Robotic Process Automation Tools Comparison

Elena_L

New Member
Introduction to RPA Tools:

Robotic Process Automation is the new kid on the block, which has created a lot of buzz in and around the Automation space. In this article, we will try to bring in all the knowledge that we have acquired over the years of research in crystal clear words, such that even beginners can also get a very good understanding of what Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is all about. The main aim of Robotic Process Automation is to let the Robots do the work which are too easy for the humans to do, which are repetitive, and are clearly documented such that going those rules even a robot should be able to perform the task with utmost ease.

When we talk of Robots in the Robotic Process Automation processes or systems or tools, it doesn’t exactly mean that robots (from that movie, I Robot, are going to do things that are done by humans), but instead it means that there would software blocks or applications that can take over these responsibilities or actions from Humans and these can be performed by them more quickly and efficiently. This not only creates an opportunity for the Humans to take over much more important tasks than performing those regular repetitive tasks which can instead be automated using Robotic Process Automation. Mainly to stress, Robotic Process Automation is going to a replacement for the manual clerical processes but not all human activities.

Robotic Process Automation in a way, is an intelligent way of working on tasks which can easily be categorized as tasks as implemented with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Having said that, with the advent of Robotic Process Automation, there are new avenues and newer opportunities that have been opened for the Humans to take over. With this, we should be smart enough to take advantage of this opportunity and should be well equipped to grab these opportunities to make the most out of it. Now is the time that you take the decision and take the right step towards paving your career path in the right direction. Hope this article provides you a better understanding of Robotic Process Automation and also makes an impact on your decision to make it your career or not. Let us not delay any further and let us get going with the number of available options in the present day market that an individual or an Organization can choose.

RPA Tools List:

With the right context set for this article and also with the details about Robotic Process Automation is explained to whatever extent that it is required, we can now take a step further in analyzing the number of options that we have in the present day market. Let us list them all down and analyze on the pros and cons of each of these Robotic Process Automation tools to understand the best amongst the rest. This section is going to deal on the number of options that are available and also lists them down in the order of importance (that being said, the most important will appear on the top of the list and the least important taking the bottom most position of the list). Hope this provides the best of the knowledge that you seek for.

Listed below are some of the most appreciated Robotic Process Automation vendors providing their own RPA tools to automate businesses processes.
  • Blue Prism
  • UiPath
  • Automation Anywhere
  • Softomotive
  • OpenSpan Pega systems
  • KOFAX from Lexmark
  • NICE
  • Giant
  • Novayre Solutions
  • WorkFusion

Now that we have literally gone through the big names that are very popular in the automation space and also that we have gone through the importance that each of these tools have for themselves in the Robotic Process Automation tools usage and its market, we need to go through the main factors that make these tools options so very convincing. Let us go through those main factors (though we may not cover almost all the technical and financial factors that prevail in the today’s world), but we will ensure that we go through the most important ones.

The following section of the article is completely dedicated for this discussion and to decide upon the most important factors that can change your opinion about an available Robotic Process Automation software tool, though it is very much appreciable in the today’s market. It is a known fact that not all products are fit for every other solution, basis that, we should always look for the right fit for the requirement that a business has.

Checklist for selecting RPA Tools:

Considering the Robotic Process Automation tools that are available in the current market, we might have to go through some of the important factors and basis that, we should be able to opt for the best suited Robotic Process Automation tool. Here, we have briefly classified the various factors that can influence our decision to choose for the best suiting Robotic Process Automation tool for our businesses, but not all factors may be satisfied as well while choosing the ideal fit for our business requirements. Considering that, we will discuss the most important ones and the rest can be treated as optional or not that intriguing factors for a business.
The thorough list of factors that influence a business Organization’s decision to make the purchase can be broadly classified into the following:

  • Technology
  • Interface (Ease of Use)
  • Management
  • Security
  • Total License & Maintenance Costs
  • Integrations
  • Vendor Support

Now let us discuss in detail about the factors that make the difference:

Technology: First and foremost is the technology in which RPA tool has been built, like Microsoft .NET, IBM Mainframe, Java, web etc. The tool has to be platform independent, considering many of the organizations perform their day to day tasks outside the local desktop using Citrix or Virtual machines etc. So the Automation solution should be able to support any application and platform.

Interface (Ease of Use): Next most important feature is the RPA tool’s user interface. A complex user interface will delay the process of implementation and increase the learning curve and adaptability. A more user friendly interface like drag and drop, auto capture, image recognition etc. would be better.

Management: It is important to know how effectively and easily the robots can be managed considering these robots are going to be replacing your human workforce. There should be a high level of visibility and control in terms of process monitoring, process change, development, re-use etc.

Security: How safe are the robots when compared to the humans? After all robots/RPA tools are also a piece of software, so how much more security controls can be implemented, test the code rigidly and lock it up, the better. Automation solutions that supports the compliance process (like HIPPA – For Healthcare industry, SOX – Financial Sector, PCI DSS – Credit card related organization etc.) are some of the factors to be considered in terms of security.

Market Leaders in Robotic Process Automation:

The following section will discuss in great detail about the market leaders in the Robotic Process Automation tools available in the current day’s market, but there are options available that are nevertheless anything lesser than those. Let us shed some light on each of these for a bit and we can completely go through the three best in the section below.

One of the best Robotic Process Automation tools that comes to our thought after the famous trio (Blue Prism, UiPath & Automation Anywhere) is the Pega systems’ new acquisition OpenSpan – This is one of the strongest amongst the rest of the options available (when compared with Softomotive and also KOFAX). With the acquisition of OpenSpan, Pega now boasts of a complete solution, be it automation or digital transformation. NICE and GIANT are the next best options available after what we have discussed and these are relatively younger companies than the biggies that we have already gone through, though these might sound well for business requirements – lesser interactive vendor support makes them tougher to engage in real time Production environments.

Best RPA Tool - RPA Tools Comparison:

Having gone the various options that are available in the current market, the three best Robotic Process Automation tools are namely Blue Prism, UiPath & Automation Anywhere. None of the others that we have discussed in the sections earlier can reach the levels of these three tools as they have existence from a very longer duration of time (and at the same time, they are stable tools that we can completely rely upon for our automation needs). This section is not going to do any differentiation in specific but we will try to portray the pros and cons of these tools, so that the decision to choose from these (if that is the decision from the businesses), then we shall be making it quite simpler.

UiPath have provided their RPA based tools in three different flavors for their customers to choose and gain benefits from any of the flavor of the RPA based tool, which are as follow:

  • UiPath Studio
  • Front Office and Back Office – UiPath Robots
  • UiPath Orchestrator

Automation Anywhere, though comes next to the other two options that we have discussed in this section, but it does provide one of the most powerful and user-friendly Robotic Process Automation tools. Any complexity of the automation process, can easily be handled with Automation Anywhere. Automation Anywhere are currently partnered with giants as like EMC2, KPMG, Genpact and Infosys etc.
 
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