Robert Fantina - Introducing Robotic Process Automation to Your Organization: A Guide for Business Leaders

This Apress imprint is published by the registered company APress Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.

The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.

The book in your hands represents decades of experience of the authors. We have worked, as employees and contractors, in many different industries, on very diverse projects, in companies that range from very progressive to those that shun even any discussion of change.

But in this millennium, organizations resist change at their existential peril. Many companies that were leaders in their fields at one point are now either insignificant or nonexistent. Think BlackBerry for one key company that took a major fall, reducing its employees from a high of nearly 17,000 to less than 4,000 today.

That is only one stunning example of many. But it is indicative of what happens when a company fails to keep up with important trends and doesnt make the changes necessary to remain competitive.

We have long recognized the need to keep our own skills current, to maintain our own marketability, and provide the best possible service to the companies that employ us. Our work in Robotic Process Automation is the latest trend we have seen and worked in and one we find exciting to the point of being revolutionary. We often hear of some revolutionary new tool or methodology, but RPA has proven itself time and time again; we have seen it in action.

As we discussed our experience in RPA, and together implemented an RPA program in a company within the financial services industry, our belief in it as an excellent tool to assist any company in any industry to remain profitable and competitive was strengthened. Yet our discussions and our reading also demonstrated that many organizations dont understand RPA and therefore dont recognize its benefits. But we know from experience how beneficial it can be.

The amount of money that companies spend on training for their employees in any given year can be significant. Its wonderful that organizations are willing to invest in their people, and we encourage them to continue to do so, as we also encourage employees to take full advantage of company training programs. But, too often, employees come back into the office after training, enthusiastic about what they have learned and anxious to implement it, but the structure for doing so simply isnt there. It could be that management likes the idea, but doesnt fully understand it and is hesitant to implement it, or other employees are simply resistant to change. After all, if someone has been doing their job successfully, why change the way its being done?

This book answers that question, along with many others. Work may be done very effectively, but not efficiently. For example, an employee who processes paperwork all day long, looking up account numbers, copying them to an invoice, etc., may be very good at their job. But if the work can be automated, its highly possible that a weeks worth of invoices can be completed and sent to the customer in the amount of time it takes a person to process a single one.

These are the kinds of issues management must look for. How can more work be done with fewer resources? How can work be more accurate? Managers and leaders in companies we have worked for have struggled with these issues, and some of them have seen automation as one of the answers.

Robotic Process Automation is not mysterious, but it must be understood to be successful. There are some prerequisites to implementation, and if you miss them, you increase your risk of failure. Within these pages, we provide the tools to help ensure your success.

We recommend that you read the book start to finish and then use it as an ongoing reference guide. You will find useful tips based on our experience, along with all the templates you will require. We ask specific questions within each chapter for you to consider in the context of your own organization.

The book is designed and written for business leaders, and that can mean anyone who wants to take the initiative to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes within their jurisdiction.

We wish you every success as you learn about, and then implement, Robotic Process Automation.

Robert Fantina

Andriy Storozhuk

Kamal Goyal