Global RPA software spending in 2018 was $680 million
With sustained growth, it will reach $2.4 billion in 2022
RPA Adoption Rate Expected to Increase in 2019 Due to Price Decline
On the 15th, Gartner announced its forecast for robotic process automation (RPA) software spending in 2018.

According to Gartner, global spending on RPA software in 2018 is expected to reach $680 million, a 57% increase from last year. If this growth trend continues, total spending on RPA software in 2022 is expected to reach $2.4 billion.

“Organizations are adopting RPA technology as an easy and fast solution to automate manual tasks,” said Cathy Tornbohm, Vice President at Gartner. “While some employees continue to perform simple tasks such as manually cutting, pasting, and modifying data, replacing them with RPA tools reduces errors and improves data quality.”
Today, the largest adopters of RPA are banks, insurance companies, utilities, and telecommunications companies. Vice President Tonboum explained, "Generally, these organizations struggle to integrate different elements of accounting and human resource management systems, so they choose RPA solutions to automate existing manual tasks or processes, or to automate the functions of legacy systems."

RPA tools utilize a combination of user interface interaction description technologies to mimic the "manual" paths humans take to complete tasks. The market offers a wide range of solutions using tools that operate on personal desktops or enterprise servers.

Gartner forecasts that 60% of organizations with revenue of over $1 billion will implement RPA tools by the end of this year. It is expected that by the end of 2022, 85% of large and ultra-large enterprises will have implemented some form of RPA. Vice President Tonboum added, "In 2019, the average price of RPA will drop by about 10% to 15%, driving adoption rates, and adoption will increase as organizations expect to generate better business results, such as cost reduction, improved accuracy, and enhanced compliance, through the technology."

However, RPA is not a universally applicable technology, and in some cases, other automation solutions achieve better results. RPA solutions are most effective when utilized by organizations to automate existing tasks or processes by building systematic data, add automated functions to legacy systems, and connect them to external systems that cannot be linked via other IT options.


RPA Becomes Mainstream
As organizations seek ways to reduce costs, connect with legacy applications, and achieve high ROI, RPA tools are currently at the 'Peak of Inflated Expectations' stage of the 2018 Gartner AI Hype Cycle. However, the potential to achieve a strong ROI depends on how well RPA fits the requirements of each organization.

Vice President Tonboum said, "We expect the number of RPA vendors to increase in the near future, and interest from software companies, such as software testing firms and business process management providers, will grow as they seek to profit from these capabilities."
There is also a growing trend to integrate AI capabilities into product lines. This phenomenon occurs because RPA vendors are adding or integrating machine learning and AI technologies to provide more types of automation.


RPA Implementation Projects Must Be Pre-evaluated
To successfully execute RPA projects, leaders must first evaluate possible RPA use cases within the organization and focus on revenue-generating activities.

Vice President Tonboum advised, “RPA should not be used simply to reduce labor costs,” adding, “Organizations must establish clear expectations regarding what the tool can do and how it can be utilized to support digital transformation as part of an automation strategy.”

The next step is to verify the rapid results of RPA. This task may involve personnel simply moving data between systems, or it may entail structured and digitized data processed by predefined rules. While the investigated use cases represent areas where RPA can provide a high ROI, it is important to consider existing alternative tools and services that offer a significant portion of the necessary functionality at a reasonable price. These alternatives can be used in parallel with RPA or as hybrid solutions. Additionally, when selecting a vendor, you should request future AI-based options.