Intelligent Automation

Intelligent Automation (IA) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are both essential tools in automating business processes, but they differ in scope and capability. RPA is focused on automating rule-based, repetitive tasks by mimicking human actions in interacting with digital systems. It is ideal for processes that are structured and require little to no variation, such as data entry, form processing, and system integration tasks. RPA tools operate without the need for human intervention once deployed, providing cost savings, speed, and accuracy in handling high-volume tasks.

In contrast, Intelligent Automation encompasses a broader set of technologies, including RPA, but adds capabilities such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP). While RPA excels in handling structured data, IA can manage unstructured data and make decisions based on patterns, predictive analytics, or learned behavior. For example, IA can automate complex workflows that involve cognitive tasks like recognizing and interpreting documents (via intelligent document processing), understanding human speech (through conversational AI), or deriving insights from data for predictive decision-making. This makes IA more adaptive and capable of handling more complex business processes compared to traditional RPA.

In summary, while RPA is highly efficient for automating rule-based tasks, IA goes beyond by incorporating AI and other advanced technologies to automate more complex, decision-driven processes, offering greater flexibility and business value.

At Lanshore we’ve been innovating and deploying Intelligent Automation and Robotic Process Automation in forward-looking organizations since the technology emerged. Technology agnostic, we’ve kept pace with developments by all the leading vendors and have the skills and knowledge to select the best tools and apply them in the most effective ways to enhance your unique organization’s process-based performance.