ServiceNow RPA: an introduction
Structured and large organizational processes have become more efficient thanks to traditional automation, but as more and more companies are looking to digitally transform their organization, they are confronted with their legacy IT systems. Systems that do not allow to integrate easily, because they lack modern integration options like API’s. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) provides a way of integrating those legacy IT systems, allowing the systems to be part of the digital transformation and make work Flow.
What is RPA?
Robotic Process Automation is more task-oriented than process-oriented, more individualized, and smaller scale (ServiceNow, 2022b). RPA is described as the use of certain technologies and procedures based on software and algorithms with the goal of automating repetitive human tasks (Ivančić et al., 2019). Through already-existing graphic user interfaces (the front end), it interacts with many information systems and is mostly driven by straightforward rules and business logic (figure 1). One of its features is the automation of routine, rule-based tasks through the employment of a non-intrusive software robot. So RPA uses the front-end, performing their task without having to the move to back-end. Whereas integrations using API’s tend to connect systems more on the back-end or even database level (figure 2).
As a general rule, APIs are a more modern way of integrating. So if you have the option to use an API to integrate, that is preferable above using RPA.
Figure 1- RPA interacts with systems through the User Interface (UI)
Figure 2 - APIs allows for direct system to system interaction
ServiceNow makes the distinction between two types of robots: unattended Robot (Robotic Process Automation: RPA), and Attended Robot (Robotic Desktop Automation: RDA).
Unattended Robot: Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic Process Automation robots are suitable for processes that are completely rule driven and do not require any human action, e.g., on/off boarding
- Bot runs on Virtual Machine or Server
- Bot is triggered by event or schedule
- Can run 24/7 without human touch
Attended Robot: Robotic Desktop Automation (RDA)
Robotic Desktop Automation robots are suitable for automations where human action cannot be avoided, e.g., callcenter environment
- Bot runs on user machine
- Bot is triggered by a user action
- Runs in real-time alongside the user
Criteria for considering RPA
Knowing what RPA is, and what types of RPA there are, is one thing. But when should companies consider implementing/using RPA? Aguirre & Rodriguez (2017) defined the following criteria for applying RPA:
- Minimal cognitive demands. a task that does not need imagination, interpretative abilities, or subjective judgment.
- Volume. A lot of volume tasks that are regularly carried out.
- Use of various systems. a process that needs access to numerous apps and systems in order to be completed.
- Limited handling of exceptions. highly standardized tasks that need little to no exception handling
- Human mistake. tasks involving manual labour that are prone to human mistake.
These activities frequently divert workers' attention from other work that calls for intelligence and creative thought. Many of the repetitive activities, that would otherwise consume employees' time, can be handled by RPA. RPA bots conduct rule-based tasks by assuming the position of the human user. They may therefore be used to engage with almost any application or website.
Benefits:
- 💚 Provides integration possibilities to systems that traditionally do not support integration.
- 💚 Supports greater volume of work than manual labor.
- 💚 Less prone to human mistake.
- 💚 More predictable/consistent handling of tasks.
Cons:
- ⭕ Attended robots still require human interaction.
- ⭕ Robots need to be maintained and relevant information needs to be stored. Think about how to capture this information in for example the CMDB using the Common Services Data Model (CSDM) from ServiceNow.
ServiceNow entry to market
In 2021 ServiceNow announced the acquisition of Intellibot , a robotic process automation (RPA) company founded in 2015, based in Hyderabad, India (Businesswire, 2021).
Although as an RPA platform it is ranked number 30 by PeerSpot (2022), and does not appear on the Magic Quadrant for RPA by Gartner (Figure 3), Intellibot is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) company and with its AI-enabled Robotic Process Automation (RPA) platform, which incorporates many next-generation features such as machine learning, natural language processing, name entity extraction and computer vision, Intellibot simplifies the lifecycle of RPA deployment through a reliable, easy-to-use and extensible platform architecture.
Figure 3- Magic Quadrant RPA Gartner. Source: https://www.uipath.com/resources/automation-analyst-reports/gartner-magic-quadrant-robotic-process-a...
This acquisition, in combination with ServiceNow’s native, low-code automation and integration capabilities leads to a powerful offering. RPA Hub is an extension of the existing Automation Engine (Figure 4).
Figure 4- ServiceNow Automation Engine
RPA product offering
RPA Hub
Applications that do not support APIs can be integrated with the ServiceNow platform via the RPA Hub. Developers can manage queues, configure attended and unattended robots, store application credentials, monitor alerts, and store automation packages. Automations that are managed and watched over can be deployed using RPA Hub.
Benefits:
- 1300+ out-of-the-box components, including actions, connectors, and templates
- Native computer vision capabilities for automations with secure and robust UI element detection
- Desktop-in-Desktop mode for improved productivity & savings in attended automation
- Support for legacy applications (AS 400 Mainframes) and Citrix automation
- Configure the automation package, credentials, settings, schedules, and trigger mechanisms to build a bot process.
- Monitor robot activity from the process jobs (execution details) and establish alerts.
- Manage the digital employees (robots) by configuring the computers on which the robots execute, as stated in the bot process.
- Possess total awareness of the bot process, robot utilization, process task, and queue summary.
Note: RPA requires different knowledge then the manual labor, and more traditional integrations.
References
- Aguirre, S., & Rodriguez, A. (2017). Automation of a Business Process Using Robotic Process Automation (RPA): A Case Study. Communications in Computer and Information Science, 65–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66963-2_7
- Businesswire. (2021, 23 maart). ServiceNow to Acquire Intellibot to Help Businesses Automate Any Workflow. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210323005396/en/ServiceNow-to-Acquire-Intellibot-to-Help-Bu...
- Ivančić, L., Suša Vugec, D., & Bosilj Vukšić, V. (2019). Robotic Process Automation: Systematic Literature Review. Business Process Management: Blockchain and Central and Eastern Europe Forum, 280–295. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30429-4_19
- PeerSpot. (2022, juni). Top Rated Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Vendors. https://www.peerspot.com/categories/robotic-process-automation-rpa
- ServiceNow. (2022a). Leverage RPA to automate mundane and repetitive tasks. https://developer.servicenow.com. https://developer.servicenow.com/connect.do#!/event/knowledge2022/CCL1142-K22/lab_CCL1142_K22_create...
- ServiceNow. (2022b, juni). What is Robotic Process Automation? - ServiceNow. Https://Www.Servicenow.Com/Workflows/Creator-Workflows/What-Is-Robotic-Process-Automation.Html. Geraadpleegd op 7 juli 2022, van https://www.servicenow.com/workflows/creator-workflows/what-is-robotic-process-automation.html
