30-40% of BPM works to be automated by 2025, says Nasscom-Everest Group report

Robotics Process Automation n is expected to impact around 6-8% of overall BPM spending by 2017

Robotics Process Automation (RPA) is expected to gain greater acceptance in the Indian business process management (BPM or BPO) sector, industry body Nasscom on Wednesday said adding that automation is expected to impact around 6-8 per cent of the overall BPM spending by 2017 as compared to less than one per cent now. This is likely to go up further by 2025 when as much as 30-40 per cent of the overall BPO works will be driven by RPA.

The report which was prepared in partnership with research and advisory firm Everest Group says that RPA is now fast emerging as an unassisted automation approach that offers high value creation at relatively lower risk. This also delivers significant cost savings, better service delivery and manageability, and quicker time-to-value.

"In an increasingly dynamic and often volatile business environment, organisations increasingly seek ways to create greater value while minimizing risk. This study clearly shows that RPA is fast moving from a pioneering stage to a rapid growth phase of adoption," said Rajesh Ranjan, Partner, Everest Group who coauthored the report.

It said regulated industries with high-volume, transactional business processes are adopting the RPA faster with BPM spends impacted by automation in these industries have grown at a compound annual growth rate of over 100 per cent over the last two years.

RPA is now being implemented by BPM service providers for transaction processing and data entry in high-volume, repeatable, and computer-centric processes. The report added that cost reduction through RPA in Finance & Accounting works can range from 13-20 per cent for offshore operations and around 60-67 per cent for onshore operations.

"RPA has the potential to help BPM sectors transform to address the dynamic and changing marketplace and emerge as the global nerve center for outsourcing activities. Features like short turn- around time to investment recovery and limited IT architecture changes make it perfect for the Indian BPM scenario," said K S Vishwanathan, Vice President, Nasscom.