MuleSoft RPA: Automate Your Processes Today

What is RPA?

RPA stands for Robotic Process Automation. This software combines robotics and automation to perform repetitive tasks efficiently. Boosting your productivity with MuleSoft RPA is straightforward: simply instruct a machine to execute tasks. If a logical step exists, MuleSoft’s RPA bot can easily replicate it.

RPA mimics and minimises human activity during task execution. Consequently, it completes repetitive tasks more quickly, accurately, and tirelessly than a human. This automation allows employees to focus on more productive activities.

How does RPA work?

RPA tools record user actions and generate scripts for the bot to follow.

An RPA script mimics the clicks, entries, movements, and overall actions the user performs. For instance, some steps may require logging into various applications. This involves opening each app, logging in, performing steps, and then exiting.

MuleSoft RPA

MuleSoft RPA serves as a modern enterprise platform for process automation. It offers user-friendly no-code tools and powerful robotics technology for successful process automation. Every automation project passes through the entire RPA lifecycle.

The Anypoint Platform has extended to include MuleSoft RPA. You can invoke RPA processes directly from MuleSoft Composer, which powers complete end-to-end automation.

Key benefits of MuleSoft RPA

• End-to-end automation: Combine MuleSoft RPA with MuleSoft APIs for comprehensive automation.
• Unlock data: Access legacy systems without APIs.
• Free your workforce: Automate manual and repetitive tasks.
• Central control: Manage and govern the automated process efficiently.
• Seamless integration: Integrate with MuleSoft APIs, MuleSoft Composer, and Salesforce.

MuleSoft RPA Usage?

MuleSoft RPA enables various automation activities:

• Automate data entry and retrieval in both legacy and modern applications.
• Extract data from documents, web pages, emails, and spreadsheets.
• Recognise and extract text from images and screens.
• Orchestrate complex multi-step, multi-system workflows.

In my experience with RPA, I tackled challenges in the finance and banking sector. My research focused on regulatory reporting and aimed to automate report creation. We used RPA to automate data extraction in CSV format, perform web scraping tasks, and retrieve incident information from Jira.

Challenges with RPA implementation

• Logging in with two-step verification: We disabled two-step verification due to challenges. The process required recognising images and objects, demanding significant resources.
• Iterating over CSV files: This complex process involved reading the entire file to determine its length. We reread it line by line, introduced a separator, and retrieved values. This lengthy process consumed considerable time.
• Triggering the RPA process: We faced issues using RPA Manager’s run configuration with scheduler invocation. The Composer component didn’t register RPA process completion triggered by the scheduler.
• Unreliable recognition of objects on the screen: RPA often misidentified similar items on the screen. The recognition process lacked reliability, leading to errors.

RPA Lifecycle

Source: MuleSoft

Here is the simple representation of the MuleSoft RPA Lifecycle:

Evaluation enables us to assess whether or not a given process will be worth automating.

• In the design phase, we can design all steps necessary to have complete coverage of the process to be automated.

• The build phase is to create workflows and apply logic to the steps designed in the previous steps so that a bot can understand and execute them.

• In the Test phase, the automated processes are validated to verify stability.

• Once stable, they can be deployed into production.

RPA Builder

RPA Builder is the on-premise development environment that enables us to build automations by specifying the tasks and steps of the process.

With RPA Builder, we can; 

• import a BPMN(Business Process Model and Notation) diagram generated in RPA Manager,
• drag and drop operations from the left-side toolbox or record keyboard and mouse input to specify the action steps,
• perform local testing of our workflow, 
• and when we finish building the process, we upload it to RPA Manager to move on to the testing phase.

RPA Builder enables us to:

• Download and upload automation assets to RPA Manager.
• Add the automation logic to the processes.
• Run local tests for the automations.

Benefits of RPA

• Efficiency: RPA is widely recognised for its ability to boost productivity among enterprise employees by reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks. According to Gartner, RPA can save up to 30% of a full-time employee’s overall work time.

• Accuracy: Automation through RPA ensures higher accuracy in data entry tasks compared to manual execution. RPA tools can also guarantee 100% compliance with industry and organisational policies, minimising errors and enhancing data integrity.

• Cost savings: By improving employee productivity, RPA enables organisations to save money. With less time spent on repetitive tasks, employees can focus on more valuable and strategic work, maximising their output within the same timeframe.

• Integration with legacy technology: Many organisations still rely on legacy systems that pose challenges when integrating with modern cloud-based solutions. RPA provides a convenient entry point by leveraging the user interface to seamlessly transfer data to and from legacy systems, bridging the gap between outdated and contemporary technologies.

Challenges of RPA

1. Display human workers: One of the criticisms of RPA and other automation technologies is their potential to eliminate the need for data entry and clerical-style roles, thus impacting human employment.
   
   Potential solutions:
   – Repurpose and upskill employees for higher-value tasks.
   – Emphasise collaborative automation to work alongside humans.
   
2. Lack of intelligent capabilities: RPA is limited to performing tasks based on predefined scripts when used as a standalone technology. It cannot learn and improve the scripts it executes. To overcome this, the next generation of AI and intelligent automation tools are being introduced, aiming to address this pitfall of RPA by incorporating advanced learning and adaptation capabilities.
   
   Potential solutions:
   – Adopt next-generation AI and intelligent automation tools.
   – Integrate machine learning and cognitive technologies into RPA systems.
   
3. Project complexity: Transformative RPA projects often involve complexity and require a significant time commitment to realise the return on investment. Consequently, some RPA projects fail to deliver value before being fully implemented and leveraged.
   
   Potential solutions:
   – Implement RPA incrementally for quicker results.
   – Involve stakeholders, provide training, and manage change effectively.
   

The MuleSoft RPA Bot is a robust solution for automating processes. It offers end-to-end automation, user-friendly tools, and seamless integration with MuleSoft APIs. 

While facing challenges like verification bypass and object recognition, the benefits of boosting your productivity with MuleSoft’s RPA bot include increased efficiency, accuracy, cost savings, and integration with legacy systems. 

By adopting MuleSoft RPA, organisations can streamline operations, enhance productivity, and pave the way for digital transformation.

If you would like to learn more about this, don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our experts.