As a form of automation, the same concept has long existed in the form of screen scraping, but RPA is considered a significant technological evolution of this technique in the sense that new software platforms are emerging that are sufficiently mature, resilient, scalable and reliable to make this approach viable for use in large enterprises (which would otherwise be reluctant due to perceived risks to quality and reputation).[1]​.

As an illustration of the extent to which the technology has developed since its first form in screen scraping, it is useful to consider the example cited in an academic study. Users of a platform from Such an example serves to demonstrate the level of intuitiveness, engagement and ease of use of modern RPA technology platforms, leading their users (or trainers) to relate to them as beings rather than abstract software services. The code-free nature of RPA (described below) is just one of a number of significant differentiating features of RPA vs. screen scraping.

Hosting RPA services also aligns with the metaphor of a software robot, with each robotic instance having its own virtual workstation, just like a human worker. The robot uses keyboard and mouse controls to perform actions and run automations. Typically, all of these actions take place in a virtual environment and not on the screen. The robot does not need a physical screen to operate, but instead interprets the screen electronically. The scalability of modern solutions based on architectures such as these owes much to the advent of virtualization technology, without which the scalability of large deployments would be limited by the capacity available to manage the physical hardware and the associated costs. Implementing RPA in commercial enterprises has demonstrated dramatic cost savings compared to traditional non-RPA solutions.[1]​.

Software robots interpret the user interface of third-party applications and are configured to execute steps identically to a human user. They are configured (or trained) using demo steps, rather than being programmed using code-based instructions. This is an important concept in the RPA market because the intention is not to provide another coding platform for IT users (who already have the benefit of mature and proven software development and middleware platforms). Rather, the intent is to provide an agile, configurable capability to technical and non-technical users in operational departments. The paradigm, in short, is that a software robot should be a virtual worker that can be quickly "trained" (or configured) by a business user in an intuitive way that is similar to how an operational user would train a human colleague.

The benefit of this approach is twofold. First, it allows operations departments to serve themselves. Second, it frees up the limited and valuable skills of IT professionals to focus on more strategic IT implementations, such as ERP and BPMS implementations. Such programs are often held to be transformational in nature, providing enormous benefits in the medium and long term, while RPA typically focuses on immediate operational effectiveness, quality and profitability. Therefore, RPA is considered classic as complementary to existing automation initiatives.

Hyperautomation is the application of advanced technologies such as RPA, artificial intelligence, machine learning or process mining (actually, the data of the processes) to increase the capabilities of workers and automate processes to a greater degree than with traditional automation.[3][4][5][6] Hyperautomation can also be defined as the combination of technologies that allow a faster application of programming (for example, codeless development platforms or low code) with the purpose of coordinating different "types of workers" (human and artificial - robots -, although it is debatable that a robot can be considered a type of worker) to optimize the workflow.[7]​[8]​ Likewise, it can be applied to preventive maintenance.[9]​.

The Gartner consulting firm's report "Gartner (company)") on this trend (which it considers the main one of 2021)[10] highlights that it started with RPA, although "RPA alone is not hyperautomation. This requires a combination of tools to replace humans in the parts of the process where they are involved."[11]​.

• - Back office.

• - Artificial intelligence.

• - What is RPA?

• - Probability of each type of work being robotized.

• - Cognitive technology.

• - Scope of RPA.

• - Acquisitions of the RPA market in the last 3 years.

As a form of automation, the same concept has long existed in the form of screen scraping, but RPA is considered a significant technological evolution of this technique in the sense that new software platforms are emerging that are sufficiently mature, resilient, scalable and reliable to make this approach viable for use in large enterprises (which would otherwise be reluctant due to perceived risks to quality and reputation).[1]​.

As an illustration of the extent to which the technology has developed since its first form in screen scraping, it is useful to consider the example cited in an academic study. Users of a platform from Such an example serves to demonstrate the level of intuitiveness, engagement and ease of use of modern RPA technology platforms, leading their users (or trainers) to relate to them as beings rather than abstract software services. The code-free nature of RPA (described below) is just one of a number of significant differentiating features of RPA vs. screen scraping.

Hosting RPA services also aligns with the metaphor of a software robot, with each robotic instance having its own virtual workstation, just like a human worker. The robot uses keyboard and mouse controls to perform actions and run automations. Typically, all of these actions take place in a virtual environment and not on the screen. The robot does not need a physical screen to operate, but instead interprets the screen electronically. The scalability of modern solutions based on architectures such as these owes much to the advent of virtualization technology, without which the scalability of large deployments would be limited by the capacity available to manage the physical hardware and the associated costs. Implementing RPA in commercial enterprises has demonstrated dramatic cost savings compared to traditional non-RPA solutions.[1]​.

Software robots interpret the user interface of third-party applications and are configured to execute steps identically to a human user. They are configured (or trained) using demo steps, rather than being programmed using code-based instructions. This is an important concept in the RPA market because the intention is not to provide another coding platform for IT users (who already have the benefit of mature and proven software development and middleware platforms). Rather, the intent is to provide an agile, configurable capability to technical and non-technical users in operational departments. The paradigm, in short, is that a software robot should be a virtual worker that can be quickly "trained" (or configured) by a business user in an intuitive way that is similar to how an operational user would train a human colleague.

The benefit of this approach is twofold. First, it allows operations departments to serve themselves. Second, it frees up the limited and valuable skills of IT professionals to focus on more strategic IT implementations, such as ERP and BPMS implementations. Such programs are often held to be transformational in nature, providing enormous benefits in the medium and long term, while RPA typically focuses on immediate operational effectiveness, quality and profitability. Therefore, RPA is considered classic as complementary to existing automation initiatives.

Hyperautomation is the application of advanced technologies such as RPA, artificial intelligence, machine learning or process mining (actually, the data of the processes) to increase the capabilities of workers and automate processes to a greater degree than with traditional automation.[3][4][5][6] Hyperautomation can also be defined as the combination of technologies that allow a faster application of programming (for example, codeless development platforms or low code) with the purpose of coordinating different "types of workers" (human and artificial - robots -, although it is debatable that a robot can be considered a type of worker) to optimize the workflow.[7]​[8]​ Likewise, it can be applied to preventive maintenance.[9]​.

The Gartner consulting firm's report "Gartner (company)") on this trend (which it considers the main one of 2021)[10] highlights that it started with RPA, although "RPA alone is not hyperautomation. This requires a combination of tools to replace humans in the parts of the process where they are involved."[11]​.

• - Back office.

• - Artificial intelligence.

• - What is RPA?

• - Probability of each type of work being robotized.

• - Cognitive technology.

• - Scope of RPA.

• - Acquisitions of the RPA market in the last 3 years.