The next acronym you need to know about: RPA (robotic process automation)

RPA is a promising new development in business automation that offers a potential ROI of 30–200 percent--in the first year. Employees may like it too. Robotics are beginning to have a profound effect on business. In this interview, Xavier Lhuer, an associate principal in McKinsey's London office, speaks with Leslie Willcocks, professor of technology, work, and globalization at the London School of Economics' department of management, about his work on robotic process automation--its impact on work, and how companies can capture its strategic and financial benefits.1 1. Leslie P. Willcocks and Mary C. Lacity are coauthors of Service Automation, Robots and the Future of Work, Steve Brookes Publishing, UK, 2016. McKinsey: Can you start by defining robotic process automation (RPA)?