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The Total Cost of Robotic Process Automation
Robotic Process Automation Robotic Process Automation Total Cost of Automation
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Total Cost of Automation
Table of Contents
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Introduction
What Is the RPA Lifecycle, and Where Does a Center of Excellence Fit in?
Components of Total Cost of Automation
How Kryon Optimizes TCA
Optimizing the Costs of Choosing Processes to Automate
Optimizing the Costs of Developing and Deploying RPA Technology
Optimizing the Organizational Costs of RPA
How Do the One-Time Costs of Using Kryon Compare with Other Solutions?
How Do the Ongoing Costs of Using Kryon Compare with Other Solutions?
Top-down Approach to Automation Opportunity Assessment
Bottom-up Approach to Automation Opportunity Assessment
Introduction
When evaluating an RPA solution, it is common for business analysts to consider its total cost of ownership (TCO). This measure generally includes not only the costs of RPA technology, but also those of developing automations and managing projects on an ongoing basis.
But to get a clear picture of the impact an RPA solution has on a real business, we need to take an even more holistic view and instead examine its total cost of automation (TCA). Calculating TCA involves taking an integrated businesstechnology approach and factoring in all the costs of business transformation – including those of technology, automation development, and ongoing control and maintenance.
One major factor in TCA (and a critical step affecting RPA success) is the establishment of an in-house center of excellence (CoE). The key goals of a successful CoE should include maintaining a central RPA program, cooperating with all of a company’s business units on specific RPA projects, and providing automation support company-wide.
Total Cost of Automation
Cost of technology
• •
•
• • •
RPA license Virtual machine Hardware
• • •
Development Configuration Integrations
Center of excellence Process analysis and optimization Monitoring
Far from a one-time project, robotic process automation is an ongoing process involving continuous improvement of existing automations, as well as the initiation and development of new automations.
A mature automation lifecycle is a loop of standardized activities including process identification, process prioritization, automation development and deployment, and ongoing maintenance and control. That lifecycle is the basis of the RPA operating model – starting with the building of a center of excellence (CoE) that will act as the owner of a company’s RPA implementation, working with core business units to automate their tasks. Employing this
model will enable consistent execution and delivery as RPA scales enterprise-wide.
It is recommended to start with a centralized CoE within one of your company’s business units, making it easy for your automation experts to build localized RPA capabilities. As your company expands its use of RPA, you may prefer to leave your CoE within this business unit – but to assign some of its members to work with other business units, helping them automate their work processes.
The total cost of automation covers all the costs related to the RPA lifecycle, including the deployment of the CoE operating model.
Process identification
An End-to-End View of RPA Execution
Plan
Build
Run
Process prioritization
Automation development
Automation deployment
Operations and optimization
Components of Total Cost of Automation
To calculate the total cost of automation, we must examine both the costs of technology and those of organizational transformation – including both one-time and ongoing expenses.
When people think of the steps involved in implementing a new technology, they tend to think of infrastructure preparation, a proof of concept, licensing, and development and configuration. However, the full picture should
Cost of Technology
One-time – technology deployment
• Hardware/software infrastructure • Proof of concept (PoC) • RPA software implementation • Third-party integrations
Ongoing – technology maintenance
• System architecture and infrastructure maintenance • Vendor management • RPA license fees • Third-party integration license fees • SLAs • Expert network
also include the technology’s impact on the organization itself, such as the development of new skills, measurements, and controls – as well as changing processes, roles, and responsibilities.
The table below gives an overview of the TCA, including one-time and ongoing expenses related to both technology and organizational change:
Cost of Organizational Transformation
One-time – CoE establishment
• Automation development and deployment • Business-change management • Roles, responsibilities, and procedures • Skill development and training
Ongoing – CoE operations
• Continuous process optimization • IT support for RPA • Measurement of operational and performance metrics • Assessment and planning of new automation opportunities • Knowledge management
How Kryon Optimizes TCA
Minimal Reliance on IT Resources
Quick Development → Faster ROI (expected 25% shorter delivery cycles)
Runs on any application, with no need for third-party integrations
However, users have the option of integrating with a wide variety of platforms, such as CyberArk, Tableau, Kibana, ABBYY, and others.
Designed for business users
Reduces reliance on expensive, skilled employees or thirdparty consultants.
One-click process recording
Eliminates need for manual workflow design.
Patented, AI-driven computer vision technology
Accelerated automation development.
Optimized RPA Operations (expected robot utilization: 90%)
Center of excellence
• Lower cost of labor • Only 30-40% of users are programmers (60-70% are business process analysts).
Smart Analytics
Predictive analytics to optimize virtual workforce distribution and productivity.
Recently Released Solutions
Process Discovery
• Uses proprietary machine-learning technology to identify and prioritize business processes to be automated – all while automatically generating automation workflows.
Free trial of Kryon Studio
• Gives business users and RPA developers an opportunity to explore Kryon’s RPA development studio and experience its ease of use firsthand.
Kryon RPA has developed tools that allow significant savings over the RPA lifecycle, driven by its end-to-end solution and its focus on users without a strong technical background.
An End-to-End View of RPA Execution
Plan
Build
Run
Process identification
Process prioritization
Automation development
Automation deployment
Operations and optimization
One of the biggest hurdles to using RPA is the challenge of process mapping. It can take several months just to target the potential processes for automation.
Kryon Process Discovery is an AI-driven tool that gives an organization full visibility into all its automatable processes, analyzes and ranks them based on their suitability for automation, and generates seamlessly usable automation workflows. It drives down TCA by streamlining the steps involved in identifying, selecting, automating, and optimizing work processes.
Whereas other process-discovery/mining tools are limited by their reliance on system event logs to determine user behavior, the platform-agnostic Process Discovery solution instead uses proprietary visual recognition. Running silently on
employees’ computers, Process Discovery robots “watch” user actions in real time, collecting data without impairing employees’ performance or consuming their valuable time.
Because Kryon’s Process Discovery robots and AI engine analyze more data and learn faster than humans, they offer quicker automation recommendations – resulting in faster business transformation and ROI. And after a process has been identified, with the click of a button a user can export an automation workflow for it to the Kryon Studio, where they can easily edit it and then deploy it to Kryon’s software robots –minimizing the need for time-consuming RPA development.
An End-to-End View of RPA Execution
Plan
Build
Run
Process identification
Process prioritization
Automation development
Automation deployment
Operations and optimization
Cost of Deployment
Using patented visual-recognition technologies, Kryon RPA can interact with any business application (desktop, web, legacy, Citrix, and others) – with no need for coding or integration with existing applications. As a result, companies can get their RPA projects up and running in days rather than weeks or months, leading to enormous cost savings and a quicker return on investment.
Cost of Automation Development
Kryon's RPA platform was specifically designed with business users in mind. Because the Kryon Studio is easy to learn and does not require programming experience, 60 to 70 percent of the team members of a typical center of excellence are business/process analysts, while only 30 to 40 percent are programmers.
End-to-End Solution
Kryon’s RPA solutions include built-in components such as optical character recognition (OCR), source control configuration, a credential vault, and analytics – saving customers the costs of additional integrations, configuration, and interface maintenance. As a result, Kryon’s technology can handle the entire RPA process as a standalone product, with no need to transfer data to third-party platforms.
One-Time and Ongoing Costs of Using RPA Development Tools
The Kryon Studio allows for fast and simple creation of automation scenarios – using drag-and-drop workflow editing, preconfigured connectors, and application-specific scripts. Its user-friendliness allows all types of users to quickly and easily learn to create automations.
Optimizing the Organizational Costs of RPA
An End-to-End View of RPA Execution
Plan
Build
Run
Process identification
Process prioritization
Automation development
Operations and optimization Automation deployment
Cost of Change
Kryon’s advanced visual technology allows it to handle changes or upgrades to underlying systems, applications, and other technology smoothly – with no need for complicated reworking of an automated process. In many cases, after a change in the underlying
Cost of Management
Kryon makes it simple to manage RPA projects, offering a web-based console that enables real-time monitoring, remote configuration, and scheduling and management of your robotic workforce. And when the volume of work to
technology, it is not even necessary for a process owner to redo the entire process recording, but only the portion that is affected by the change. Additionally, Kryon’s built-in version-management capabilities allow users to easily view edits made to an automation over time, with the option to roll them back if desired.
be performed by your automated workforce increases, Kryon’s smart analytics enable you to maximize your robots’ efficiency by automatically identifying and leveraging the ones that are underutilized.
Cost Category
Hardware and cloud hosting
Software (e.g., virtual machine)
PoC development
Market Kryon
Standard Standard
Standard Standard
Up to 1 month Approximately 1-2 weeks
Automation deployment labor:
RPA system setup and configuration Standard Standard
Configuration of additional integrations:
OCR configuration
NLP configuration
Analytics environment configuration
Requires integration module
Optional integration development
Requires integration module
Source control configuration Requires configuration
Credentials vault configuration
Organizational change management – establishment of an RPA CoE
Requires integration module
Users with technical/ programming skills
Development of skills for a CoE (basic and advanced training)
Training designed for users with technical expertise
Built-in OCR and optional ABBYY integration
Optional integration development
Built-in analytics
Built-in source control and collaborative features
Built-in credentials vault
Mostly (60%-70%) business users, rather than programmers
• Intuitive learning • Developers’ community • Readymade templates and automation snippets
Cost Category
Hardware maintenance
Market Kryon
Standard Standard
Software:
RPA license subscription
Per module and based on scaling
All-inclusive – based only on scaling
Virtual machine (subscription) Standard Standard
Integration subscription fees:
OCR Additional cost Included
NLP Additional cost Additional cost
Analytics Additional cost Included
Source control configuration Additional cost Included
Credentials vault Additional cost Included
Customer support and SLA
Standard Standard
Operating an RPA CoE
Monitoring and control of automations (time spent by full-time employees)
RPA developer might be needed
No additional hire needed
Technical support (IT for RPA) Internal IT Internal IT
Initiating and prioritizing projects
Internal resource or consultancy (mostly manual process)
Kryon Process Discovery (mostly automated process)
30-60% reduction in manual documentprocessing work
Insurance: • Policy administration • Claims operations • Collections
25-40% reduction in manual transactional work
Banking: • Commercial operations • Customer service • Trading room
Finance: • Order to cash • Tax • Record to report • Vendor setup • Intercompany
60% reduction in cost to process invoices
80% reduction in cost to process payroll
HR: • Payroll • Benefits administration • Pay slip management • Time and attendance • Recruiting process
9%-20% drop in cost of solving supply-chain problems
Supply chain/P2P: • Source to pay • Master data management • Work order management • Returns processing
Nearly 30% of IT worktime is spent on low-level tasks
IT: • File transfer protocol • Server application and monitoring • Synchronizing data • File and email management
We can estimate the automation potential of a given process based on the amount of time full-time employees spend on it.
The hours listed for High and Medium RPA candidates below reflect the portion of each type of process that could potentially be automated (not including time spent on tasks that are already automated, judgment-based activities,
etc.). The number of hours given for each Low RPA candidate refers to the number of work hours involved in the entire process, since each of these processes is expected to benefit relatively little from automation.
Please note that each effort estimate needs a more detailed review from an RPA perspective before being included in a final business case.
Area:
Procure to Pay
Source to Contract
Master Data Admin
Indirect Tax
Grand Total
Total Automation Potential
High Medium Low
# of processes # of hours per month # of processes # of hours per month # of processes # of hours per month # of processes # of hours per month
78 851.75 58 815.29 16 35.38 4 1.08
28 455.48 20 98.75 4 323.40 4 33.33
21 221 13 216.50 5 4.50 3 0
36 n/a 9 n/a 17 n/a 10 n/a
165 1528.26 100 1130.54 42 363.28 21 34.41
About Kryon
A trailblazer in the world of enterprise automation, Kryon offers today’s only solution integrating business-friendly robotic process automation (RPA) with Process Discovery technology that offers organizations full visibility into all their processes. Combining a deep understanding of our customers’ needs with cutting-edge technology, Kryon empowers businesses to maximize their ROI through their choice of desktop-based attended automation, virtual-machine-based unattended automation, and a hybrid combination of attended and unattended automation. In a field that often loses sight of the importance of ease of use, Kryon
About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and
stands out for its uniquely intuitive interface, its one-touch process-recording capability, and its unmatched Kryon Process Discovery™ technology for accelerated deployment and continuous process optimization. Kryon’s globally recognized, AI-driven platform is used by a wide variety of enterprises worldwide, including AIG, Allianz, AT&T, Ernst & Young, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, HP, Microsoft, Santander Bank, Singtel Optus, Verizon and Wyndham Hotel Group. For more information about our organization, please visit kryonsystems.com.
for our communities. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
Contributors:
Dor Almog — Senior Manager, EY RPA CoE Israel
Yulia Bezobrazova — Manager, EY RPA CoE Israel
Vita Zlotova — Business Development Lead, Kryon
Gidon Kadosh — Product Research Specialist, Kryon
