I recently had the honor of giving a presentation to a group or records management professionals at the monthly meeting of the Mile High Denver Chapter of ARMA. I titled my session, “All You Need to Know About Robotic Process Automation In 30 Minutes!”
It’s important to note that I called it RPA: Everything You Need to Know in 30 Minutes rather than RPA Everything There is to Know. Robotic process automation is an incredibly powerful business concept and practice that has far-reaching (and constantly expanding) potential. It would take quite some time to know everything there is to know about it! But, what I emphasized in the presentation is that for all the many benefits RPA can deliver — including faster processes, a flexible digital workforce, and staff members freed from mindless tasks to tackle more important ones — the concept itself is very easy to understand.
Small software programs, referred to as “robots” (or when we craft them, Buddha Botz), take on repetitive, non-thinking data manipulation operations and complete them with 100% accuracy, saving companies time and money. It’s that simple.
Understanding Robotic Process Automation Opens Up a World of Possibilities
Once you understand what RPA is, you begin to think about how your company might take advantage of it. You have flashes of insight like, “Imagine if Mike didn’t have to spend five hours a week rekeying data that comes in on application forms! Or if Kelly didn’t have to set aside two days each month to manually merge spreadsheets from the Denver, New York, and Dallas offices!”
This, of course, leads to other questions, like:
- “What kinds of companies, and what departments within them, can benefit from RPA?” (Answer: Any company and any department! If an organization or entity within it generates, receives or manages “information” in any form, it can improve its operations with RPA.)
- “Will RPA replace my staff?” (Answer: No! In fact, RPA allows team members to address higher-level business activities, which helps them grow their skills and advance their careers.)
- “It must be costly and time-consuming to have software robots developed, right?” (Answer: Not at all! Robots can be designed, developed and online very quickly. And the cost is low, especially relative to the advantages they deliver.)
- “Do we have to have an IT person/department to create and maintain software robots?” (Answer: No! Ideally, your staff is trained to tweak existing Buddha Botz and develop new ones as needed.)
Satisfy Your RPA Curiosity with a Free 60-Minute Phone Consultation
At this point, you may be thinking, “Robotic process automation sounds great, but will Buddha Botz work for our company?” The best way to find out is to get a free 60-minute phone consultation. One of our automation experts can talk with you about the specific processes that could be handled using RPA and what would be involved in making that happen. Contact us at 303-807-6528 or visit our contact page to schedule a very informative, no-obligation session.
And for a quick overview, check out my ARMA presentation.
About the Author
Charles Weidman is the President and CTO of Buddha Logic. Charlie has over two decades of experience in the design, development and implementation of content services and business process management solutions. He is also an expert in robotic process automation. Charlie founded Buddha Logic with the idea that well-architected digital document capture and management processes are both beautifully simple and powerfully logical. Find and connect with Charlie on LinkedIn.