Though its popularity is surging, RPA is not widely adopted. For those companies that have tested the technology, however, the desire to expand their programs usually quickly follows. A new report from Blue Prism-owned Thoughtonomy, however, outlines the challenges early RPA adopters have trying to scale are facing.
Fifty-five percent of U.K. executives polled by research firm tekknowlogy for Thoughtonomy said the results of their early RPA tests met their expectations, while 44 percent said RPA performed better than they expected. Those results seem to drive another finding in the research—60 percent of strategy leaders are planning to automate more than 10 percent of their processes within five years. Cost and complexity, along with a lack of skilled resources are the primary forces working against bringing RPA to scale in these situations, the report said.
“The study highlights the clear differences between building a successful plan of action for starting out on an automation journey and ensuring that the right building blocks are in place to scale up across the organization,” the report’s authors wrote. “The business case evolves to take a broader view beyond cost and productivity, and new challenges emerge in terms of governance, stakeholder engagement and bot lifecycle management. Strategy leaders also need to consider how they can strike a balance between ensuring a consistent and efficient approach to automation across the business through a centralized function, and the benefits that a more distributed model can bring in helping accelerate adoption across different silos.”