Exploring Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 5 minutes to read
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    Summary of Exploring Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub

    The ServiceNow® Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub provides a centralized platform for orchestrating, deploying, monitoring, and managing robotic automations across the enterprise. It consists of several key components including RPA Hub itself, Unattended Robot, Attended Robot, and RPA Desktop Design Studio. These components work together to automate tasks efficiently either without human intervention or with human assistance.

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    Key Features

    • RPA Hub: Central management console to oversee robot deployment, performance, and compliance.
    • Unattended Robot: Installed on Windows machines to run automations fully autonomously without human interaction.
    • Unattended Robot Login Agent: Enables login or unlocking of robot machines automatically when an unattended process triggers.
    • Attended Robot: Installed on Windows machines to run automations that require human supervision or intervention.
    • RPA Desktop Design Studio: A Windows native application for developers to design, build, test, and configure automation workflows.
    • Automation Types:
      • Unattended Automation: Automates repetitive, rule-based tasks such as report generation without human input, improving efficiency and accuracy.
      • Attended Automation: Supports human-assisted scenarios like customer service, where robots help augment user tasks and require operator initiation.
    • User Roles:
      • Release Manager: Creates and publishes bot processes, assigns developers.
      • Developer: Configures bot processes, builds and tests automation packages, handles exceptions, and publishes automations.
      • Robot/Assisted User: Executes automations on assigned robot machines.
    • Workflow Integration: The RPA Hub integrates with ServiceNow Workflow Studio, enabling seamless incorporation of robotic automations into broader ServiceNow workflows.
    • Security: Utilizes ServiceNow’s Key Management Framework to securely store sensitive data related to automations.

    Key Outcomes

    • Improved operational efficiency and productivity by automating repetitive and complex tasks.
    • Enhanced accuracy and reduced processing errors through robot automation.
    • Better customer service by combining automation with human judgment where necessary.
    • Centralized control and compliance oversight for enterprise-wide robotic process automation.

    Upgrade Considerations

    When upgrading to the Xanadu release, customers must update Microsoft Software Installers (MSIs) for RPA components and modify a specific system property to prevent upgrade delays or issues. The upgrade restructures bot process configurations and may require manual table updates if skipped. These steps ensure smooth migration and continued functionality of RPA Hub features.

    Next Steps

    ServiceNow customers looking to implement or enhance robotic automations should explore detailed configuration guides for RPA Hub, Unattended Robot, Attended Robot, and RPA Desktop Design Studio to set up, customize, and optimize their automation workflows effectively within their enterprise environment.

    Learn about the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub applications, types of automations, benefits, high-level architecture, and workflow.

    Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub overview

    The following Robotic Process Automation (RPA) applications operate and interact with each other in an enterprise environment to automate tasks efficiently.
    RPA Hub
    The ServiceNow® RPA Hub application provides a centralized orchestration to deploy, monitor, manage, measure, and verify compliance of all robots at an enterprise level.
    Unattended Robot

    The ServiceNow® Unattended Robot is a software agent that you install on a Windows machine. Unattended Robot can execute unattended automations without requiring any human intervention.

    The ServiceNow® Unattended Robot Login Agent is a software agent that you install on a Windows machine with Unattended Robot. You can use this application to unlock or to perform a self-login to the robot machine when an unattended bot process is triggered.

    Attended Robot

    The ServiceNow® Attended Robot is a software agent that you install on a Windows machine. Attended Robot can execute attended automations that require human intervention.

    RPA Desktop Design Studio

    The ServiceNow® RPA Desktop Design Studio is a Windows native application that is used by RPA developers to design or configure automation workflows.

    Types of automations

    You can create two types of automations with RPA Desktop Design Studio and run them with Unattended Robot or Attended Robot:
    Unattended automation

    In this automation, tasks, processes, or workflows are carried out by the robots without the need for direct human intervention or supervision. You can use this type of automation to automate highly repetitive tasks.

    For example, Report generation. In this use case, the reports are automatically generated and distributed to relevant stakeholders.

    Unattended automation offer significant efficiency gains, reduced operational costs, and improved accuracy in organizations.

    Attended automation

    Also known as human-assisted automation. In this automation, the robots work alongside human users to augment their tasks and activities. You can use this type of automation with human supervision.

    For example, Customer service. In this use case, robots can assist customer service representatives by providing relevant information, suggesting responses, and automating data entry. The robots are installed on operator’s workstations and are triggered by human operators on demand.

    Attended automation is often suited for scenarios where a combination of automation and human judgment is required to handle complex, dynamic, or non-standard tasks.

    Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub users

    Table 1. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub users
    User Description
    Release manager Creates bot processes and robots in RPA Hub. Add developers to the Managed by group of the bot process so that they can customize the bot process. Configures and publishes the bot process.
    Developer Configures bot processes to assign business applications, robots, credentials, process parameters, schedules, and so on. Builds automation packages, tests the automation projects, and handles exceptions in RPA Desktop Design Studio. Publishes packages to RPA Hub. Creates and deploys automations in a low-code environment.
    Robot user/Assisted user Executes automations in the specified robot machine.

    Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub workflow

    The three main parts of a process workflow are RPA Hub, RPA Desktop Design Studio, and robot machines (virtual machine or user desktop).

    The following diagram shows the process workflow of the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub applications.

    Figure 1. Workflow of creating and executing automations using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub applications
    Basic tasks related to configuring automations in RPA Hub. Infographic showing how release managers create bot process and how developers configure, test, and publish bot processes.
    1. As a release manager, create a bot process, define robots, and assign a developer who would continue to configure the bot process.
    2. As a developer, configure the bot process to associate a package, business applications, robots, parameters, and credentials so that robots can use them to run automations.
    3. As a developer, build automation packages, tests the automation projects, and handles exceptions in RPA Desktop Design Studio.
    4. As a developer, publish the configured bot process to execute, manage, and monitor automations.
    5. As a robot user or assisted user, execute automations in the specified Windows machine where Attended Robot or Unattended Robot is installed.

    RPA Hub Benefits

    • Increases productivity and delivers higher operational efficiencies.
    • Enhances accuracy by eliminating processing errors.
    • Enhances customer service and meets highly varied customer demands.

    Integration with Workflow Studio

    Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Hub provides an integration with the Workflow Studio application. This integration enables you to integrate ServiceNow workflows with Robotic Process Automation by using ServiceNow components for Workflow Studio. For more information about RPA Hub actions and subflow, see RPA Hub actions and subflow.

    Key Management Framework

    RPA Hub uses the ServiceNow® Key Management Framework for all the sensitive data that is stored on the application. For more information, see Understanding the Key Management Framework.

    Important information for upgrading RPA Hub to Xanadu

    Ensure that you upgrade the current installed Microsoft Software Installers (MSIs) (RPA Desktop Design Studio, Attended Robot, Unattended Robot, and Unattended Robot Login Agent), by downloading the RPA applications. For more information, see Download the RPA applications from RPA Hub.

    Important:
    The following upgrade steps are applicable only when you’re upgrading from San Diego or Tokyo to Xanadu.

    Based on the number of records in the application file table, you could experience a potential delay while upgrading the RPA Hub applications from Tokyo or before to Xanadu.

    Before upgrading RPA Hub to Xanadu, you must set the value of the glide.rollback.blacklist.TableParentChange.change system property to false. If this property doesn't exist in the System Property [sys_properties] table, add the property and set its value to false.

    After you upgrade to the Xanadu, the bot process definitions change to the new structure, that is, the bot process configuration. Although the bot process configuration doesn't replace the bot process completely. Most fields are moved from bot process to bot process configuration.

    If you upgrade to the Utah version without updating the system property value, the tables don’t extend the Application File table. Manually to update the table changes, see the Restructuring RPA Hub tables to sys_metadata in Utah article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

    What to explore next

    To learn more about configuring Robotic Process Automation, see: