In our pre-COVID world, business has changed and is continuing to change drastically and nearly too quickly to keep up with. What was initially supposed to be a few-week period to “flatten the curve” has turned into an entirely new way of living, with many businesses set to stay at least partially remote for an indefinite period of time. As we learn more about the virus and its effects, it’s becoming clear we truly can’t predict what the future will hold.
COVID isn’t the only revolutionary change businesses are seeing. As robotic and AI technology become more and more advanced, Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is becoming more and more common. An increasing number of companies are learning about and beginning to implement this technology and it’s changing the way they operate.
RPA and COVID: A tale of abandonment
From simply replicating and automating a straight-forward task to a full-fledged Digital Coworker that works alongside a team just like a human worker, the limitless potential these technologies provide is becoming more and more crucial to the everyday function of companies both large and small.
This presents a problem, however, in cases like our current climate. Entire teams are being dislodged from their offices with no definitive date for return. Robotic technology that exists solely on the computers remaining in the (unsafe to return to) offices of these companies is less than useless; it’s wasted time and money sitting, devaluing, and becoming less and less relevant.
For businesses who’ve barely scratched the surface of Robotic Process Automation and are using it to do some light lifting here and there, this is merely annoying. Mundane tasks that had been on a set-it-and-forget-it basis need to be done by hand again, or at the very least, reconfigured (which, with basic RPA, can be frustrating and labor-intensive). For companies who rely heavily on this technology and reaping its full benefits, such as those employing Digital Coworkers, this can be absolutely crippling.
Put it in the cloud
This is where the cloud comes in. Thanks to advancements in engineering and computers, we now have the ability to host larger, better-performing, and more comprehensive programs in said cloud, making them accessible from anywhere by anyone.
The first time you were able to get into your work email and respond to an important message from someone else’s device in an emergency is probably not too difficult to recall. The panic at realizing you needed something you couldn’t have access to then the sweet relief of recognizing you weren’t out of options can be taken for granted since we now are used to having any and all information at our fingertips. It’s time for that same principle to be applied to the RPAs we rely on that, before now, had been confined to the computers they existed on.
Especially when there’s no guarantee when companies will be back in our offices (or, when they’re back, that they’ll be able to stay permanently), being able to safely and securely access any and all tools necessary to the optimal function of their businesses is crucial. RPA, especially when operating as a fully-functional team member, is no different.
Our team here at Roots Automation has built the first cloud-based Cognitive Process Automation solution (RPA infused with Artificial Intelligence) so it truly acts as a fellow employee of your organization. We call these solutions Digital Coworkers. They don’t just communicate via email and chat like your internal team; they also learn, read, and comprehend contextual cues. Since Digital Coworkers are fully cloud-based, implementation is as easy as setting up the same VPN your current team is using to work remotely.
See also: 4 things to know about RPA