The growth in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) adoption has also driven the growth of RPA Service providers to help companies implement RPA Solutions. Based on a recent survey across APAC/ANZ, 43% of the companies choose to implement RPA on their own without a services partner or advisor. Even though RPA is a relatively “simple” technology to implement, a lot of companies have faced challenges or issues with their deployments or have found that the results they were expecting were not met. This is where an RPA Service Provider could make a difference. In this blog, we will go over a few reasons why a company might decide to work with an RPA Service Provider.
“43% of the companies are implementing RPA on their own, without a services partner or advisor.” – SSON’s 2019 APAC/ANZ Market Report
Who is an RPA Service Provider
Before diving into the reasons to work with a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Service Provider, let’s define what it is. RPA Service Providers, also known as RPA Consulting firms, are companies that offer to consult, implementation support, or ongoing management to automation projects. They could also be resellers of a specific RPA Vendor tool or technology agnostic.
Implementing RPA requires a deep understanding and knowledge of the technology and the processes involved. Consultants have been working on processes for decades and some consultants are quite experienced in RPA as well.
If you believe that your company personnel does not have the expertise or time to deploy RPA automation, you can consider working with an RPA Service Provider.
How an RPA Service Provider Can Help You
1. Selecting the Right Processes for RPA
One of the main challenges for companies looking to implement RPA is choosing the right processes for automation. Sometimes the most valuable processes to automate may not be obvious. RPA can be especially difficult if the processes that the company wants to automate are non-standardized and require human intervention frequently in order to execute.
An RPA service provider can help you identify which processes are better suited to automate but also the processes that would bring significant ROI to your efforts, by establishing a framework to the process assessment that evaluates the Suitability, Value, and Risk of automating a specific process. They could also recommend reengineering the process in order to maximize the benefits of automation.
Knowing the right processes would eventually play a big part in choosing the RPA software for your project, as it would need to fit the specific business requirements.
2. Choosing an RPA Tool
Besides having knowledge of all the processes, companies need to have the right guidance and skills to judge which solution fits them best. There’s multiple automation tools on the market, each with different capabilities, strengths and weaknesses, and license fees. Some examples are UiPath, Blue Prism, Automation Anywhere, etc. Most of the companies choose the wrong solution based only on the cost of the solution itself.
An RPA Service Provider can help you do a thorough analysis and assess the capabilities of each solution and the fit to your specific business processes and operations, ensuring that your investment is the right one for your automation needs.
3. Accelerated RPA Deployment
Working with someone that has had experience deploying RPA technologies can significantly reduce project time, as they already know the best practices and approaches to RPA in order to achieve the best results and ROI out of your investment. Also if you are in a hurry to leverage the benefits of RPA, it makes sense to work with an RPA Service Provider.
Another thing to consider is that working with an RPA Service Provider could be more affordable than having RPA experts in-house, besides you don’t spend time and resources trying to recruit that RPA talent.
Choosing the Right RPA Service Provider
If after going over the reasons above you have realized you need to work with an RPA Service Partner, here’s some key questions that can help you filter and sort out RPA Service Providers:
- RPA Experience and Qualifications. As would be the case for any technology or software you would want to work with someone that has vast experience implementing that specific technology. When evaluating RPA Service Providers, you should look for a partner that has the capabilities and certifications to fully deliver on the promise of automation.
- Industry-Specific Experience. While arguably any RPA service provider can assess your unique business needs, having experience in your particular industry helps them understand your position better and suggest a tailored-fit solution to your specific pain points.
- Existing Relationship. It is easier to work with companies that not only already know you and your processes but are also are aware of other technology initiatives you are currently managing. As we have stated before, an RPA project should not be a siloed effort as it can have repercussions to different business areas.
