<s>
Robotic	B-Application
process	I-Application
automation	I-Application
(	O
RPA	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
business	O
process	O
automation	B-Application
technology	O
based	O
on	O
metaphorical	O
software	B-Application
robots	I-Application
(	O
bots	B-Protocol
)	O
or	O
on	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
(	O
AI	B-Application
)	O
/digital	O
workers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
software	O
robotics	O
(	O
not	O
to	O
be	O
confused	O
with	O
robot	B-Application
software	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
traditional	O
workflow	B-Operating_System
automation	B-Application
tools	O
,	O
a	O
software	B-Application
developer	I-Application
produces	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
actions	O
to	O
automate	O
a	O
task	O
and	O
interface	O
to	O
the	O
back	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
system	O
using	O
internal	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
(	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
)	O
or	O
dedicated	O
scripting	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
RPA	O
systems	O
develop	O
the	O
action	O
list	O
by	O
watching	O
the	O
user	O
perform	O
that	O
task	O
in	O
the	O
application	O
's	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
GUI	B-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
perform	O
the	O
automation	B-Application
by	O
repeating	O
those	O
tasks	O
directly	O
in	O
the	O
GUI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
lower	O
the	O
barrier	O
to	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
automation	B-Application
in	O
products	O
that	O
might	O
not	O
otherwise	O
feature	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
for	O
this	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RPA	O
tools	O
have	O
strong	O
technical	O
similarities	O
to	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
testing	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
tools	O
also	O
automate	O
interactions	O
with	O
the	O
GUI	B-Application
,	O
and	O
often	O
do	O
so	O
by	O
repeating	B-Application
a	I-Application
set	I-Application
of	I-Application
demonstration	I-Application
actions	I-Application
performed	O
by	O
a	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
typical	O
benefits	O
of	O
robotic	B-Application
automation	I-Application
include	O
reduced	O
cost	O
;	O
increased	O
speed	O
,	O
accuracy	O
,	O
and	O
consistency	O
;	O
improved	O
quality	O
and	O
scalability	O
of	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Automation	B-Application
can	O
also	O
provide	O
extra	O
security	O
,	O
especially	O
for	O
sensitive	O
data	O
and	O
financial	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
automation	B-Application
,	O
the	O
concept	O
has	O
been	O
around	O
for	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
screen	O
scraping	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
traced	O
back	O
to	O
early	O
forms	O
of	O
malware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
RPA	O
is	O
much	O
more	O
extensible	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
API	B-General_Concept
integration	O
into	O
other	O
enterprise	O
applications	O
,	O
connectors	O
into	O
ITSM	O
systems	O
,	O
terminal	B-Protocol
services	I-Protocol
and	O
even	O
some	O
types	O
of	O
AI	B-Application
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Robotic	B-Application
automation	I-Application
software	I-Application
provides	O
a	O
pragmatic	O
means	O
of	O
deploying	O
new	O
services	O
in	O
this	O
situation	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
robots	O
simply	O
mimic	O
the	O
behaviour	O
of	O
humans	O
to	O
perform	O
the	O
back-end	B-Architecture
transcription	O
or	O
processing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
relative	O
affordability	O
of	O
this	O
approach	O
arises	O
from	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
no	O
new	O
IT	O
transformation	O
or	O
investment	O
is	O
required	O
;	O
instead	O
the	O
software	B-Application
robots	I-Application
simply	O
leverage	O
greater	O
use	O
out	O
of	O
existing	O
IT	O
assets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hosting	O
of	O
RPA	O
services	O
also	O
aligns	O
with	O
the	O
metaphor	O
of	O
a	O
software	B-Application
robot	I-Application
,	O
with	O
each	O
robotic	O
instance	O
having	O
its	O
own	O
virtual	O
workstation	O
,	O
much	O
like	O
a	O
human	O
worker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
robot	O
uses	O
keyboard	O
and	O
mouse	O
controls	O
to	O
take	O
actions	O
and	O
execute	O
automations	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Normally	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
actions	O
take	O
place	O
in	O
a	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
environment	I-General_Concept
and	O
not	O
on	O
screen	O
;	O
the	O
robot	O
does	O
not	O
need	O
a	O
physical	O
screen	O
to	O
operate	O
,	O
rather	O
it	O
interprets	O
the	O
screen	O
display	O
electronically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
scalability	O
of	O
modern	O
solutions	O
based	O
on	O
architectures	O
such	O
as	O
these	O
owes	O
much	O
to	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
virtualization	B-General_Concept
technology	O
,	O
without	O
which	O
the	O
scalability	O
of	O
large	O
deployments	O
would	O
be	O
limited	O
by	O
the	O
available	O
capacity	O
to	O
manage	O
physical	O
hardware	O
and	O
by	O
the	O
associated	O
costs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Criticism	O
includes	O
risks	O
of	O
stifling	O
innovation	O
and	O
creating	O
a	O
more	O
complex	O
maintenance	O
environment	O
of	O
existing	O
software	O
that	O
now	O
needs	O
to	O
consider	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
in	O
a	O
way	O
they	O
were	O
n't	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Harvard	O
Business	O
Review	O
,	O
most	O
operations	O
groups	O
adopting	O
RPA	O
have	O
promised	O
their	O
employees	O
that	O
automation	B-Application
would	O
not	O
result	O
in	O
layoffs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
academic	O
study	O
highlighted	O
that	O
knowledge	O
workers	O
did	O
not	O
feel	O
threatened	O
by	O
automation	B-Application
:	O
they	O
embraced	O
it	O
and	O
viewed	O
the	O
robots	O
as	O
team-mates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
geographic	O
implications	O
to	O
the	O
trend	O
in	O
robotic	B-Application
automation	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
this	O
basis	O
,	O
developed	O
economies	O
–	O
with	O
skills	O
and	O
technological	O
infrastructure	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
support	O
a	O
robotic	B-Application
automation	I-Application
capability	O
–	O
can	O
be	O
expected	O
to	O
achieve	O
a	O
net	O
benefit	O
from	O
the	O
trend	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
provides	O
a	O
case	O
study	O
of	O
the	O
Japanese	O
insurance	O
companies	O
–	O
Sompo	O
Japan	O
and	O
Aioi	O
–	O
both	O
of	O
whom	O
introduced	O
bots	B-Protocol
to	O
speed	O
up	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
insurance	O
pay-outs	O
in	O
past	O
massive	O
disaster	O
incidents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
found	O
in	O
a	O
2021	O
study	O
observing	O
the	O
effects	O
of	O
robotization	B-Application
in	O
Europe	O
that	O
,	O
the	O
gender	O
pay	O
gap	O
increased	O
at	O
a	O
rate	O
of	O
.18	O
%	O
for	O
every	O
1%	O
increase	O
in	O
robotization	B-Application
of	O
a	O
given	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technological	O
advancements	O
around	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
allow	O
a	O
process	O
to	O
be	O
run	O
on	O
a	O
computer	O
without	O
needing	O
input	O
from	O
a	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hyperautomation	O
is	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
advanced	O
technologies	O
like	O
RPA	O
,	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
,	O
machine	O
learning	O
(	O
ML	O
)	O
and	O
process	B-Algorithm
mining	I-Algorithm
to	O
augment	O
workers	O
and	O
automate	O
processes	O
in	O
ways	O
that	O
are	O
significantly	O
more	O
impactful	O
than	O
traditional	O
automation	B-Application
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hyperautomation	O
is	O
the	O
combination	O
of	O
automation	B-Application
tools	O
to	O
deliver	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gartner	O
’s	O
report	O
notes	O
that	O
this	O
trend	O
was	O
kicked	O
off	O
with	O
robotic	B-Application
process	I-Application
automation	I-Application
(	O
RPA	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
report	O
notes	O
that	O
,	O
“	O
RPA	O
alone	O
is	O
not	O
hyper-automation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hyperautomation	O
requires	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
tools	O
and	O
technologies	O
like	O
Robotic	O
Data	O
Automation	B-Application
to	O
help	O
support	O
replicating	O
pieces	O
of	O
where	O
the	O
human	O
is	O
involved	O
in	O
a	O
task.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
would	O
seem	O
to	O
make	O
an	O
ideal	O
starting	O
point	O
for	O
organizations	O
beginning	O
to	O
adopt	O
robotic	B-Application
automation	I-Application
for	O
the	O
back	O
office	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whether	O
client	O
organisations	O
choose	O
to	O
take	O
outsourced	O
processes	O
back	O
"	O
in	O
house	O
"	O
from	O
their	O
Business	O
Process	O
Outsourcing	O
(	O
BPO	O
)	O
providers	O
,	O
thus	O
representing	O
a	O
threat	O
to	O
the	O
future	O
of	O
the	O
BPO	O
business	O
,	O
or	O
whether	O
the	O
BPOs	O
implement	O
such	O
automations	B-Application
on	O
their	O
clients	O
 '	O
behalf	O
may	O
well	O
depend	O
on	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
factors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conversely	O
however	O
,	O
a	O
BPO	O
provider	O
may	O
seek	O
to	O
effect	O
some	O
form	O
of	O
client	O
lock-in	O
by	O
means	O
of	O
automation	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
removing	O
cost	O
from	O
a	O
business	O
operation	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
BPO	O
provider	O
is	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
owner	O
of	O
the	O
intellectual	O
property	O
and	O
physical	O
implementation	O
of	O
a	O
robotic	B-Application
automation	I-Application
solution	O
(	O
perhaps	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
hardware	O
,	O
ownership	O
of	O
software	O
licences	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
effect	O
occurs	O
as	O
the	O
associated	O
cost	O
savings	O
made	O
through	O
automation	B-Application
would	O
-	O
temporarily	O
at	O
least	O
-	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
reintroduced	O
to	O
the	O
business	O
whilst	O
the	O
technical	O
solution	O
is	O
reimplemented	O
in	O
the	O
new	O
operational	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
robotised	O
automation	B-Application
can	O
be	O
hosted	O
in	O
a	O
data	O
centre	O
in	O
any	O
jurisdiction	O
and	O
this	O
has	O
two	O
major	O
consequences	O
for	O
BPO	O
providers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chatbots	B-Protocol
used	O
by	O
internet	O
retailers	O
and	O
service	O
providers	O
to	O
service	O
customer	O
requests	O
for	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
