Are RPA Solutions only for the Benefit of Large Organizations?

Robotic process automation has brought a revolution in the world of technology. Research and Markets, a leading research firm estimates that the robotic process automation market is likely to touch the $5 billion mark by 2020. Not only this, a majority of executives in the top management of companies believe that automation is going to be a necessity in the coming years if they want to maximize their productivity and efficiency.

Automation has always been in the circle of large-scale enterprises that have the ability to scale their operations and invest big bucks in the technology. But in the real world of business, not every organization is large enough to support the implementation of RPA technology in their system. What happens then? Should medium to small scale companies accept that robotic process automation is a long shot for them?

Robotic Process Automation Solutions for the Mid-Size Business

Mid to small scale companies have recently started exploring the field of automation. They are trying to fit whatever benefits RPA can offer in their limited budget. Efficiency is at the core of their activities and RPA can enable them to maximize it twofold.

• Over the last few years, the cost of installing robots has reduced. Companies can now find inexpensive automation options for handling repetitive tasks. These software robots can perform multiple tasks at once, eliminating the need to implement different robots for every task. This comes in handy for small enterprises that do not have the financial power to deploy a robot for each activity.

• Mid-size companies face fierce competition from their multinational rivals and cannot compete with them, considering their limited resources. With restrains on manpower and technology, they have to usually outsource services like customer query handling and operational activities. Robotic process automation solutions are a onetime investment for them to cut down on outsourcing costs and make the most of their finite manpower.

• As more and more customers are getting online, digital transformation has become a necessity for small scale enterprises. Automating their tasks will enable them to smoothly transition from their traditional methods of working and create a customer-centric digital environment. It offers employees to focus on creating a better experience for their customers while the robots take care of the mundane back-end tasks.

• Mid-size companies struggle with the lack of human resources. Often, a single person plays the role of admin, HR, and management personnel. The workforce generally has to multitask and cannot focus on creating innovative solutions. By implementing RPA solutions, the workers can delegate their routine tasks to robots and would get more creative time to come up with innovative solutions and make better decisions. They can work on the strategy part of achieving the business objective by automating the operations.

• Medium to small companies also struggle with the fact that given their limited resources, they want quick solutions in as much lower cost as possible. Unfortunately, RPA is not an instant fix but a guaranteed one. It improves accuracy, offers better service, and can scale a huge amount of repetitive operations. RPA for small success is a remedy to their failures of managing small tasks and provides them a way to focus on what’s really important.

How Should Small to Medium Enterprises Start with Automation?

Robotic process automation can cut the operating costs of mid-size companies to a great extent. Even implementing the technology doesn’t consume many resources than what is required and can turn the small companies into big competitors in a short span of time.

• Given the limited human personnel that small companies have, it is essential to understand that employees might not welcome robotic process automation solutions without proper training. They must understand that robots are there to assist them in the work and not replace them.

• Before venturing into automation, always determine what goal it is going to fulfill. Most mid-size businesses have a few goals that they want to accomplish and end up implementing automation for fulfilling all of them which eventually creates chaos. It is essential to develop a long-term plan for a specific goal and then select the best vendor that offers that solution. There are several recognized vendors who offer automation depending on what you objective you want to accomplish with them.

• Once you know your goals, design a comprehensive plan to achieve them with RPA solutions. Smaller companies have a benefit of knowing the workflow in and out, so they can map the plan way better the big corporations, where teams are created to research, understand and implement RPA in the system. The plan should determine the processes that need to be automated and the potential of each automated system to deliver the desired results.

• After the plan is developed, determine where you want to reach with it over a period of time. Small to medium scale enterprises face budget restraints and evaluating each implementation activity will help you figure out how to keep the system running efficiently.

• Finally, when the plan is laid out and the employees are ready, the implementation of bots & automation becomes an effortless task. Do not expect the results to show immediately and wait for a few months before you assess the profitability of automation to your business. Always select a product that serves a specific need and you’ll see that you have achieved the desired results in less time than you planned.

The robotic process automation market is booming right now. From industry leaders to startups and emerging business, everyone is trying to get a piece of the technology and stay ahead of the competition. While skeptics believe that it still remains a far-fetched idea for small scale businesses, the strong competition will break the barrier to entry of low-cost vendors who enable small businesses to augment their operations with RPA solutions. RPA can offer freedom to employees of small scale units from routine tasks that eat up most of their time and allow them to focus on scaling their business with increased efficiency.