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The Real Story – How Many Bots Today? In One Year?

Introduction

One way to cut through the excitement and get clarity on what results are real and what is hype is to consider a very simple measure – the number of bots that have been fully implemented.  While a company might have a compelling story about how successful they have been, with a high-tech professionally-narrated video complete with background music, and they are using only 3 bots, compared to another company whose presentation isn’t as flashy, but has 30 bots, you can be sure the company with more bots has a greater handle on the issues and opportunities at play, since their experience set is much richer. 

With the launch of Peeriosity’s Multi-Developer User Group for Intelligent Automation, practitioners from the world’s leading companies can network and interact directly with peers, in an environment that is private, candid, and nonbiased.  With hundreds of users already participating, members of Peeriosity’s Multi-Developer User Group for Intelligent Automation are able to participate in multiple Peercasts every month, learn directly from others using iPollingTM, communicate with peers using Peer Mail, and access libraries of shared content and contributed research. 

This research paper is a top-level summary of a recent poll that was conducted in Peeriosity’s Intelligent Automation research area.  For Peeriosity members, full visibility to all the details of the poll is available, including the ability to interact directly with participating peers.

iPollingTM Results Review

Recently, Peeriosity’s iPollingTM was used to understand the number of bots that are currently fully operational at member companies and the number of bots expected to be installed within the next year. Responses were posted in real-time, with visibility to company responses available to all Peeriosity members, allowing for direct communication with peers using Peeriosity’s integrated Peer MailTM capabilities.

Regarding the number of bots that are currently in operation, 34% of member companies report they do not have any that are in place and fully operational, with 10 percent indicating they have one bot in place.  The balance of options selected are at two ends of the range, with 14% with more than 50 bots, and 14% with 2-10 bots.  Oddly, no one selected options for 11-20 or 21-50 bots.  Here are the details: 

iPolling: How Many Bots are currently in place that are fully operational

When we ask the same question but shift the timing out by 12 months, the results are dramatically different.  The “None” response drops from 34% to 4%, and the number who estimate over 50 bots jumps from 14% to 22%.  The ranges of 21-50 and 11-20 jump to 17% each, with 21% estimating that they will have 6-10 bots that are in place and fully operational. 

To jump from either having no bots or a very limited number, to having a large number of bots in place suggests many are far down the path of evaluating and making selection decisions related to the latest Intelligent Automation technologies, including the decision on which firm or firms to partner with to assist with the implementation. 

iPolling: in one year, how many bots are expected to have in place in shared services

Here are some comments from responding companies:

  • We have an approved project, but no bot yet.
  • We have just implemented our first bot in May and we are working on funding for another 10 bots in our SSO.
  • Went live with 6 bots in January, worked through various issues, and have deployed additional bots since. The roadmap is being worked and the plan is to drive much more value in 2018.
  • We’re in the midst of building out our first bots and hope to continue to add more in the future.
  • We have 4 live now and expect an additional 4-5 by year-end.
  • We have seven bots in production, four being built, and another ten under evaluation for automation requirements.
  • Currently, more than 50 bots that are fully operational.  Our BPO suppliers develop and implement their own BOTS to achieve contractual productivity.  Also piloting RPA as a service for automation of business processes is not outsourced.

Closing Summary

A true measure of Intelligent Automation implementations is to look at the number of bots that are in place and fully operational.  While many companies may have few or no bots in place today, the shift during the next 12 months is expected to be dramatic, with almost all implemented and with the number reporting more than 10 bots expected to jump from 14% to 55%.  A dramatic increase, with almost 100% adoption expected.

What is the current status at your company for evaluating and/or implementing Intelligent Automation solutions?  How many bots do you have in place today?  How many do you expect to have in place 12 months from now?

Who are your peers and how are you collaborating with them?

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“iPollingTM” is available exclusively to Peeriosity member company employees, with consultants or vendors prohibited from participating or accessing content. Members have full visibility of all respondents and their comments. Using Peeriosity’s integrated email system, Peer MailTM, members can easily communicate at any time with others who participated in iPolling.

Peeriosity members are invited to log into www.peeriosity.com to join the discussion and connect with Peers.   Membership is for practitioners only, with no consultants or vendors permitted.  To learn more about Peeriosity, click here.

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