Will RPA change the face of automation through path-breaking careers?

Today, you can create your own software robots to automate any business process. Sounds fancy, isn’t it? This is thanks to the incredible power of RPA. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the fastest-growing technologies in the world. It is a simple yet powerful business process automation software. While RPA bots can learn and can also be cloned, the best part is its non-disruptive and non-invasive property.

What is RPA and why implementing RPA tools makes business sense?

RPA is the process of automating business operations with the help of software robots to reduce human intervention. It does not replace humans with actual robots, rather it mimics the action of the user at the UI UX level. RPA is usually used to automate repeated manual tasks like payroll processing, onboarding of employees, processing orders and other mundane, high volume , high risk and repetitive tasks. It is now widely leveraged in various domains and industries like Healthcare, BFSI, Manufacturing, Retail and of course IT for its reliable nature.

RPA provides accurate, reliable, consistent outputs with high productivity rates. It helps businesses improve their flexibility, process quality, speed and productivity. It will minimize the cost as well. RPA helps businesses to become more efficient by increasing the speed and reducing the error.

When businesses use RPA to automate mundane tasks which require little to no human involvement, it reduces the pressure on their employees and allows them to harness their talents in a much better way. Businesses can direct their employees to more critical works which actually needs decision making.

Today many MNCs such as Deloitte, Accenture, Capgemini and others use Robotic Process Automation to ensure speed and accuracy to complex and repetitive processes. Now, even SMEs have started moving towards the adaptations of RPA. The global RPA economy is expected to be more than $8.75 billion by the year 2024.

RPA in the wake of COVID-19

In the wake of COVID-19, businesses have realized the role of RPA in business transformation and business continuity and started investing in it. As per a report, the companies are going to increase their RPA spend by 5% in the next 12 months. The RPA market is growing at a rapid pace, despite economic pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per a survey, 48% of businesses are eagerly adapting to RPA in the pandemic. The companies will speed up the adaption to address business and market pressure. It is predicted 90% of large organizations globally will have adopted RPA by 2022.

RPA tools

RPA is implemented through RPA tools. RPA tools/vendors are the software through which you can configure tasks to get automated. In today’s market, there are many RPA vendors. Businesses can select vendors/tools as per their requirements. Here is a list of widely used RPA tools

Blue Prism
Automation Anywhere
UiPath
Workfusion
Pega
Redwood
OpenSpan

A career in RPA and the in-demand skills

RPA professionals are seeing massive career opportunities as the demand for automation is increasing. Most of the organizations are rapidly adopting RPA which creates many new job opportunities for aspiring graduates as well as professionals. So, the future is reassuring for those who want to build a career in RPA. However, you will require a particular skillset and knowledge. If you have RPA skills, then it will give you opportunities to choose from and get into employment. There are many roles in RPA, such as:

Process Designer
Automation Architect
Project Manager
Business Analyst
Process SME
RPA Developer
RPA Tester
Bot Orchestrator

You can select one from the above job roles as per your interest and skills. However, a basic framework and understanding are required for all these job roles. There are a few foundational skills that are must-haves for an RPA professional. The foundational skills are,

Problem-solving and analytical skills
Programming languages- Microsoft .NET framework, HTML, CSS, Python
Scripting and coding
SQL and relational databases
Knowledge in application development
Data analytics
API integration

If you want to build the fundamental skills, then you should start with premium training in the most popular automation tools such as Blue Prism, Automation Anywhere among others. There are training programs available which are specially designed to meet the industry requirements. These courses will help you become industry-ready and will enable you to leverage the opportunities that are available.

Also read: How Blockchain will transform industries of the next decade through path-breaking careers https://www.nationalskillsnetwork.in/how-blockchain-will-transform-industries-of-the-next-decade/

With the rapid adoption of automation, there will be a huge demand for RPA professionals with a variety of skill sets. You must upgrade your skills to cope with the requirements of the industry and to stay relevant.