Study on robot-controlled process automation

Currently, 17 %s of the respondents have not yet launched a robotic process automation (RPA) project. Another 52 %s are in the process of designing and piloting initial projects. The remaining third are pioneers and have already converted at least ten business processes to RPA.

"In the next two years, the picture will be completely reversed," says Andreas Lüth, Partner at ISG Information Services Group, Head of Robotic Process and Cognitive Automation DACH, and explains: "Only 6 % of the respondents stated that they would still not start their own RPA project by 2020. In contrast, 60 % of the companies hold out the prospect of having at least ten RPA processes up and running by 2020. More than half of the latter expressed the will to hand over more than 25 business processes to software robots by then."

DACH region shows high value 

In the European context, this is a high value. Compared to the respondents from the DACH region, the number of companies that want to grow into the RPA world particularly quickly was a third lower in the rest of Europe. The comparative figure comes from a parallel survey that ISG conducted at the same time among 250 European companies outside the DACH region.

 What is robot-controlled process automation?

With RPA, technologies are available for the first time that can be used to automate business processes without having to adapt the processes or the IT systems that support them. Software robots are used that enter data into the user interfaces of the IT systems involved in the process from a purely virtual level.

"Thus, RPA is particularly suitable for the automation of transaction-heavy business processes in which the process-supporting IT systems are not sufficiently networked," explains Andreas Lüth. "Compared to classic automation approaches, which are linked to process reengineering as well as adjustments in the IT systems, RPA technologies offer a much simpler way to significantly increase the productivity and quality of an existing business process."

 How are the RPA budgets developing?

Three quarters of the companies surveyed from the DACH region report a noticeable increase in their RPA budgets in the current fiscal year. Compared to 2017, the funds available increased by at least 10 % in 54 % of the cases. One in seven companies reported increases between 11 and 20 %. In one in twelve, the RPA budget even increased by more than 20 %. Only 9 % of respondents indicated no change at all, while the remaining 6 % acknowledged a budget reduction compared to 2017.

 Who pays?

In the DACH region, the topic of RPA is driven much more strongly from the IT organizations than is the case in the rest of Europe: While in the rest of Europe the IT areas and the shared services organizations invest in equal parts in RPA, in the DACH sector IT makes considerably more advance investments. This is particularly true for the share of direct investments: 31 % of the RPA projects to date are attributable to direct investments by IT. At 16 %, the comparative value in the shared services sector is just half as high.

In contrast, chargeback models (pay-as-you-go procedures) are used to a similar extent by both areas. IT uses this instrument in 16 % and the shared services area in 17 % of the cases. The remaining RPA projects are financed by the specialist departments (16 %) and via existing service provider contracts (5 %).

 Who's wearing the hat?

In four out of five companies, the CIO is responsible or at least accountable for purchasing decisions in the area of RPA. With a comparative value of 73 %, the CFO is right behind. Increasing decision-making authority is also being given to the Head of Automation. This still relatively new leadership role is already found in a third of the respondents.

In 50 % of the companies where there is a Head of Automation, this person shares responsibility with the CIO and CFO for the decision to purchase RPA solutions.

 What is currently holding back the use of robots?

43 % of respondents see security concerns as the top barrier to the adoption of RPA technologies. Eight percentage points behind is the fear that greater use of RPA could lead to difficulties in the area of governance, risk and compliance (GRC). In general, organizational topics lead the field of the most strongly cited obstacles.

Four of the five most important obstacles can be assigned to this area. So also the concern about organisational political resistance to the use of RPA. A concern shared by 33 % of respondents. A further 30 % of respondents explicitly cite the lack of backing from senior management as an obstacle. Another 30 % cite insufficient support from IT.

Comparing the DACH results with the responses in the rest of Europe, two major differences stand out. The first concerns the assessment of the budget situation. While only a quarter of the respondents in the DACH region saw budget constraints as an obstacle, one in three companies in the rest of Europe expressed this view. There were even greater differences when it came to the lack of a business case. While only one in eleven respondents in the German-speaking region considered this point to be one of the top obstacles, the comparable figure in the rest of Europe was over one third.

Where in the value chain will RPA have the greatest impact?

In the DACH region, the most frequently mentioned field of application is in the area of purchasing, logistics and supply chain. This area accounted for 44 % of the responses. In second place (42 %) - and in first place in the rest of Europe (43 %) - is the area of customer support and order processing. Far behind, with just 6 % and 7 % of the responses respectively, was the area of industry-specific processes at the very bottom of the response scale.

The results for Germany, Austria and Switzerland are part of a Europe-wide RPA study by ISG. You can find detailed results here