Despite prioritizing automation efforts, many IT decision makers still lack the tools necessary for broader, more comprehensive process automation , or as Gartner calls it, hyper automation.According to Gartner, “Leaders in enterprise architecture and technology innovation… must deliver comprehensive automation solutions that go beyond RPA by combining complementary software development solutions to improve business processes.” But what is the difference between hyperautomation and RPA, and what exactly does it mean to move beyond bots?

RPA vs. hyperautomation

RPA is nothing new. For years we have heard about bots that automate simple and repetitive tasks. And chances are your company is already well-versed in the world of RPA. And how was the experience? You may have noticed how effective RPA is in automating routine, monotonous activities such as data entry. You may also have noticed that it falls short when it comes to automating more complex tasks and processes.

But today, leading organizations automate everything from the simplest tasks to large-scale, complex, end-to-end business processes. If bots alone can't do it, how are they doing it?

They use hyperautomation.

RPA, to put it simply, is a single technology that can automate simple activities; hyperautomation, on the other hand, is a mix of software development solutions that can automate complicated business processes from start to finish. But that's not the whole story. There is more you need to know to take advantage of the competitive advantage that hyperautomation offers.

Advantages and limits of RPA

RPA is used to automate manual, repetitive, and high-volume tasks. RPA bots are “digital workers” that can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year on companies' servers with hardly any human intervention. Deloitte found that 74% of organizations were currently implementing RPA. Although RPA bots are not capable of making human-like cognitive decisions, they can imitate some manual human actions, such as entering data into forms, pressing buttons, or copying and pasting information.

RPA is a very popular automation method across industries and can be used almost whenever simple but repetitive tasks are time-consuming and error-prone. For example, an RPA bot can be used to fill out a form on a website, process an invoice, or update customer information in a database.

But it has its limitations.

For this, technology with artificial intelligence capabilities would be needed. Although RPA can integrate basic information between applications, for example by copying and pasting screen information between systems, it cannot integrate the type of complex application data that an API can access.  

Hyperautomation is a more sophisticated and all-encompassing form of intelligent automation that attempts to improve RPA's capabilities by fusing it with artificial intelligence and machine learning, two technologies that can think like humans. This term coined by Gartner® also usually encompasses other custom business software developments, such as intelligent business process management (iBPM), intelligent document processing (IDP) , natural language processing (NLP), optical character recognition (OCR), chatbots, virtual assistants and low-code. You can use a hyperautomation strategy to automate any business process from start to finish, from simple tasks to complex workflows that involve decision making.

Additionally, with a hyperautomation approach, it is possible to automate processes across multiple systems, applications, and data sources. And when combined with a data fabric , hyperautomation tools can directly access data from multiple distinct, independent systems and applications.

3 differences between RPA and hyperautomation

These are the main differences between RPA and hyperautomation.

Automation scope . RPA is limited to automating simple and repetitive tasks. The goal of hyperautomation is to use intelligent automation to streamline business processes from start to finish, from simple tasks to complex workflows that involve people and machines in decision making.Flexibility and adaptability. RPA is based on rule-based programming, which means that bots can only follow predefined rules and cannot make data-driven decisions. Instead, hyperautomation uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, business process management, workflow orchestration, and other automation tools to make data-driven decisions, allowing you to manage more complex tasks and adapt to changing circumstances.End-to-end automation potential. Each RPA bot is limited to automating a single task within a single application or system. Hyperautomation can automate processes across multiple systems, applications, and data sources, allowing you to achieve true end-to-end intelligent automation across your organization.

Hyperautomation can perform more complex tasks and make human-like decisions to adapt to changing circumstances. Hyperautomation combines RPA with other custom enterprise software development, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to create a smarter, more flexible automation solution that adapts to the needs of any organization.

 

What lies ahead. A process automation platform for hyperautomation

Hyperautomation and RPA both increase productivity and efficiency at work. Perhaps you want to use an RPA bot to automate a few basic processes because you're just getting started with automation. That's ok. But keep in mind that if you want your organization to grow and rescale its processes, you will likely need a more comprehensive automation approach, such as hyperautomation, to avoid falling behind your competitors.

The best process automation platforms on the market offer a complete set of integrated automation tools, plus data fabric, process mining, and total experience to support digital transformation across the enterprise.