RPA In 2020: Where’s It Going And How Did We Get Here?

Robots are officially our co-workers. It was long speculated, and 2019 saw more bots put into action than any other year in history. By 2022, we could see Robotic Process Automation (RPA) spending total £2.4 billion.

The robotic revolution is in full swing – but now we’re on the cusp of a game-changing new chapter.

Despite the increasing number of robots being utilised by companies of all shapes and sizes, we know that humans will continue to play a crucial role – contrary to the popular belief that they’re set to be replaced. However, there will be some monumental changes to how these robots will contribute to the workplace and the ways in which business in all industries function.

Here, we explore what lies ahead for RPA in 2020.

The continued growth of intelligent automation

Over the past 10 years, the rise of the robot has been repeatedly hyped at tech conferences, in whitepapers and through thought leader articles spread over social media.

It was an exciting time, but we’re well past the point of embracing automation as a technology in its own right. Looking ahead, we need to consider the ways in which robots collaborate with other forms of technology.

What we’re seeing now is an evolution into a new type of automation – whereby robots interlink with other tools in order to realise their overall potential.

In other words, we’re witnessing the smart robot. In 2020, intelligent automation is going to be more widespread than ever – and we’re already seeing evidence of this in the UK and beyond.

Artificial Intelligence, for example, is enabling robots not just to operate – but to learn as they go. The more they know, the more tasks they can automate at a faster rate – reacting to new problems and providing solutions without being programmed to do so.

Here at Robiquity, we’re already collaborating with other companies to instil our robots with intelligent automation capabilities – including Optical Character Recognition (OCR) standardisation and Business Process Management (BPM) software. Visit our partners page to learn more about how we’re offering businesses enhanced opportunities to successfully scale with excellent results.

The new wave of talent will help accelerate automation

Companies are scrambling around desperately for the best talent in tech – because there simply isn’t enough of it to go around. The rapid rise of technology has led to demand outweighing supply. Businesses have the fantastic software, but they don’t have enough people to operate it.

But that could be set to change. Students are recognising the tech world as a real opportunity in which to build a lucrative career – and we’re going to see a steady rise in the number of young people with essential tech knowledge and skills entering the business landscape.

However, these same people will also bring new approaches to work. Any new member of staff with vast tech knowledge is going to question why companies aren’t embracing technology and RPA in the way they should be doing – which in turn is going to encourage companies to push automation to new places.

The older generation averse to RPA are moving on – and waiting to take their place is a new generation of talent who have been immersed in automation all their lives.

People will realise what true scaling looks like

There are many experts on the world stage who have been preaching about the importance of scaling RPA – be it at tech conferences or through their own personal blogs.

Whilst it is crucial to scale an RPA solution as the business progresses, the notion of what true scaling means is still lost amongst many. However, across RPA in 2020, this will undoubtedly – and permanently – change.

As many of the leading RPA solution providers prove the possibilities and pace of scaling in reality, organisations will begin to realise what true scaling actually looks like and take action accordingly. This will involve the enactment of health checks in order to prevent the onset of bad process design.

From next year onwards, we’ll see a growing number of businesses partnering with RPA experts to achieve the kind of scaling that they always (erroneously) believed was beyond them.

One of these aforementioned support partners, of course, is Robiquity…

Take your automation into new territory with Robiquity

Are you prepared for the new era of RPA in 2020? We can help.

With decades of knowledge spread throughout our team of talented RPA experts, we are perfectly placed to support you when it comes to the next chapter of automation.

Give us a call today on 0161 974 3244 or send a message to info@robiquity.com. Our team will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

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