following:
 The level of automation from single to
multiple applications, simple to complex
processes
 The level of proficiency in handling
structured and unstructured data
 The level of sophistication in executing
activities. Activities can be completed by
performing rule-based tasks or gathering
information from multiple sources
 The level of flexibility of working on multiple
applications and platforms at the same time
 The level of artificial intelligence embedded
Benefits to Business
RPA’s offer benefits beyond cost reduction. Enterprises that have rolled out RPA solutions typically
experience the following benefits:
 Improved efficiency – 24*7 operations resulting in an increase in throughput
 Enhanced employee engagement – assigning repetitive and mundane tasks that are less
encouraging to robots, helps to improve employee morale and increase resource bandwidth for
higher value tasks
 Improved quality – less error prone and more accurate compared to humans
 Easy administration – centrally managed, helps to streamline and standardize ambiguous and
time-consuming processes
 Increased bottom-line - adhering to zero error rate and reducing process cost with the ability to
scale up operations helps increase customer retention rate leading to higher profit margins
RPA can help enterprises increase their overall market share by delivering an enhanced experience to
their customers.

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RPA Labs @Infogain
Enterprises have realized the immense potential that can be leveraged from RPA. The next step towards
implementing and reaping RPA benefits lies in the answer to questions that any decision maker would
have such as:
 How do I start?
 Where do I start?
 Do I have processes that can be automated using RPA?
 Which tool best suits my requirements?
 What will be my ROI?
The response to these queries assist the decision makers take a step forward towards implementing RPA
in the current processes. To help companies with a tailored roadmap towards the journey of RPA
implementation, Infogain has setup ‘RPA Labs’, a team that is a perfect blend of people consisting of
business analysts, modelers, and developers. The team is passionate to help people do their tasks more
effectively.
RPA Labs with its tool agnostic and well proven methodology follow best in class practices. The Lab is
aided with a rich knowledge repository created by team members having extensive RPA experience. The
Lab provides consulting and implementation services using its proprietary jump start kits that will speed
up the overall implementation process. Some of the activities conducted by the Lab include:
 ‘Initial assessment’ that will
o Identify the pain points in the current process
o Build a business case for automation that highlights the pain points alleviated, benefits,
KPI’s to determine that automation is valuable, Strategy for redeploying existing
resources post automation
 ‘Discover’ that will:
o List processes that are good candidates for automation
o Prioritize the processes based on repeatability, criticality, volume and execution cost
o Recommend the RPA tool based on the automation needs
o Develop Proof of Concepts
o Define the overall road map
o Define the operating model
 ‘Rollout’ that will:
o Implement the identified Processes in a phased manner
o Provide training and support
o Provide a framework for continuous improvement

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Case Study – Virtual Outperforms Human
The Client: The client is a global leader in the Information and Communications (ICT) industry that provides
IT Infrastructure Solutions & Services. They have established a global footprint with over 6,000 clients in
more than 150 countries, servicing all industries.
Business Challenge: The client’s financial unit was struggling with several process-related financial and
operational issues. Financial tasks were repetitive and cumbersome, which left no time for focusing on
value-added services. Additionally, the client lacked skilled resources due to a hiring freeze. The client was
in need of a digital transformation partner that would help their business team across multiple countries
that were struggling with lot of their day-to-day tasks.
Solutions & Scope of Work: The client engaged Infogain, due to our expertise in harnessing digital
transformation for more than a dozen corporate global clients. The project involved helping the client
achieve specific milestones for automating certain financial processes across a given set of countries. The
scope of work included:
 Performing a systematic evaluation of automation tools available in market to fit requirements
 Designing an approach and methodology to make use of automation tools
 Building an automation framework with Infogain technical expertise and knowledge
 Executing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) initiatives by delivering the right message across
various country offices
RPA experts from Infogain automated multiple tasks that were initially being performed by human
operators. These processes were highly repetitive and mundane in nature, but equally crucial from bank
functioning point of view. RPA replaced the manual effort of human operator by replicating the steps. This
helped the human workforce to focus and perform higher value work. Within a six-month timeframe, the
Infogain team completed the automation of 14 financial processes for the client’s Hong Kong, Korea,
Philippines, Singapore New Zealand and Indonesia locations.
Key Benefits: The key accomplishments of the Infogain solution include:
 Achieved a shorter turnaround time to deliver the automated processes
 Achieved broader automated processes across multiple countries
 Delivered significant cost savings by using a reusable and reliable automation framework
 Increased efficiency with the automation of financial processes
 Yielded nearly 80% savings for certain automated processes

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RoboticProcessAutomation
Conclusion
RPA replaces human intensive and repetitive activities. The adoption of RPA is gaining momentum across
industries. RPA will play a significant role and progressive organizations will capitalize on its potential and
improve their overall market positioning.
RPA when implemented effectively, can result in considerable cost and time savings. For early adopters,
a suggested approach is to target the ‘low hanging’ processes that will demonstrate the business benefits
and also help develop the required skill and experience.
One important aspect to be kept in mind while rolling out RPA is the employee mindset. Often
employees are reluctant to change fearing their jobs are at stake. Nevertheless, the promise of Digital
Labor to drive efficiency, minimize efforts and reduce costs cannot be ignored. With RPA being a proven
option for automating non-value tasks because of its rich feature list, it is now for the enterprises to
decide when is the most perfect time to adopt RPA.
About Infogain
Infogain provides front-end, customer-facing technologies, processes and applications that lead to a
more efficient and streamlined customer experience for enterprises in the US, Europe, the Middle East,
Asia Pacific and India. Offering solutions for the high-tech, retail, insurance, healthcare and travel &
hospitality verticals, Infogain specializes in areas such as software product engineering, digital service
automation, cloud, mobility, testing and business intelligence & analytics. The company has 9 delivery
centers and more than 4000 employees globally. Infogain has a customer retention rate of 90%+ over a
five-year period.
References
 http://www.irpanetwork.com/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotic_Process_Automation
 Major AI textbooks, including: Russell & Norvig-2003, Luger & Stubblefield-2004, Poole, Mackworth
& Goebel-1998, Nilsson-1998