Robotic process automation (RPA) promises impressive productivity and efficiency gains through automating repetitive, rules-based tasks. However, for many companies, the high costs of enterprise-level RPA tools put automation out of reach. Licensing fees, implementation costs, and other expenses can strain budgets, especially for smaller organizations.
The good news is that with the right approach, companies can reap tremendous RPA benefits without breaking the bank. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore practical methods for cost effective RPA implementation.
Defining Affordable RPA
What constitutes "affordable" RPA will vary for each organization depending on size, industry, goals, and other factors. As a general guideline, RPA solutions under $2,000 per year with basic process automation capabilities can provide immense value for the investment compared to leading vendors that charge upwards of $15,000+ for advanced capabilities and support.
The key is matching your budget to the right RPA tool with features that align to your current automation needs. As your program matures, you can upgrade to more sophisticated software. Here is a breakdown of yearly licensing costs for RPA tools at different capability tiers:
| RPA Tool Category | Estimated Yearly License Cost |
|---|---|
| Basic Cloud Bots & Desktop Automation | $500 – $1,500 |
| Mid-Tier Low-Code RPA Platforms | $1,500 – $3,500 |
| Leading Enterprise RPA Software | $15,000+ |
| Open Source RPA Frameworks | $0 (Labor for Development) |
According to 2021 research from Deloitte, RPA software licensing accounts for the largest chunk – 31% – of costs enterprise companies incur implementing robotic process automation over a 3 year period. The next highest expense at 23% is RPA infrastructure, followed by operating model realignment at 16% of total expenditures.
This data spotlights why lower cost software options under $2,000 per year dramatically improve budget friendliness for starter RPA programs focusing on targeted quick win automations. Still, organizations must align tool capabilities and features to current versus future intended bot usage.
Overcoming Obstacles of Enterprise-Level RPA
Before exploring budget-friendly RPA options, let‘s examine why some organizations perceive automation as too costly:
High Licensing Fees
Top RPA platforms carry yearly licensing costs in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. For companies automating mission-critical processes across the enterprise, these tools provide necessary security, controls, and support. However, for smaller scale automations, much cheaper tools can get the job done.
Overbuying Features
It‘s tempting to splurge on every cutting-edge RPA capability under the assumption you‘ll eventually need them. But this ties up budget in features that won‘t impact near-term automation initiatives. Start with a basic RPA tool to handle quick wins and simpler processes before upgrading down the road.
Custom Integrations and Support
Configuring RPA bots for complex system integrations or processes often requires custom development and vendor services – adding to the price tag. With an incremental rollout focused on standardizing and simplifying processes first, reliance on custom features and support can be minimized.
Over-Engineering the Launch Some organizations spend countless hours and dollars mapping processes, building a Center of Excellence (COE), and developing extensive guidelines before ever running a bot in production. This premature optimization creates overhead that delays realizing automation‘s benefits.
4 Options for Cost Effective RPA Implementation
While the limitations of open source RPA and "free" bot trial versions have tradeoffs, four techniques offer affordable middle ground alternatives:
1. Low-Code Citizen Development Platforms
RPA tools like KiSSFLOW, Forcepad, and Zoho Creator simplify building automation bots with pre-built templates, point and click design, and drag-and-drop logic builders. Pricing starts around $500/year for unlimited bots. This empowers citizen developers to build automations without extensive technical skills.
2. Lightweight Cloud-Based Software Bots
RPA Express, Softomotive WinAutomation Cloud, and other web-based bot runners remove infrastructure management overhead. Straightforward bot deployment, scheduling, and monitoring make these cloud platforms easy to pilot. Starter prices are less than $100/month.
3. Open Source RPA Frameworks
While open source RPA requires more technical prowess, frameworks like Robocorp, OpenRPA, and A2iA allow developers to build automation agents using Python and popular libraries like OpenCV. The software is free but will incur labor expense to develop.
4. "RPA Light" Key Task Automation
Purpose-built smart automation tools from companies like Kapow Software, Automation Anywhere IQ Bot, and UiPath Activities cost a fraction of pure enterprise RPA. Although orchestration of multiple systems in long processes isn‘t feasible, these self-service tools help automate mundane repetitive tasks.
Comparing Lightweight Tools to Open Source RPA
Lightweight cloud software bots and low-code citizen development platforms balance affordability and ease of use for starters – no need for coding expertise. Open source solutions offer unbeatable cost of $0 but have a steeper learning curve to configure and program.
| Lightweight Cloud/Low-Code RPA | Open Source RPA | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $100+ per month subscriptions or <$2k yearly licenses | 100% Free Software |
| Ease of Use | GUI configuration, prebuilt templates | Coding required |
| Speed to Deploy | Days to weeks | Weeks to months |
| Scalability | Upgrade to more advanced tooling | Limited without custom development |
| Support | Commercial support contracts available | Community support |
Companies like Network Rail, Save the Children UK, and Bosch leverage open source to stretch RPA budgets further through developer resources or IT talent. Still the majority favor commercial low-code tools for quicker time-to-value.
7 Tips for Successful Budget RPA Execution
Approaching RPA with careful planning and discipline yields major efficiency gains without big price tags:
Start Small, Demonstrate Quick Wins – Prove out value with a minimal viable product (MVP) automation for a contained use case before expanding effort and investment.
Standardize Early – Clean up and standardize processes to remove exceptions and variability that drive cost and complexity for automations down the road.
Focus on Attended First – Attended robots that assist human workers are simpler to build and deploy than fully autonomous solutions. Achieve early productivity boosts this way.
Leverage Internal Skills – Before hiring consultants, assess and train internal resources on RPA tools to maximize in-house capabilities around development, administration and support.
Build a Foundation of Sound Governance – Outline operating models, Phase Gate methodologies, bot workflows rules and other fundamentals from the start to enable controlled scale.
Don‘t Overinvest in Infrastructure – For early RPA initiatives, repurpose existing virtual machines and servers instead of purchasing new hardware that sits idle.
Create Automation Centers of Excellence Later – Postpone establishing dedicated, multi-disciplinary CoEs. Initially leverage interested line groups to document learnings toward centralized standards.
Evaluating Processes Suitable for Starter RPA Programs
With limited RPA budget, Companies must carefully evaluate and select which processes offer realistic automation potential versus cost/effort required.
Key Factors to Consider:
- Repetitiveness – How often does the task repeat daily/weekly/monthly?
- Rule Complexity – Can logic and decisions be configured simply for a bot?
- Change Rates – How frequently do inputs, actions, rules evolve?
- Exception Rates – What % of cases follow standard rules?
- Business Value – Will automation drive meaningful productivity/quality/other impact?
- Data Integration – How many upstream/downstream system connections needed?
Processes like transferring data between systems, applying rule-based validation checks, and completing forms with multiple standard fields tend to be low hanging fruit. Activities with high exception rates demanding human judgement are less ideal RPA fits without ML/AI to handle complexity.
Making Progress with Limited Resources
While following a measured approach requires patience, low-risk RPA foundations pay dividends over time. Building competency across tools, infrastructure, and processes unlocks flexibility to scale automations efficiently.
Even simple, narrowly focused software bots make employees more productive and boost quality by removing dull repetitive work. The trick is gaining budget consensus by defining RPA success metrics around worker capacity gained versus pure cost reduction.
Small and mid-sized UK companies adopting RPA improve productivity 16.5% on average based on independent research – while reducing relevant staff labor costs 7-9%. These productivity boosts rapidly offset initial RPA expenditures, even with highly affordable tools.
Creative companies worldwide prove even basic RPA yields immense progress when aligned to business goals beyond just cutting expenses. With the right mindset and discipline, transformative productivity tools sit within reach regardless of budget constraints. The automation opportunity is too large to ignore.
