While the news isn’t being embraced with any great enthusiasm by workers, enterprise investment in robotic process automation (RPA) is set to soar in Australia and New Zealand, according to new research from Sydney-based analyst outfit Telsyte.
The A/NZ RPA market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45 percent, which would see the market quadruple from $216 million in 2016 to $870 million in 2020, Telsyte predicts.
Already it says RPA – which enables software robots to replicate the actions of human workers for routine tasks – is being used, or investigated, by six out of 10 A/NZ organisations with more than 20 employees.
One enthusiastic user appears to be DWC Technology, formed in March by the merger of Computer Sciences Corporation and the enterprise services division of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. In Australia it is reportedly setting up a 60-strong practice to target the RTA sector.
According to Telsyte, the finance and insurance industries are looking to be the fastest adopters of RPA in the short term, although the researcher notes that the technology can also be applied to industries with large customer support, such as telecommunications and government.
“RPA is not simply about cost-cutting: it can drive innovation and change the way organisations conduct their business altogether” said Telsyte MD Foad Fadaghi. But he warned: “A proof-of-concept is important for organisations to first understand the nature of processes that can be best solved through RPA, before progressing to an enterprise-wide strategy.
“Equally important is the use of pilot programs to understand the change management requirements before a further rollout.”
Telsyte’s robotic study is said to be based on insights provided by some 302 Down Under CIOs and IT decision-makers. It can be ordered via a call to 612 9235 5851: currently a human still answers the phone …
