In its early days, robotic process automation emerged from rudimentary screen scraping, macros and workflow automation software. Once a script-heavy and limited tool that was almost exclusively used to perform mundane tasks for individual users, RPA has evolved into an enterprisewide megatrend that puts automation at the center of digital business initiatives. In this Breaking Analysis, we present our quarterly update of the trends in RPA and share the latest survey data from Enterprise Technology Research. The new momentum in RPA is around enterprisewide automation initiatives. Once exclusively focused on back office automation in areas such as finance, RPA has now become an enterprise transformation catalyst for many larger organizations.

Businesses are good at collecting data, and the Internet of Things is taking it to the next level. But, the most advanced organizations are using it to power digital transformation. The latest research from MuleSoft identifies hyper-automation, hybrid experiences, distributed environments and explosion of data as some of the new challenges and opportunities facing all businesses. The research points to an accelerated digital transformation in business for 2022 and beyond with seven key trends. Trend 1: The future of work will be built on connected, hybrid experiences.

As companies continue to pivot and adapt in response to the pandemic, more of them have turned toward automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML)--the trifecta behind intelligent automation--to help them streamline their business processes and better prepare for future "what if" scenarios. In a recent refresh of its Automating with Intelligence study, Deloitte saw a significant uptick in the adoption of intelligent automation in 2020, with 73 percent starting their intelligent automation journey--a 15 percent increase over 2019. Of those, 37 percent are piloting (1–10 automations), 23 percent are implementing (11–50 automations), and 13 percent are scaling (51 automations). According to the study, companies deploying new intelligent automation initiatives expect a 15 percent revenue increase in the targeted areas and a 24 percent average cost reduction over the next three years. The number of organizations deploying at scale nearly doubled, and Deloitte expects a bigger return on investment versus the 2019 study.

There may have been a time when an organization's automation strategy was defined primarily by siloed, ad hoc, and task-based workflows. Now, however, the most effective and impactful initiatives require business leaders to ask bigger, more challenging questions beyond simply what tasks can be automated and the ROI on cost reduction. Here is how to question everything you know about your business processes. Successful digital transformation in today's landscape necessitates leaders having a better picture of how things are working interconnectedly and how users are truly operating within the process boundaries to be enhanced and improved universally to improve customer outcomes. True digital transformation does not simply digitize analog processes.

Whereas past releases put a big emphasis on extending functionality regarding the "RPA baseline" by including more activities and connectors for background automation, this year's newest versions all ship with unprecedented, possibly game-changing features, enlarging RPA's footprint within businesses. Let's have a look at the general trends visible in 2019 and dive into the opportunities and challenges they pose to current and future users of RPA software. These trends shift the role of the software from pure RPA to fully integrated intelligent automation platforms, which consist of multiple, modular building blocks for process efficiency, visualization, and automation. This approach enables the business to leverage automation to a far greater extent than ever before by putting these platforms at the core of the business processes. Consequently, complete end-to-end automation, unprecedented process transparency, and massive scalability by democratizing the usage of automation can be achieved.

Digital transformation is the key to remaining competitive and accelerating growth in a digital-first world. Yet for many companies, the dream of end-to-end automation of business operations is easier said than done. In a recent Forbes Global Insight survey of business leaders conducted in partnership with my company, only 1 in 4 said they were able to automate a larger business process. The reason is simple: In an effort to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, many companies jump into automation without considering the bigger picture. They adopt one tool to solve a problem -- and then another one to handle a different set of challenges.

This post was written by Vice President, Principal Analyst Craig Le Clair, and originally appeared here.

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Most financial institutions are already using different technologies to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The real payoff, however, may be in the revenue growth benefits, and the ways automation can improve the customer experience. Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!As the banking industry is in the midst of massive digital transformation, organizations are increasingly using automation to improve efficiency and reduce costs. While the economics are enticing, the real value of intelligent automation may actually be as a driver of increased revenue growth and enhanced customer satisfaction. The key revenue drivers that were realized by intelligent automation included faster time to market, improved cross-selling and enhanced customer targeting. In fact, CapGemini estimates that intelligent automation could add $512 billion to the global revenues of financial services firms by the year 2020.