Cost Drivers of Robotic Process Automation

While companies are now beginning to consider Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as a rapid and lightweight approach for automating their repetitive and monotonous business processes, many organizations are unable to determine the impact of these implementations. That is one of the main reasons why Gartner currently classifies RPA in a phase called the trough of disillusionment. This is exacerbated by the fact, that when dealing with a single RPA proof of concept only few cost types have to be considered. The result is a black box of potential cost types that arise, when these software robots are deployed in a live environment. Consequently, companies can hardly estimate the upcoming costs for the use of multiple RPA robots or even the institutionalized use of them. This leads to prejudices against RPA, inhibiting the vast potential of process automation. In our scientific process automation research, we have identified this uncertainty due to lack of knowledge. Hence, we applied a practical research approach and developed a framework for estimating enterprise cost types. Through our findings, companies can transparently calculate the return on investment of RPA without worrying about overlooking cost factors.

In our scientific process automation research, we have identified this uncertainty due to lack of knowledge. Hence, we applied a practical research approach and developed a framework for estimating enterprise cost types. Through our findings, companies can transparently calculate the return on investment of RPA without worrying about overlooking cost factors.

Here, our in-depth study of existing enterprise RPA implementations has revealed, that many cost drivers must be considered when scaling RPA implementations. These include not only the cost of operating software robots, but also the costs of implementation and investment. Likewise, we were able to differentiate between mandatory and optional costs for each type of scaling. In doing so, we found that while a single RPA robot implementation does not lead to many cost drivers, increasing the number of implementations also implies specific cost types such as infrastructure and hardware or maintenance. In addition, some cost drivers become mandatory due to software licensing costs. Ultimately, institutionalized use of RPA will also introduce unexpected costs that may include governance costs. Our Research was published at the RPA Forum of the 20th International Conference on Business Process Management 2021 and was awarded with the Best Paper Award .

So, the next time you’re thinking about using RPA, come to us. Thanks to our research and hands-on experience, we are able to guide you through process automation implementations and also provide you with information on your economic automation benefits to make your journey to hyperautomation a reality.