RPA providers are now taking the market by storm. More businesses are investing in RPA technology to provide an automation solution for their processes for more efficient and cost-saving operation.
Robotic Process Automation is continuously expanding its capability and application. The aim of this technology is to let robots do the job. These tasks are easy for humans to do but require a lot of time and repetitive steps to finish. RPA tools and robots can accomplish the task with ease and complete documentation. This allows humans to take on more important job opportunities and leave the tedious simple tasks to Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Given that you have decided to invest in RPA tools, the next task is choosing the right vendor. There are two types of RPA vendors to choose from:
1. 1st Wave RPA Focused Vendors
This group of vendors offers low-code and no-code RPA tools. They have perfected programmable bot solutions and looking for advanced capabilities for their future software.
2. 2nd Wave RPA Focused Vendors
This group offers only no-code RPA tools. These vendors are more focused on providing the latest advancement and intelligent automation solutions to enterprises.
Vendors are putting a lot of their cognitive skills into play. They are willing to take risks to offer more than just a traditional RPA.
In choosing your RPA vendor, determine some important criteria that will help make the experience better for both of you. These criterias will help you manage your expectations and set limits within your capabilities. Let’s discuss the things that will help you decide in finding the good RPA vendor.
Cost of Ownership
The total cost of ownership is the amount you’d need from setup to maintenance of the system. RPA is cost-saving for businesses in the long run, which is why enterprises are putting their investment into this technology. The total cost includes initial set up cost, vendor license fees, and maintenance cost. Determine your budget for these three because it will help you in sorting out your vendor list candidates.
Ease of Use, Writing Codes, and RPA Control
A user-friendly automated solution will help your business and workers save time, energy and resources. This reduces training and setup time. It is also wise to get in-person or virtual training for your employees to be proficient in using RPA technology. Also, ease of control allows you or anyone in charge to stop, start, pause, or play the process whenever you need to. Unlike in traditional IT, everything is triggered by codes that need programmers familiar with your software.
Technical Criteria Complying with Company Guidelines
Make sure to check the system requirements, security, integrations, screen scraping capabilities, cognitive automation capabilities, compliance with the company’s product roadmap, etc.
Vendor Support and After Care
It is wise to find a vendor that understands the needs of your business. It is so much easier to work with someone who can drastically improve the speed and implementation of the job done by the RPA robot.
Furthermore, a good RPA vendor should be holding your hand in this process as your company will need a lot of support to make the RPA run smoothly. Always consider the level of support that your vendor is willing to extend.
Here’s a step-by-step to-do list in helping you make a shortlist of RPA vendors.
1. Be specific in the process that you’d like to automate
2. List all the RPA tools to help shortlist your vendor options
3. Check if your shortlisted vendors cover your geographic location
4. Finalize and evaluate the vendors in your shortlist
5. Choose the RPA vendor who will serve you
This helps give you a brief idea of choosing the right RPA platform for your business. It is still up to your decision to award the lucky vendor. Always remember that this is a big decision for you, your business and your employees. So don’t rush into the first vendor on the list. Assess each criterion until you find the right one.
Additional references:
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