RPA and Artificial Intelligence – Results To-date and Plans for 2025

Introduction

In 2017 when Peeriosity-100 added a new research area for Intelligent Automation, the market was flooded with news about what was perceived to be a game-changing technology, with many new companies competing in a market space where growth seemed limitless.  The opportunities seemed huge, with public conferences quickly becoming paid informercials for the new RPA players with deep pockets from venture capital money.  The message to businesses was either you embrace this new technology, or you will quickly become obsolete and die.  Change management was also expected to be a big issue as thousands of people were expected to have their current job eliminated as these new technologies found their foothold in business, and particularly in Shared Services/GBS.   RPA was viewed as a silver bullet with dire consequences for many who were on the front lines processing transactions.

Now, fast forward 8 years, and the hype and big advertising money is now focused on more advanced versions traditional AI and Generative AI.  And yes, there are many real-world examples of where GEN IA has been having a big impact, notable in the HR space and processes like talent recruiting.  But what are companies, and specifically Shared Services/GBS organizations, actually doing now to leverage these new technologies?

Fortunately for Peeriosity-100 members there are many real-life examples to consider, where you can see a first-hand report from leading peers with the ability to connect with them directly for more detailed discussions.  For example, in 2024 we hosted Peercasts where member companies were featured on topics including “Our Story: Intelligent Automation at (Company Name)”, discussing huge success supporting the entire company (not only Shared Services/GBS) from a COE with hundreds of dedicated resources and a long list of successful projects; a Peercast titled “Real Member Experiences with Gen AI”, a panel discussion with leading companies, including Intel Corporation, The Hershey Company, and Conagra Brands; a Peercast titled “Automating with Smart Automation and Artificial Intelligence at P&G”; and another Peercast called “Navigating a Successful RPA Program through an ERP Transformation”, featuring a leading global company.

Peeriosity-100 members know that the path forward is much easier when you know the details for how leading peers are approaching similar challenges, with the ability to reach out and have meaningful conversations about their efforts.

Polling Results Review

A Peeriosity-100 poll was created to better understand the impact of RPA and Gen AI in 2024, and member companies’ expectations for 2025.  Regarding the current impact of RPA, 56% of member companies indicated that the technology is fully operational, with dedicated resources and strategies in place.  An additional 33% of companies indicated that technology is being tested/implemented now, with resources and strategy under development.  While no one selected one of the three options indicating less interest, 11% indicated a decision was made to largely bypass RPA in favor of other tools like ETL ( Extract, Transform, Load) and more advanced AI tools.

Here are the details:

The second poll question for RPA asked about expectations for 2025.   These results indicate that 56% expect to continue on an aggressive implementation path, 11% expect to take their projects to a fully operational level, and 22% expect to begin developing their strategy and testing various solutions, with 11% indicating that they have no plans to move forward with RPA in 2025.

Regarding Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI, many Peeriosity-100 members are early in their journey, with no members reporting that the technology is fully operational with dedicated resources and a strategy in place, and only 22% who indicated that the technology is being tested/implemented  with resources and strategy under development, with an additional 22% who indicated that they are actively investigating the use of this technology, but with no major use of resources yet.  The remaining 56% indicated that they are interested in this technology, but no progress has been made to either investigate or implemented.

Regarding expectations for 2025 and the use of Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI, the landscape is expected to change, but not as quickly as you might have guessed.  11% expect to take projects to fully operational level, and 33% expect to begin developing a strategy and testing various solutions.  Of the remaining 56% or member companies, 45% expect to proceed with due diligence, but with no tangible testing, and 11% have no plans to move ahead in this area in 2025.

Here are a few of the comments from responding companies:

• RPA implementations are a slow process for us. Sometimes when we think they are operational we tend to have to go back and update, maintain them more often than we anticipated.
  

• RPA has been replaced with more capable ETL and AI tools. RPA might have a place in certain workflows, but it is a last resort for us.
  

• Intelligent Automation falls under the technology team for us, with the GBS shared service process working together with technology teams to come up with solutions.

Closing Summary

When RPA technologies first appeared, the hype was significant, that these tools would be a major game-changer for Shared Services/GBS.  For many companies, this has absolutely been true, but for others, implementations have not delivered all the gains expected and have been complicated with the ongoing maintenance required to reconfigure solutions as processes and non-RPA technologies have changed.

In the world of Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI, the adoption of the new technologies is expected to be slower and more deliberated.  However, as member companies experience significant and tangible breakthroughs, the rate of adoption is expected to accelerate quickly.

What have been the results of RPA efforts for your Shared Services/GBS organization, and what are your expectations for 2025?  Have you started evaluating opportunities to leverage more advanced Artificial Intelligence or Generative AI solutions?

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

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 Polling is available exclusively to Peeriosity-100 member company employees, with consultants or vendors prohibited from participating or accessing content. Members have full visibility to all respondents and their comments. Using Peeriosity-100’s integrated email system, Peer Mail, members can easily communicate at any time with others who participated in Polling.