It’s funny, I recently read a blog I wrote to start the year entitled, “RPA Thoughts for 2020”. To say those were whimsical times is a slight understatement. While some of my thoughts touch on some of the trends I would like to highlight for 2nd half of this year, most of them are going to the proverbial “RPA Backlog”. Like many other RPA Providers/Consultants, we had to scrap most of our planning and pivot to new areas/ use cases. In addition, we are being forced to change based on the limited capital coming from Enterprise businesses and the mid-market.
It is imperative we demonstrate that “Day One Value” can be achieved with whatever solution we provide to our RPA Partners.
While that may seem obvious, it is the primary focus of any company looking to invest in automation. They generally do not have the budget or bandwidth to stand up a COE and automation environment at this point. Companies like mine can provide both out of the gate and support fully functional production-ready robot(s) in 4-6 weeks.
That being said, there are some interesting trends developing, going into the 3rd quarter and 2nd half of the year.
Hyperautomation
It was the fastest trending tech term at the end of the last year and early this year. However, I chose not to focus on it for my earlier blogs. I felt companies were still dipping their toes into the automation space. I also guessed it probably would not gain traction until 2021. That is not the case.
We talk to and have a few new projects that are heavy on AI and ML.
Most of the prospects we talk to understand the concepts and are looking to start projects with a heavy AI component to begin with. The projects are aggressive in thought and the success, thus far, has been incredible. I feel that while stand-alone RPA solutions will continue to be the predominate portion of new projects, hyperautomation in some form even limited, will be growing in stature. I also contend that Process Discovery is another key driver for hyperautomation to be fully utilized long term. #scalability
Business Continuity
Another huge driver for new projects. Whether it be preparing for the 2nd wave of COVID-19 or just general business practice with fewer resources, it is a topic everyone is familiar with. Business critical operations have been disrupted or delayed due to the pandemic. While workarounds have been implemented, in most cases they do not meet the mark for businesses. It is one of the primary reasons we launched the InvoiceBot earlier this year. We felt it was time to put together an end-to-end solution that just works – using best in breed technology powered by our architecture and team, we can demonstrate immediate ROI.
RPA isn’t just for Enterprises
While the big RPA software companies and consulting providers focus mostly on selling large amounts of software to enterprise level companies, they seem to be ignoring the burgeoning mid market. RPA as a service is a sweet spot. Mid tier companies generally don’t have the resources to stand up a full-fledged COE and their needs are immediate. With its origins in back-office activities and scripting automation, RPA has always had a natural play in doing repetitive high value tasks that can immediately benefit companies. The Enterprise tier represents an incredible opportunity for business transformation over the medium to long term, but the lack of spending forecasted for the rest of the year, the mid market could be where RPA thrives if its priced effectively.
New Use Cases in Unexpected Industries
As the economy continues to “evolve” in the coming months and in this new environment , I expect that new automation opportunities will occur in all sectors. As an automation provider we are going to continue to research and mine for use cases that are obvious and high value. In the 2nd quarter we were presented with a handful of “can’t miss” opportunities in Logistics and Supply Chain. With a bevy of legacy systems and communications, it’s an industry ripe for automation. While Financial Services, Healthcare and Manufacturing have long been a focus, I expect for outliers to come to float to the top. There will be others.
In summary, it is a crazy time to be in the automation space. I find in times of change and uncertainty it’s best to listen to trends. Moreover, be ready to act and, most of all, it is essential to be adaptable. Here is to a better 2nd half of 2020!
Peter S. Camp is the CTO and Founder of CampTek Software. He has been developing RPA Applications for over 15 years. For further questions, discussion or inquiry about CampTek Software Services, contact info@campteksoftware.com.
