How Cloud RPA Impacts Automation

Summary

Robotic process automation (RPA) encompasses software that emulates human actions. It can assist with everything from data storage and organization to payroll-related tasks. Over the past several years, more companies have begun offering cloud RPA services, allowing customers to automate tasks via web browsers. How does cloud RPA affect automation?

Removes the need for on-site infrastructure

One of the biggest reasons to opt for cloud RPA is clients do not need to budget to expand their on-site infrastructure. That benefit can make expanding functionality across numerous sites easier, enabling consistently better performance.
 
In one instance, public service agencies in Virginia chose a cloud RPA provider to accelerate many tasks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that public health emergency forced many agencies to transition to remote work, it was a good time to explore cloud technologies.
 
The chosen RPA-as-a-service product allowed making financial reports about agency invoices in less than 16 hours, while the prior process required spending significant periods every month on this task. In another case, the technology saved 40% on an unemployment claims backlog. Handling it with current staffing levels would have taken nearly a year, but the cloud RPA product enabled tackling it in a couple of months.
 
The way these Virginia agencies used robotic process automation was ideal for the cloud because of how many sites relied on the technology. Installing it through physical upgrades in each place would have been prohibitively time-consuming. More specifically, the organization implementing the cloud RPA for Virginia deals with 65 executive branch agencies in the state. Trying to bring the technology to all of them through traditional means would have taken too long, especially during a pandemic.

Supports digital transformation efforts

Many companies are already investing in digital transformation, knowing doing so is critical for keeping a business up-to-date and competitive. Some leaders also apply cloud RPA tools to align with compliance management needs. They realize RPA can be more accurate than humans and respond to triggers indicating potential non-compliance.
 
People could spend hours manually digging through records to find instances of non-compliance. However, setting up an RPA tool only to respond in specific circumstances can significantly reduce wasted time. That’s particularly true when compliance measures are built into everyday workflows, such as at banks.
 
In one example, Deutsche Bank began using an RPA tool for data processing. This approach enables the reconciliation of tens of thousands of financial records to occur in about an hour, whereas it previously took up to three days. The bank also has a client-facing solution to assist with digital transformations and estimates suggest it could save 60-80 hours of work per month.
 
Prioritizing a cloud-based solution should maximize the expected benefits due to ease of deployment across sites. Also, since cloud computing is already a crucial part of many digital transformation plans, investing in RPA that works in the cloud is not a stretch.

Strengthens security

The results of a 2022 study showed 82% of participants had strong feelings about cloud security and believed it was somewhat secure. Budgeting for a cloud RPA solution can boost an enterprise’s security because the arrangement likely requires the vendor to assist with some security aspects.
 
For example, most cloud-based tools have built-in access control settings and multifactor authentication options. Any security updates also typically get pushed to clients automatically, so those customers can have the newest security patches installed with little or no effort.
 
A security best practice is to assign different levels of protection to each type of data handled by RPA depending on its sensitivity and other features. It’s also wise to have in-depth discussions with tech vendors about the proposed uses for a cloud tool. Talk about the different regulatory requirements associated with storing and handling that information, and how the vendor could support those security needs.
 
However, cloud RPA clients must also improve security internally. That means training each person to handle data securely and regularly ensuring any RPA bots used perform as expected without introducing security threats.

Using RPA in the cloud helps companies pursue automation

Although automating processes is not an immediate fix for all brands, it can allow many to raise productivity and reduce errors, along with other benefits. The excellent flexibility and scalability of using RPA in the cloud assist businesses as they grow and address their changing needs.