Robotic Process Automation is a new trend, a disruptive innovation taking place in workplaces right now.
The idea is simple. Robots are beginning to effectively perform tasks reserved for humans. It’s a huge move; as the automation has started displacing human workers. It is important to note that the effect is a lot more than displacement, it shows advancement. The potpourri of technological ideas and innovations are making us think of work in new and exciting ways.
With these technologies from vendors such as RPA services, employees can configure a ‘robot’ (an application) to capture and interpret existing applications for processing a transaction. The application helps in manipulating data, triggering responses and communicating with other digital systems.
I see robotics emerging into everyday use myself – in fact a project I am currently working on aims to bolster its workforce with robotic processes this year.
Robotic Process Automation: The New 21st Century
If organizations still think what they previously knew about business will still help them navigate the murky waters of the 21st century, then, they are wrong. After 1999, came a very new dispensation, an era that brought its own peculiarities as well as dynamics. This is an era that has broken every conventional wisdom known to man. This is an era where one plus one might just not be two. The 21st century is not an era for the weak, neither is it a time for the lazy. It is rather a time for the highly strategic organizations, who can forecast accurately, understand trends and leverage on them, realize that the body of knowledge gets updated in real time, hence, learning must never stop. These are the organizations who are going to make it in this century. Tech is the language of the 21st century, and organizations are latching on to that. Hence, companies are beginning to see that work processes are better automated, bringing about higher levels of efficiency.
The Role Played by Capitalism
Capitalism can be simply defined as a situation where there is more capital (machines) and less labor (humans). This is one idea that appeals to organizations, hence the drive to automate work processes. This is because there are technologies that can do the job. Every company wants to maximize profit, hence, why should they keep spending money to pay humans, when an application or robot can do exactly what the humans are doing and even do more. Robots don’t complain, they don’t fall sick, they don’t get pregnant, they don’t go on leave, they work weekends and at night.
The Future of Workplaces
As much as fears arise about robots replacing humans, the concepts of cognitive computing, robotics, and workforce automation is one that will feature prominently in the future workplace. Companies rely more on exploiting the rise of technology in a bid to make more profit and create a seamless production line. Many companies will begin to infuse products, services, and operations with digital assets and technologies, disrupting old business models and creating new ones. The introduction of robots in factories will bring about a reduction in demand for low-skilled labor.
On the other hand, fears that robotic process automation will take away jobs are not totally true. As much as there might be a reduction in the demand for labor, there will be an increase in the demand for highly skilled talent to build and manage the robots. There will also be a need for talents to handle the legal issues that may arise, there would be a need for marketing of the robots. Jobs won’t be thrown out of the windows, there would still be jobs. The only thing being that there would be a paradigm shift in the jobs. The jobs available before will have to give way to new ones.
