Month: June 2023

What is Robotic Process Automation? RPA Explained

Posted on by Akhil N P

Automation has become a transformative element in today’s business world, changing the way businesses operate. Robotic Process Automation is at the forefront of automation that is getting popular across various industries.

While many organizations have embraced this technology, there are still others who have yet to implement it in their field due to many concerns and confusion.

What is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology in which software bots are used to automate monotonous tasks in a digital environment. Using RPA technology, bots are deployed to seamlessly perform manual and repetitive tasks such as filling out forms, data entry, calculations, etc. 

In robotic process automation, the term ‘robotic’ denotes software bots executing tasks. Here, RPA learns a sequence of events and automates the business process with the least amount of human intervention. 

RPA software 

RPA software refers to software tools used for automation that develop, deploy and manage Robotic Process Automation solutions. These tools provide a platform to create and configure bots for automating business processes. 

UiPath, RPA Genie, and Blue Prism are some of the popular RPA software available in the field.  

What are RPA bots?

Automating repetitive and mundane tasks performed by humans is the main objective of RPA bots. The RPA bots can execute certain tasks independently as well as under the supervision of employees if it is rules-based. 

RPA bots can automate processes, including 

  • Create files and folders. 
  • Setting up and removing apps 
  • Glean data and information from optical character recognition. 
  • Helps transfer data between multiple systems 
  • Filing forms, typing messages, and more. 

 Types of RPA

RPA can be classified into three types: attended automation, unattended automation, and hybrid RPA. 

Attended Automation

Attended automation is a type of RPA that requires human intervention. This sort of automation is done when users are in front of the system. This is used to automate smaller tasks at an individual level. In this scenario, when a human triggers or initiates a process, RPA will execute the tasks. This is mainly used for front-office tasks. 

Unattended Automation

Unattended automation is a type of RPA that does not require human intervention. It is automatically triggered as soon as a computer or server is set up to run the automation process for the user. In effect, unattended automation can execute long and complex processes independently. This is used for tasks such as manual data entry, record maintenance, etc. 

Hybrid RPA  

Hybrid RPA is a combination of both attended and unattended automation. Here, automation tools and the human workforce work together on monotonous tasks. In some scenarios, creativity and decision-making skills will have to be used along with automation tools to bring out the best outcome. In this way, hybrid automation works by providing human input to automation tools. This is used for both front-end and back-end tasks. 

How does Robotic Process Automation Work?

RPA Implementation

Process discovery is the initial stage in automating any task. This involves identifying and understanding the manual and repetitive tasks performed by workers in the organization. Listed below are the steps and stages of RPA implementation : 

Map out the process

The tasks that fit for automation are well-defined and mapped out to learn the workflow and dependencies. This process involves locating input data, actions to be executed, etc. 

Configuration of bots

RPA software helps companies to configure bots to execute specific tasks. These RPA bots are trained to navigate across various applications and perform various actions such as interacting with user interfaces and extracting input data etc. 

Workflow design

RPA software’s user-friendly interface enables users to create automation workflows. These workflows are created by specifying the sequence of actions that the bots will execute. Users can select from pre-built automation components that can be dragged and dropped or they can create custom logic as per the needs. 

Bot execution

After the workflow is set up, bots will execute the defined actions.  

Data and exception handling

RPA bots can handle structured and semi-structured data. These bots can extract data from various sources and validate and populate it into various systems and applications. RPA software is capable of handling exceptions or errors that may happen during automation. 

Monitoring and Analytics

RPA software offers robust monitoring capabilities to track the performance of bots, audit trails, and generate valuable analytics. These features help an organization recognize bottlenecks, measure the efficiency gains and improve the automation process. 

Implementation of RPA can vary based on factors such as the choice of RPA software, the complexity of tasks being automated, and the needs of the organization.

RPA challenges

RPA faces many challenges during planning and implementation. Some of the RPA challenges include resource constraints, lack of infrastructure, high cost of implementation due to lack of skilled resources, etc. Some of these challenges in RPA affect small businesses more than they do for larger enterprises. Picking the right tool is part of solving this problem as it saves much cost in terms of licensing fees, resourcing, maintenance, etc.

Benefits of RPA (Robotic Process Automation)  

Here are some of the key benefits of RPA:

Accuracy and efficiency 

RPA reduces errors and improves task efficiency. 

High productivity  

RPA frees up employees for more high-value activities, increasing productivity. 

Cost-effectiveness  

RPA reduces operational costs and offers a quick ROI 

Hassle-free automation 

RPA integrates with legacy systems, requiring no changes in code. 

Use cases of Robotic Process Automation 

Let us discuss some of the main use cases of RPA: 

RPA in Data Entry

RPA bots are good at data entry tasks like extracting data from PDF formats, converting PDF into Word, filling online forms, and simplifying file conversion. 

RPA in Clinical Trials

RPA software is vital in clinical trial processes, matching patient health records with criteria, monitoring progress, and scheduling follow-up appointments.  

RPA in Accounts Payable

RPA streamlines account payable tasks such as invoice processing, payment verification, extracting and validating invoice data, automating purchase orders, etc.

RPA in BPO

RPA enhances customer service by collecting and giving more information about the customers’ queries and automating data entry and validation processes.  

RPA in Real Estate

RPA automates tasks in real estate like data entry, documentation, property management, and lease administration. 

RPA in Insurance Industry

RPA streamlines policy management, claims processing, underwriting, and data entry in the insurance industry.

RPA in Healthcare

RPA automates appointment scheduling, billing, and patient communication in healthcare. 

RPA in Telecommunication Industry

RPA automates customer onboarding, billing processes, and data access in the telecom sector. 

RPA Tools

How do I choose the right RPA tool? 

First and foremost, we have to keep in mind the objectives and goals of the organization when adopting RPA. Though RPA tools must be chosen based on our requirements, there are some common criteria we can adopt here: 

Ease of implementation 

Since it is a new technology for an organization, it must be easy to implement and integrate with the existing legacy system. Then only can we reduce the downtime and make an easy transition to automation. 

Ease of use 

The tools must be user-friendly and flexible to get on with the basic automation process. It should require only less training to control the RPA system even for employees who lack knowledge of programming 

Technical capabilities  

A company has to look for technical capabilities such as scalability, screen scraping, cognitive capacities, etc. in RPA tools. As RPA bots deal with private and confidential data, standard security features must be available in the tool.  

Cost  

The RPA tools available on the market differ in their costs based on their features. Hence, you have to choose the tool based on your requirements and affordability. If you run a small organization, it is hard to afford and implement high-featured RPA tools. 

Top Robotic Process Automation RPA Tools

RPA is an advancing field of technology, and many RPA tools are available on the market now. Let us discuss some of the popular RPA tools.

RPA Genie

RPA Genie is a popular RPA tool developed by ClaySys Technologies. It is a great platform with core capabilities of automating all types of monotonous tasks. RPA Genie has been used to automate repetitive tasks in various industries including banking, finance, credit unions etc. 

Blue Prism

As an RPA tool, Blue Prism provides all core capabilities. It supports any platform and works with any application. Though you should have programming skills to use this tool, it is user-friendly for developers.  

UiPath

UiPath is a popular RPA tool that helps businesses to automate their business processes. It provides well-defined features for managing automation workflow. UiPath provides flexibility in deployment models by supporting attended and unattended automation.  

Automation Anywhere

As a popular RPA tool, Automation Anywhere has powerful automation capabilities that help to automate a wide range of tasks such as desktop automation, web automation, data extraction, etc. It also supports integration with external systems and applications. 

How do RPA and AI relate?

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence is a technology that equips machines to simulate human intelligence and perform intelligent tasks. The application of AI has been evident across various industries and even in our daily lives. Smart gadgets, autonomous cars, and chatbots are some of the use cases of AI in our everyday life. 

How do RPA and AI relate?

RPA and AI have many things in common. Both are promising technologies that help businesses and organizations with digital transformation. By combining both RPA and AI, we can implement a sophisticated form of automation called intelligent automation. Here, tasks that require human judgment and intelligence can also be automated by integrating RPA and AI technologies such as NLP, ML, etc. 

Robotic Process Automation Vs. Intelligent Automation  

What is intelligent process automation? 

Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) is an automation technology that combines RPA and AI technologies. By bringing together RPA and AI, IPA implements a cognitive level of automation that can handle complex, unstructured, and non-routine tasks. 

RPA vs. IA

Even though both RPA and IA are technologies used for automation, there are some key differences. 

  • RPA automates routine and rule-based tasks using software bots. It mainly handles structured and predictable tasks with a set of rules. However, IA is a more advanced technology for automation that uses RPA and subsets of AI such as NLP, ML, and intelligent document understanding. It can use cognitive capabilities so that IA can handle unstructured, complex tasks that demand human judgment and intelligence. 
  • Another key difference is regarding the ability to learn and adapt to new situations. RPA is designed to perform specific tasks with a predetermined set of rules. Hence, it cannot handle anything beyond what it is programmed to do. However, IA can learn and adapt to new situations, allowing them to handle complex and unpredictable tasks. 

Future of RPA

The future of Robotic Process Automation is going to be all about how RPA tools integrate successfully with other technologies. For instance, the latest trend in automation is intelligent automation (IA). IA is the advanced form of automation that results from combining RPA and AI technologies. This helped the RPA bots go beyond their traditional boundaries of automating only routine and mundane tasks. Here, this integration of two technologies made it possible to add an element of intelligence, and the tasks of a more intelligent nature can be performed successfully. Predictably, an advanced form of intelligent automation will be the future of RPA.

In addition, for the time being, the potential of RPA is fully harnessed by large entities or organizations. Many small and medium-scale industries are not fully receptive to this technology for many reasons. Indeed, it will change gradually, and all sorts of industries, from small-scale to large-scale, will adopt it in their business processes.

Wrap-Up

As organizations and businesses grow and strive to achieve more, they have to work out strategies and implement them accordingly. Automation and RPA are trends in the domain of technology that have helped employees be more productive and creative. Since mundane tasks in high volume can be easily handled by RPA bots, it ensures that the tasks are error-free, and the employees are able to focus on other intelligent tasks. Of course, RPA technology is evolving, and we are expected to witness its wider and more advanced application in every sector. 

FAQ

What are the reasons for the failure of RPA?

RPA is an automation technology that makes the automation of business processes more efficient, error-free, and effective. But it is also possible to fail for several reasons. RPA can fail due to unrealistic goals, choosing non-ideal processes, and its inability to learn and respond to unexpected events. 

What is process mining?

Process mining is used to monitor the execution of the processes in the organization and discover how the processes are performed. This helps us understand the inefficiencies of the processes and point out the places where improvement is required. 

What is hyperautomation?

Hyperautomation is an advanced form of automation that automates as many business processes as possible using different technologies such as RPA, AI, and ML. It automates not just repetitive, rule-based tasks but also complex tasks that require human intelligence to perform the tasks. 

What are the security challenges in RPA?

RPA poses security challenges, including the need for audit logs, supervision of bots, preventing data misuse, and cyber security vulnerabilities related to different layers involved in automation. We always have to be kept on alert to protect against cyber threats. 

DevOps Trends to Look Out for This Year   

Posted on by Vishnu T

The way the COVID-19 pandemic has affected businesses and people has been concerning and every sector was trying to cope with the devastating impact which will still be felt in the years to come. Another big takeaway for the IT industry is the way technology has played a major role in bringing back the entire working community to continue work, accept services, learn, and interact socially.

This has created more opportunities for developers and DevOps professionals as they have got to focus on regular improvements and innovations together. DevOps is a combination of development and operations and has become very popular with consistent growth since 2009. Here, in this article, you will get to know more about the constantly changing DevOps trends that have emerged as innovative technologies.

Major DevOps trends   

With the increased dependence on technology, major trends like DevOps have become popular among businesses. Here are some of the DevOps trends to look out for this year 2023.

Microservices architecture growth  

In a microservices architecture, applications are divided into individual units thus offering greater flexibility to bigger teams.  When compared to self-contained monolithic applications, microservices architecture gives better scalability and agility to enterprises once they are deployed successfully. Developers can scale these individual units to suit the needs of the business instead of trying to scale a whole application at once. In addition, micro-services make it easy to cover issues without interrupting the entire application if something goes wrong.

Microservices are gaining power in 2023 along with serverless computing. Poor implementation of microservices can invite a lot of risks including security issues, data loss, and poor reliability.

Introduction to low-code tools 

Low code development is the process of creating high-quality applications for coding with minimal effort. It is best suited for sudden business offerings and the market for low code is also increasing. The integration of Low Code Development and DevOps will facilitate coordination between teams and accelerate development. This will create a user-friendly interface and enable developers to make the best use of modern technology tools. With a Low-Code Development Platform, developers can easily build applications by utilizing a drag-and-drop interface and graphical user interface (GUI). 

Going serverless   

One of the leading and logical DevOps trends recently adopted by DevOps is going completely serverless. DevOps’s new serverless frontier in the architecture market is vastly projected to new standards and greatly reduces infrastructure costs. Efficiency and reliability are the two biggest advantages of serverless computing. Eliminating the responsibility of users in the management and functioning of infrastructure and enabling users to execute the code as needed in response to requests or event triggers are the main advantages of serverless computing over traditional cloud automation models. With the use of serverless architecture, developers can eliminate the risk of potential maintenance issues with traditional frameworks.

Enablement of Kubernetes 

Kubernetes is a kind of container orchestration tool and is also known as K8s. It helps in sharing different software and applications associated with the IT operations team, thus making it easier for developers. There is a great deal of impetus for efficiency in choosing the Kubernetes workflow. Moreover, it makes it easy to test, develop, and deploy pipelines on DevOps.

DevOps security   

Security is always an important aspect of every business. With a huge number of the remote workforce working from home for the last two years with enormous potential for the future, businesses have started to realize that a secure software distribution network is not just an option but a serious prerequisite.

DevOps Security, or DevSecOps is a set of tools that combines software development (Dev), IT Operations (Ops), and Security (Sec) together to enhance the ability of an organization to distribute services and applications securely at high speeds. The way security in the IT department needs to be attained has been changed by DevOps. As the transition from the long-term deployment of monolithic applications to active development environments, security has to be integrated highly into functional and development processes. DevSecOps begins with development life cycles that are secure and security patterns defined for services and applications and ends with automated security for automated operations.

Integration of Infrastructure as Code (IaC)   

Infrastructure as code is the basic principle of DevOps in cloud locations. Everything including the storage devices, on-premise or in the cloud service networks – all falls under the term “code” which allows businesses to automate and simplify infrastructure. Moreover, the IaC is going to provide an elementary infrastructural version control system. Therefore, using code and DevOps infrastructure can result in faster recovery and minimal downtime. It is easy to automate by converting every storage, network, server, and database into lines of code. Additionally, it facilitates easy rollback and recovery using version control. Well, it’s very risky to implement, and you may have to implement configuration management systems.

Supporting chaos engineering   

Chaos engineering comes under DevOps which allows software testing in production to be more resistant to unexpected problems or issues that may not be identified by other testing methods. The process aims to break down the system in order to detect flaws and strengthen every vulnerable link in the system. The entire approach is to help developers identify all possible threats and eliminate attacks that could interfere with the product’s performance in the real world or misuse of user data. Although there are many tools available to assist developers with the technique, implementing the practice in an exact way is very important. Therefore, QA and developers are advised to remain coordinated while working on the whole concept of identifying system vulnerabilities through effective research and development.

Chaos engineering, in this context, has proven to be the highest quality fourth or fifth-level discipline covered in the set of DevOps practices. You need to follow certain points to implement chaos engineering:

  • Understand and detect gaps and vulnerabilities in a system.
  • Fix the standards for the system to follow.
  • Perform tests, research, and make improvements.

Wrap Up   

Here in this article, we have discussed the recent DevOps trends to look out for this year. DevOps has been growing as one of the most anticipated trends that are going to change the future of the IT industry as a whole. One can reap many advantages through the combination of potent and logical DevOps solutions. It should be noted here that the business requires experienced DevOps developers to support the upcoming DevOps services. The goal is to bridge the gap between development and functions while promising the growth of your business using technologically advanced solutions.

Zero-Knowledge Cloud Storage: Everything You Need to Know.

Posted on by Sameer Narangi

What is Zero-knowledge cloud storage?

Zero-knowledge secures client data with encrypted access to it (therefore, the name Zero-knowledge or Zero Access). It assures that no one other than you can access your data with the same keys, not even the storage service you choose to keep the files.

There is always a possibility of a data leak when more people have access to confidential data. If it is in the hands of a single person, the possibility of data leakage is minimal. Many people do not even understand that a copy of your data or passwords will be saved somewhere whenever you sign up for a service. Your data might be safe but in theory, it is possible for anyone to get it. 

If you decide to choose a zero-knowledge provider, you can be assured of one thing the accessibility to the data is restricted to you only. The main drawback of zero-knowledge is nothing but security itself. Once you forget the password there is no way to recover it, which means if the password is gone; it is gone permanently and there is no option to get it back.  

How does zero-knowledge or private encryption work? 

When we say private encryption is about security and it does not save copies of data, there should be a relevant explanation that states how that works. The technology behind this may seem complicated to first-time users and is still not clear to many long-term users. Zero-Knowledge Protocol ensures that no passwords have been transferred, that is, they cannot be stolen under any circumstance. This allows you to prove that you can share sensitive information with the other end of the communication without actually revealing it.   

The term “zero-knowledge” is based on the fact that no secret information is exposed. In addition, one party (prover) can prove that the statement given to the other party (verifier) is correct, while the prover avoids passing on any information other than the fact that the statement is true. The math is kind of difficult, but it operates the same way other providers operate – you type the password, you get access and the only difference here is that – you forget the password, you can’t recover it. The essence of zero-knowledge proofs is that proving that a person has knowledge of certain information is trivial; the challenge lies in proving the possession of information without disclosing it.   

The fact is that even if a government agent appears with a warrant, they only receive encrypted files. But if the same happens with non-private encryption, the providers have to reveal all the files and passwords to the authority. Zero-knowledge services cannot provide any customer details like passwords or files because they actually have zero knowledge regarding that because the data is encrypted using a password.  

If there is an up, there is definitely a down. One of the main drawbacks of zero-knowledge services has already been brought to your attention. Here is another one: since the service offers you great security, it is comparatively slower than less secure services. This is not because of the private encryption feature it offers but because of the security measures it has like any other cloud service model. 

Factors to be considered when choosing Zero-knowledge cloud storage 

Well, here are some factors or reasons that you should look into, before choosing a zero-knowledge cloud service model: 

Security  

No matter how many interesting features technology delivers, security will always remain the primary concern of clients and companies. Zero-knowledge cloud services offer security that no other services can give. There is only one way in and out and the key (passcode) to the way belongs to the owner only. If the key is lost, no one can break in, not even the owner. 

Two-factor authentication 

What if you have to transfer or share a file with someone? Zero-knowledge service helps you to share the file without compromising its safety. There is a feature called encrypted file sharing using SSL/TLS protocol so that your file will remain safe throughout the process. You can use a Zero Access Backend to share an encrypted file with someone. The user on the other hand can retrieve the original file by decrypting it using his own private key. This is called key wrapping. 

User experience 

The experience and satisfaction of the user while using a service determine the success of the service. If any service fails to give a good user experience, then the service should actually be out of service. An enjoyable and simple user experience is essential as it will enhance communication between the user and the cloud consulting service provider. An impulsive and easy-to-use interface is a plus point when evaluating the overall experience of a customer and a zero-knowledge service guarantees you the best user experience.  

Benefits 

  • No other service offers you the level of security zero knowledge offers when used properly. 
  • This architecture provides you with the required privacy as it does not share the password not even with the service provider.  
  • There is no need to panic about the data breach as it always remains encrypted. 

Wrap Up 

Data privacy and security are two important factors we all need while using technology and no service provider can completely offer them without any drawback. Here, in zero-knowledge cloud storage, what we get is private encryption. This is the strongest and most trustworthy ally we could ever get rather than an encrypted external hard drive. Don’t you think how great it is to store your data in a physical environment without being accessed by anyone other than you? After all, the only reason why you have to switch to zero-knowledge cloud storage doesn’t end with keeping your private photos safe, it is about fixing a security imbalance.