Narayan AmmachchiWorldwide revenues from robotic process automation (RPA) services registered 63% growth last year, posing an existential threat to many types of unskilled and labor-intensive back-office services.
Banks, insurance companies, telcos, and utility companies are increasingly deploying the software to speed up their business processes, says research firm Gartner in a new report, predicting that revenues would reach US$1.3 billion in 2019.
North America is dominating the market, accounting for more than 51% of the revenue, with Europe following with a 23% market share.
In Japan, long plagued by an aging population, the RPA adoption rate grew at a record 124% in 2018.
“This shows that RPA software is appealing to organizations across the world, due to its quicker deployment cycle times, compared with other options such as business process management platforms and business process outsourcing,” according to Fabrizio Biscotti, a research analyst at Gartner, and who describes RPA as ‘straight-through’ processing.
Unlike other automation software, companies with legacy systems can deploy RPA with ease. This is perhaps the major factor driving the record adoption of the automation software, according to the report.
“The ability to integrate legacy systems is the key driver for RPA projects. By using this technology, organizations can quickly accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, while unlocking the value associated with past technology investments,” Biscotti added.
New York City-based software firm UiPath is the biggest player in this market, with a market share of more than 13%, while Automation Anywhere, a San Jose, Calif-based firm founded by Indian American Ankur Kothari, controls a 12.8% market share.
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