When it comes to automation in your business, it pays to think ahead. Executives who have implemented Robotic Process Automation in their businesses have estimated that 20 percent of capacity in their operation could be delivered by software robots / digital employees. With that kind of productivity potential on the table, finding the right solution to build an actionable plan that suits your business’ needs is crucial.

Businesses that are successful in maximising the potential of RPA (and removing the time burden of low-value tasks from their talent) must clearly understand their needs and what the market can offer in return. In such a technical and high-growth industry, it’s hard to decide what separates the fully-featured, proven RPA providers from the newcomers, making the decision about choosing a provider somewhat challenging. But the upside is too large to ignore. The faster you harvest the potential of RPA, the faster you create a competitive edge for your business.

Don’t sweat it. Here are the 6 key factors you need to consider to make the right choice of RPA solution and product vendor for your business.

Is the RPA product vendor a specialist in RPA?

Would you take your car to a pizza shop for an oil change? Rapidly evolving industries need true experts to deliver innovative solutions for businesses. Some RPA vendors are simply offering RPA as an add-on to their existing set of products. The “would you like fries with that” approach to what is essentially the cutting edge of productivity solutions can be a sign of RPA not being a true priority for the vendor. With the best-practice for RPA constantly evolving, selecting a vendor that focuses on RPA as one of its primary offerings means that your service delivery is not going to get lost in the noise.

Can they cover the breadth of your needs?

Consider what your business’ automation needs are today. Now consider what they might be in five years. If your head doesn’t hurt, it should. Choosing a solution that covers all scenarios – attended, unattended or human in the loop – to map out your current and future needs should be one of your first ports of call to ensure that your chosen RPA offering is futureproof and flexible. After all, the point is ease-of-use, adaptability and scalability; even if you only require an on-premise option today, a provider that can also deliver a SaaS cloud solution could save your business a costly and time-consuming integration with a new provider when it comes time to modernise your other processes.

Have they demonstrated leadership in this area?

Leaders in emerging markets are defined by their completeness in vision and ability to execute. They invest in the growth of the product, new features, new capabilities and trends in the market. Traditional tech leaders like Microsoft are entering the RPA market but presently lack the agility to adapt and execute on the level of newer, more specialised providers, as shown in a 2020 Gartner assessment of global RPA providers. Keep in mind that a Leader is not always the best choice. A focused, smaller vendor can provide excellent support and commitment to suit your individual needs. Other vendors may provide a crucial offering such as enhanced security, or a commitment to a specific feature or function that is important to your organisation. At ClearPoint, we’ve chosen to partner with UiPath, who are consistently acknowledged as a market-leading RPA technology for enterprise organisations.

Can they provide local references or case studies?

Not all regions are treated equally, and little old New Zealand often ends up an underserviced afterthought. Catering to specific needs of the local landscape means understanding local businesses’ problems, and having tailored solutions baked in experience. Reviewing real case studies from local businesses, across a range of industries, can give you confidence in your decision. Also, you don’t want to be the last man on a sinking ship… so consider whether the provider is still adding new local customers; this not only shows commitment to the NZ market but also that their solution is aligned to the needs of other local customers. 

Do they have local representation? 

There are plenty of global heavyweights fishing for RPA business in New Zealand, but the major players in the industry understand the value in having on-the-ground representation. Any provider that invests in local representation – including sales and customer success staff – will give you convenient business-hours access to an ecosystem of local partners who can help implement your RPA solution. There’s nothing worse than having to wait for answers from an overseas-based rep in an awkward time zone, and it pays to be able to develop a good in-person relationship with your RPA provider. 

Are they committed to the overall community?

In a post-Covid world it feels weird to say that meet-ups are in vogue once again. Thought leadership thrives in the community before it penetrates into the slower, more considered enterprise ecosystem. You’ll find plenty of talented market participants more than willing to share best practice and help grow knowledge for those willing and curious enough to engage. See if your provider is party to this value-rich practice – is there a community of experts, professions and customers that you can access? Are they facilitating and engaging with their community? 

All of the above factors are key to your decision-making when choosing an RPA provider. At ClearPoint, we have partnered with leading RPA solution UiPath so regardless of where you are on your RPA journey, we have a package that can help you grow, or we can tailor our services to meet your specific needs.