In Japan’s FANUC robotics factory, rows of automated machines efficiently carry out repetitive tasks that humans once performed. Remarkably, the factory can run autonomously for up to 30 days without human supervision. Hirotec Manufacturing eliminated manual inspection time to 100% by integrating cloud technologies, IoT, and small servers on the factory floor. The Siemens plant in Germany offers online monitoring capabilities for machine tools distributed worldwide.

According to recent research, scaling intelligent automation could save the Energy & Utilities industry between $237 billion and $813 billion in operational costs. Despite this immense potential, utility providers still grapple with intense competition, increasingly stringent regulations, and aging infrastructure and workforce challenges. The demand for more affordable and cleaner renewable energy only adds to these pressures.

For organizations looking to automate processes for better performance, a combination of RPA and process mining can help. Let’s take a step back to understand why. Automation that’s implemented without data-backed decisions often yields poor results. And data without action leads nowhere. To get the most out of any technology investment, you have to be sure you're using the right combination of tools and techniques.

In a business environment where automation is becoming increasingly essential, understanding the trajectory of robotic process automation (RPA) is more important than ever. But what exactly can we expect from the future of RPA in 2024? How will the bots themselves change? How will the market change? And what will these changes mean for buyers? In this post, we’ll look at the changes you can expect to see in RPA this year.

In 2024, the robotic process automation (RPA) market will shift due to four major trends. These include (you guessed it) artificial intelligence’s effect on RPA, shifts in the market landscape, changes to RPA’s place in the larger automation landscape, and new data management methods.

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a software system automation approach that employs pre-programmed “bots” to automate manual tasks, typically through a user interface (UI). RPA tools are primarily used to automate business processes that once depended on human resources and were highly repetitive and operational in nature. Many of these business processes are rooted in legacy technology, which often acts as a bottleneck due to its outdated nature.

Robotic process automation (RPA) refers to the use of software robots, or "bots," that mimic human actions to automate repetitive tasks within business processes. RPA technology can interact with applications, systems, and data sources to automate procurement tasks such as data entry, document processing, and report generation.

Business process automation (BPA) refers to the use of computer systems and software to automate business processes or tasks. These days, many people simply refer to BPA as process automation: a set of tools that automates entire business processes, end to end. Robotic process automation (RPA), on the other hand, is a single part of a process automation toolset. RPA fits into a process automation strategy by automating repetitive tasks within a process.

Have you seen the efficiency gains you’d hoped for from your investments in task automation tools like robotic process automation (RPA)? Despite prioritizing automation efforts, many IT leaders still lack the tools for broader, end-to-end process automation—or as Gartner calls it, hyperautomation. If you’ve found yourself grappling with numerous disconnected islands of automation, where do you go from here?

So, did you invest in RPA? Did you buy into the dream of automation? How's it going? Are your bots running at 100% reliability and delivering amazing ROI? Or are you fighting bot breakdowns and struggling to justify the expense of costly RPA bots with poor reliability?