ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION VS INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

3 min Jan 25, 2021 Sandip Singh RPA Views : 2526
ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION VS INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

We are living at times when technology is vacillating. Every day that we wake up, we cannot say with certainty that something new is not out there already. Be it new technologies or improvements and advancements in the previous ones, change is inevitable. 

Automation is no longer a term confined to the dictionary of technical people only. Common folks are now very much aware of terms like Robotic Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. To add to this list of leading technologies is Intelligent Process Automation.  

We will give you a brief look into what these technologies are, particularly Intelligent Process Automation and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). So, let’s begin! 

What Is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic Process Automation is technology to automate repetitive manual processes. But if robotic process automation works well, then why exactly do we need Intelligent Process Automation?

Let’s find our why is Intelligent Automation so important!
 

What Is Intelligent Process Automation?

Intelligent Process Automation, which is also referred to as Intelligent Automation (IA) is an amalgamation of two technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). When the two technologies come together, end-to-end automation of the business process is empowered and digital transformation is accelerated. 

The horizons of the automation of business processes can be extended when Intelligent Automation brings together Machine Learning (ML) with robotic process automation along with other analysis capabilities. Multiple cognitive technologies like Natural Language Processing, fuzzy logic, and computer vision are also a part of this equation.  

That being said, there are many who mix up Intelligent Automation and Robotic Process Automation. To clear things out, we have also covered what Robotic Process Automation is and how the two technologies are co-existent and yet different. Keep reading! 

Also Read: Determining ROI for Your RPA Project

Why we need Intelligent Automation?

Business leaders throughout the globe have started to indulge in process automation and for all the rights reasons at that. Customers have very high levels of expectations today and thus businesses work at an augmented pace. 

The need for companies to become more agile is here. Using real time data to bring in the best results has become a must. Hence, embracing automation turns out to be an essential way of working now. 

When you choose Intelligent Automation, your business gets to be on the greener side of the grass. When one point is successful at your business, it tips off another point and the cycle continues in a similar fashion. 

With IA, the first change you can expect is better workflows! Robotic Desktop Automation can really change the face of your business by redirecting the expertise of the employees towards what they do the best instead of wasting their time on repetitive and menial things that can be automated.  

When the internal working becomes more sculpted, you will witness happier customers. They will see a positive change in results, they will be happy and are more likely to recommend you to their inner circles. 

As a consequence, your business grows. After all, which business starts out without the end purpose of growth? And when you make Intelligent Process Automation a part of the business working, growth is foreseeable. 

But what if we told you that all of this can be done with business savings? Won’t that add more stars to the entire sky! When you incorporate Intelligent Process Automation as a part of your business’ every day working, you can be assured to make the right savings for your business. 

Intelligent Process Automation Industry


Intelligent Process Automation is important and there is no denying the fact that it is gradually becoming an inextricable aspect of businesses everywhere. All leading industries have taken to this technology and here is a list of some of the industries that have accepted IA: 

→ Financial Services 

→ Insurance 

→ Manufacturing 

→ Telecommunications 

→ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) 

→ Healthcare 

→ Life Sciences 

→ Public Sector 

As we stated above, there are a lot of points on which Intelligent Process Automation differs from Robotic Process Automation. Let’s see how!
 

You may also like: Automate Your Business Processes with RPA

Robotic Process Automation Vs Intelligent Automation

At the beginning of the article, we told you how IA is the amalgamation of the two prolific technologies, that is RPA and AI.  

There is a subtle difference between the two technologies which many seem to oversee, especially due to the factor that both of these are on the same spectrum. 

Robotic Process Automation is growing at a spectacular pace, which is not at all surprising given how business owners are becoming smart and wish to employ their employees for more intelligent tasks rather than the mundane ones. There are no indications about the growth graph of RPA slowing down anytime soon.  

RPA Services has gained quite the momentum and Intelligent Automation is nowhere close to slowing down too. With the growth rate we are witnessing for IA, one can even go so far as to say that it will stand shoulder to shoulder with RPA in the coming years. 

RPA vs Intelligent Automation


When it comes to pinning the difference between the two, many categorise RPA as the brawn and IA as the brain of the business operation. RPA is the workhouse and the stepping stone that gets businesses to enter the automation phase to reduce or eliminate the number of manual efforts. Tasks once done by humans can now be done by software and save a lot of time and efforts, which can then be used to carry out more meaningful tasks. 

IA, on the other hand, is the one that works intelligently. Intelligent Process Automation mimics human work and learns while observing. Such bots also referred to as cognitive agents, will streamline your work process and can even deliver better results at a much faster pace.

Hence, it is obvious that Intelligent Automation holds a better work scope than RPA or even other technologies at the moment. As time moves on, we are certain that the practice of IA in businesses is destined to grow.  

Conclusion:

In nutshell, Intelligent automation allows to mimic human decision making capabilities. Though there are challenges with IA, there are potential benefits too and industry is already heading from process automation to Intelligent automation.