2 Modern Solutions to Reshape the Workplace

With the ever-evolving digital transformation landscape, there are always tools to streamline more business processes. Two of the most widely adopted solutions are:

New adopters must know the functionality and specifications of each device before investing in it. This is because poor diligence can have the following adverse effects:

1. Sinking Implementation Cost: Deployment is resource intensive. Money will be wasted on the implementation of an unsuitable tool.
2. Fad Training Cost: Training is required to use new equipment. The money spent on training your teams to use the tools that are on the chopping block is moot.
3. Productivity Loss: Inappropriate equipment brings sub-optimal results, especially if employees struggle to use it or if it disrupts their established workflow.
4. Maintenance and support cost: Ongoing maintenance and support costs on an unsuitable device will drain your resources.
5. replacement cost: If you eventually replace your equipment, you’ll incur its sunk cost, plus another round of purchase, implementation, training, and other related costs.

In this article, we will discuss in depth the workings of RPA vs iPaaS solutions and how they can be used in conjunction with each other even though they serve different purposes.

What is RPA (Robotic Process Automation)?

RPA is a technology that uses software bots to automate rule-based and repetitive business processes. While the range of RPA use cases is broad, their depth of functionality is shallow, often limited to UI automation.

Nevertheless, the flexibility of RPA to cover both back-office and front-office functions has resulted in it becoming an enterprise-level opportunity, with 64% of Deloitte survey respondents starting their RPA journey.

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What is IPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service)?

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) is a cloud-based platform for application integration. They connect applications, data sources, and APIs to:

• coordinate cross-functional tasks
• Creating seamless workflow even between legacy systems
• Bringing data from different systems and services into a single hub

As more companies make more use of SaaS products, there is a growing need for integration platforms to connect applications. evident from the demand growth

What are the points of confusion between RPA and iPaaS?

RPA and iPaaS can be confused with each other as their functionalities can overlap.

In addition to automation, RPA bots have some integration capabilities. This is because they interact with applications at the UI level, mimicking human actions, some of which may include transferring data between systems. For example, if the two systems do not have API integration, an RPA bot can be programmed to manually pull data between the systems.

On the other hand, integration platforms perform some sort of automation. They can create automated workflows that are triggered by certain events or at specified times, providing data flow between apps. For example, if a customer places a new order on the e-commerce system, the integration tool:

• transmits order information to the fulfillment system
• Updates inventory management system
• Sends an invoice to the customer through an accounting system

What is the difference between RPA and iPaaS?

The primary difference between RPA and iPaaS lies in their approach towards automation of business processes and application integration:

• RPA is task-oriented
• locked for user interface
• Reflects human actions and automates processes to complete tasks quickly and without changes to existing systems
  • However, any changes to the user interface may break the RPA script and require modifications

In comparison, there are tangential tools such as integration platforms and enterprise service buses (ESBs):

• data centric
• Behind the scenes, dealing with data layers to synchronize information and functionality across different systems and databases
• More versatile, capable of custom integration, complex integration, and streamlining data flow between sources

In terms of implementation, RPA implementation can be easier. No-code RPA tools make it easy to set them up. However, iPaaS tools require more technical setup, involving API-based-integration and data flow mapping.

For more information on integration automation

If you’d like to learn more about integration automation, download our RPA partner whitepaper, where we explore the top RPA companies providing cost-effective integration solutions for under $2,000 annually: