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Implementation of RPA technology involves the deployment of software robots that execute recurring clerical tasks; bots are complemented with AI can streamline even more complex activities. Businesses are adopting RPA at an increased pace: the 2024 forecast from Precedence Research states that the RPA market, which has reached $18.41 billion in 2023, will grow at a CAGR of 25.7% from 2024 to 2033.

What lies behind the increasing popularity of RPA among industries? By adopting the technology, companies can reap numerous RPA benefits, and the most notable one is reduced operational cost. As an example, 52% of financial services organizations surveyed by SMA Technologies in 2024 stated automation helps them save at least $100,000 annually.

This article explores how RPA enables companies to reduce their business costs.

Streamlining Workforce Productivity

Companies spend vast financial resources on human labor. Among all cost factors (recruiting and training costs, payroll taxes, etc.), employee compensation takes up the greatest share. The average compensation cost for private sector workers reached $43.78 per hour by March 2024, as stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and this figure is even higher in the public area. Therefore, even one employee can cost over $100,000 per year.

Unfortunately, employees have to spend many paid work hours on clerical tasks, which don’t considerably impact a company’s bottom line. Thus, many of these and other labor costs do not pay off. The recent Slack Workforce Index shows that, on average, employees spend at least a third of their workdays on activities they consider low-value.

Companies can solve this challenge by implementing RPA bots and delegating a wide range of repetitive and time-consuming tasks to them. These can involve rule-based activities, including data input or extraction, and even high-value tasks, such as customer communication or fraud detection if bots are complemented with AI.

Raben Group, a Dutch-based logistics services provider, manages 1.6 million square meters of warehouse space and 12,000 employees globally. The company has deployed over 200 RPA automations to optimize multiple processes, including the generation of spot offers for customers. In one year, automation has saved the company 78,815 employee workdays and over €6 million.

Enhancing Data Quality

More than 50% of respondents to the 2023 survey commissioned by Monte Carlo Data believe that data quality issues negatively affect a quarter or even a more significant part of their revenues. According to the same study, companies can lose $3 for every $10 in revenue due to poor data quality.

A company can implement RPA bots to automate manual error-prone processes, such as data entry and output, thereby reducing the number of data errors. In the long run, the implementation of RPA allows companies to improve their data’s accuracy, relevance, and reliability and avoid expenses related to poor data quality.

Companies can further improve data quality by applying specific data processing rules to their automation scenarios. For example, a bot can be programmed to check and validate the data it works with in order to identify missing and duplicate data. If the bot discovers data issues, it can flag the affected data set and thus signal a human worker to check it.

Numerous real-life implementation examples prove the positive effect of RPA on data quality. For instance, Siemens deployed an AI-powered bot to detect and fix incorrect tax codes among its purchase orders. The bot helped the company mitigate manual tax code checks and achieve 95% tax code accuracy, which resulted in enhanced procurement efficiency.

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance

A company that cannot ensure the compliance of its work processes with global or industry-specific standards risks losing its business reputation and getting a large fine from regulators. Fortunately, companies can overcome regulatory compliance challenges by implementing RPA technology.

A bot can automatically collect financial records required for an internal financial audit across various repositories and merge data from these records into a single dataset to simplify further analysis. By assisting auditors with this monotonous and exhausting task, bots allow human specialists to focus on their direct duties, namely identifying discrepancies in financial documents.

In addition, the bot can automate KYC and AML processes and help a company ensure compliance with FINRA requirements. For example, a bank can implement an AI-powered bot to conduct comprehensive checks of client data before providing financial services. It can automatically scan documents, extract relevant client data, and compare it with government or corporate databases to identify and flag discrepancies.

HBL, Pakistan’s largest bank with over 1,700 branches and 37 million customers worldwide, has deployed over 100 RPA automations in recent years. The bank has automated a wide range of processes, including sanction screening for new customers. The automation has helped the bank achieve a 98% accuracy of sanction screening checks while saving 341,000 working hours annually.

Improving Cybersecurity

Data breaches are becoming highly costly to businesses. IBM’s recent report revealed that by 2024, the average cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million globally.

Companies can avoid these devastating financial losses by implementing RPA bots that are complemented with AI capabilities. The same IBM’s report states that companies using automation and AI in cybersecurity can save an average of $2.22 million annually.

There are multiple use cases for RPA in cybersecurity. For instance, AI-enabled bots can monitor user transactions and interactions in different software systems and detect any anomalies to identify cyber threats in real time. These can include fraudulent transactions, compromised user accounts, or DDoS attacks.

If a bot discovers a security incident, it can automatically take simple actions as an initial response. For example, if a bot detects a file infected with malware in a company’s data storage, it can swiftly quarantine it and alert the security team about the incident.

Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), an American financial services organization, implemented RPA to manage cyber risk more efficiently. After the implementation, the company reported numerous cybersecurity improvements, including 80% quicker discovery of intrusion events and 96% faster detection of malicious URLs.

Final Thoughts

RPA technology enables companies to automate a wide range of tasks and thus become more cost-effective. Enhanced employee performance, data quality, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity are the key outcomes of RPA adoption that lead to the optimization of business costs.

To maximize technology adoption ROI and propel its cost-saving impact, a company can consult with third-party experts before starting its RPA initiative. An experienced RPA consultant will help define the right implementation approach, deliver an adoption roadmap, and build a future-proof, easy-to-scale RPA solution.

The post How RPA Helps Reduce Business Costs appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/growing-a-business/upgrading-equipment/how-rpa-technology-reduce-business-costs/

Home Business Magazine Online

Implementation of RPA technology involves the deployment of software robots that execute recurring clerical tasks; bots are complemented with AI can streamline even more complex activities. Businesses are adopting RPA at an increased pace: the 2024 forecast from Precedence Research states that the RPA market, which has reached $18.41 billion in 2023, will grow at a CAGR of 25.7% from 2024 to 2033.

What lies behind the increasing popularity of RPA among industries? By adopting the technology, companies can reap numerous RPA benefits, and the most notable one is reduced operational cost. As an example, 52% of financial services organizations surveyed by SMA Technologies in 2024 stated automation helps them save at least $100,000 annually.

This article explores how RPA enables companies to reduce their business costs.

Streamlining Workforce Productivity

Companies spend vast financial resources on human labor. Among all cost factors (recruiting and training costs, payroll taxes, etc.), employee compensation takes up the greatest share. The average compensation cost for private sector workers reached $43.78 per hour by March 2024, as stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and this figure is even higher in the public area. Therefore, even one employee can cost over $100,000 per year.

Unfortunately, employees have to spend many paid work hours on clerical tasks, which don’t considerably impact a company’s bottom line. Thus, many of these and other labor costs do not pay off. The recent Slack Workforce Index shows that, on average, employees spend at least a third of their workdays on activities they consider low-value.

Companies can solve this challenge by implementing RPA bots and delegating a wide range of repetitive and time-consuming tasks to them. These can involve rule-based activities, including data input or extraction, and even high-value tasks, such as customer communication or fraud detection if bots are complemented with AI.

Raben Group, a Dutch-based logistics services provider, manages 1.6 million square meters of warehouse space and 12,000 employees globally. The company has deployed over 200 RPA automations to optimize multiple processes, including the generation of spot offers for customers. In one year, automation has saved the company 78,815 employee workdays and over €6 million.

Enhancing Data Quality

More than 50% of respondents to the 2023 survey commissioned by Monte Carlo Data believe that data quality issues negatively affect a quarter or even a more significant part of their revenues. According to the same study, companies can lose $3 for every $10 in revenue due to poor data quality.

A company can implement RPA bots to automate manual error-prone processes, such as data entry and output, thereby reducing the number of data errors. In the long run, the implementation of RPA allows companies to improve their data’s accuracy, relevance, and reliability and avoid expenses related to poor data quality.

Companies can further improve data quality by applying specific data processing rules to their automation scenarios. For example, a bot can be programmed to check and validate the data it works with in order to identify missing and duplicate data. If the bot discovers data issues, it can flag the affected data set and thus signal a human worker to check it.

Numerous real-life implementation examples prove the positive effect of RPA on data quality. For instance, Siemens deployed an AI-powered bot to detect and fix incorrect tax codes among its purchase orders. The bot helped the company mitigate manual tax code checks and achieve 95% tax code accuracy, which resulted in enhanced procurement efficiency.

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance

A company that cannot ensure the compliance of its work processes with global or industry-specific standards risks losing its business reputation and getting a large fine from regulators. Fortunately, companies can overcome regulatory compliance challenges by implementing RPA technology.

A bot can automatically collect financial records required for an internal financial audit across various repositories and merge data from these records into a single dataset to simplify further analysis. By assisting auditors with this monotonous and exhausting task, bots allow human specialists to focus on their direct duties, namely identifying discrepancies in financial documents.

In addition, the bot can automate KYC and AML processes and help a company ensure compliance with FINRA requirements. For example, a bank can implement an AI-powered bot to conduct comprehensive checks of client data before providing financial services. It can automatically scan documents, extract relevant client data, and compare it with government or corporate databases to identify and flag discrepancies.

HBL, Pakistan’s largest bank with over 1,700 branches and 37 million customers worldwide, has deployed over 100 RPA automations in recent years. The bank has automated a wide range of processes, including sanction screening for new customers. The automation has helped the bank achieve a 98% accuracy of sanction screening checks while saving 341,000 working hours annually.

Improving Cybersecurity

Data breaches are becoming highly costly to businesses. IBM’s recent report revealed that by 2024, the average cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million globally.

Companies can avoid these devastating financial losses by implementing RPA bots that are complemented with AI capabilities. The same IBM’s report states that companies using automation and AI in cybersecurity can save an average of $2.22 million annually.

There are multiple use cases for RPA in cybersecurity. For instance, AI-enabled bots can monitor user transactions and interactions in different software systems and detect any anomalies to identify cyber threats in real time. These can include fraudulent transactions, compromised user accounts, or DDoS attacks.

If a bot discovers a security incident, it can automatically take simple actions as an initial response. For example, if a bot detects a file infected with malware in a company’s data storage, it can swiftly quarantine it and alert the security team about the incident.

Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), an American financial services organization, implemented RPA to manage cyber risk more efficiently. After the implementation, the company reported numerous cybersecurity improvements, including 80% quicker discovery of intrusion events and 96% faster detection of malicious URLs.

Final Thoughts

RPA technology enables companies to automate a wide range of tasks and thus become more cost-effective. Enhanced employee performance, data quality, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity are the key outcomes of RPA adoption that lead to the optimization of business costs.

To maximize technology adoption ROI and propel its cost-saving impact, a company can consult with third-party experts before starting its RPA initiative. An experienced RPA consultant will help define the right implementation approach, deliver an adoption roadmap, and build a future-proof, easy-to-scale RPA solution.

The post How RPA Helps Reduce Business Costs appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/growing-a-business/upgrading-equipment/how-rpa-technology-reduce-business-costs/

Home Business Magazine Online

Implementation of RPA technology involves the deployment of software robots that execute recurring clerical tasks; bots are complemented with AI can streamline even more complex activities. Businesses are adopting RPA at an increased pace: the 2024 forecast from Precedence Research states that the RPA market, which has reached $18.41 billion in 2023, will grow at a CAGR of 25.7% from 2024 to 2033.

What lies behind the increasing popularity of RPA among industries? By adopting the technology, companies can reap numerous RPA benefits, and the most notable one is reduced operational cost. As an example, 52% of financial services organizations surveyed by SMA Technologies in 2024 stated automation helps them save at least $100,000 annually.

This article explores how RPA enables companies to reduce their business costs.

Streamlining Workforce Productivity

Companies spend vast financial resources on human labor. Among all cost factors (recruiting and training costs, payroll taxes, etc.), employee compensation takes up the greatest share. The average compensation cost for private sector workers reached $43.78 per hour by March 2024, as stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and this figure is even higher in the public area. Therefore, even one employee can cost over $100,000 per year.

Unfortunately, employees have to spend many paid work hours on clerical tasks, which don’t considerably impact a company’s bottom line. Thus, many of these and other labor costs do not pay off. The recent Slack Workforce Index shows that, on average, employees spend at least a third of their workdays on activities they consider low-value.

Companies can solve this challenge by implementing RPA bots and delegating a wide range of repetitive and time-consuming tasks to them. These can involve rule-based activities, including data input or extraction, and even high-value tasks, such as customer communication or fraud detection if bots are complemented with AI.

Raben Group, a Dutch-based logistics services provider, manages 1.6 million square meters of warehouse space and 12,000 employees globally. The company has deployed over 200 RPA automations to optimize multiple processes, including the generation of spot offers for customers. In one year, automation has saved the company 78,815 employee workdays and over €6 million.

Enhancing Data Quality

More than 50% of respondents to the 2023 survey commissioned by Monte Carlo Data believe that data quality issues negatively affect a quarter or even a more significant part of their revenues. According to the same study, companies can lose $3 for every $10 in revenue due to poor data quality.

A company can implement RPA bots to automate manual error-prone processes, such as data entry and output, thereby reducing the number of data errors. In the long run, the implementation of RPA allows companies to improve their data’s accuracy, relevance, and reliability and avoid expenses related to poor data quality.

Companies can further improve data quality by applying specific data processing rules to their automation scenarios. For example, a bot can be programmed to check and validate the data it works with in order to identify missing and duplicate data. If the bot discovers data issues, it can flag the affected data set and thus signal a human worker to check it.

Numerous real-life implementation examples prove the positive effect of RPA on data quality. For instance, Siemens deployed an AI-powered bot to detect and fix incorrect tax codes among its purchase orders. The bot helped the company mitigate manual tax code checks and achieve 95% tax code accuracy, which resulted in enhanced procurement efficiency.

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance

A company that cannot ensure the compliance of its work processes with global or industry-specific standards risks losing its business reputation and getting a large fine from regulators. Fortunately, companies can overcome regulatory compliance challenges by implementing RPA technology.

A bot can automatically collect financial records required for an internal financial audit across various repositories and merge data from these records into a single dataset to simplify further analysis. By assisting auditors with this monotonous and exhausting task, bots allow human specialists to focus on their direct duties, namely identifying discrepancies in financial documents.

In addition, the bot can automate KYC and AML processes and help a company ensure compliance with FINRA requirements. For example, a bank can implement an AI-powered bot to conduct comprehensive checks of client data before providing financial services. It can automatically scan documents, extract relevant client data, and compare it with government or corporate databases to identify and flag discrepancies.

HBL, Pakistan’s largest bank with over 1,700 branches and 37 million customers worldwide, has deployed over 100 RPA automations in recent years. The bank has automated a wide range of processes, including sanction screening for new customers. The automation has helped the bank achieve a 98% accuracy of sanction screening checks while saving 341,000 working hours annually.

Improving Cybersecurity

Data breaches are becoming highly costly to businesses. IBM’s recent report revealed that by 2024, the average cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million globally.

Companies can avoid these devastating financial losses by implementing RPA bots that are complemented with AI capabilities. The same IBM’s report states that companies using automation and AI in cybersecurity can save an average of $2.22 million annually.

There are multiple use cases for RPA in cybersecurity. For instance, AI-enabled bots can monitor user transactions and interactions in different software systems and detect any anomalies to identify cyber threats in real time. These can include fraudulent transactions, compromised user accounts, or DDoS attacks.

If a bot discovers a security incident, it can automatically take simple actions as an initial response. For example, if a bot detects a file infected with malware in a company’s data storage, it can swiftly quarantine it and alert the security team about the incident.

Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), an American financial services organization, implemented RPA to manage cyber risk more efficiently. After the implementation, the company reported numerous cybersecurity improvements, including 80% quicker discovery of intrusion events and 96% faster detection of malicious URLs.

Final Thoughts

RPA technology enables companies to automate a wide range of tasks and thus become more cost-effective. Enhanced employee performance, data quality, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity are the key outcomes of RPA adoption that lead to the optimization of business costs.

To maximize technology adoption ROI and propel its cost-saving impact, a company can consult with third-party experts before starting its RPA initiative. An experienced RPA consultant will help define the right implementation approach, deliver an adoption roadmap, and build a future-proof, easy-to-scale RPA solution.

The post How RPA Helps Reduce Business Costs appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/growing-a-business/upgrading-equipment/how-rpa-technology-reduce-business-costs/

Are you facing debt with a long-term illness and wondering how you’ll manage your money? Ongoing health issues often mean you end up dealing with unpredictable expenses like travelling to appointments, hospital parking, and prescription charges.

It can be challenging both mentally and physically, and can lead to more stress when you’re already feeling the pressure. These financial extras, as well as time off work and a reduced income, can make falling into debt more likely.

If you’re dealing with a long-term illness and are worried about debt, read our advice on what you can do to deal with your financial situation.

• Look at how you can manage your finances
• Check your statutory sick pay entitlement
• Use smart ways to reduce your spending
• Claim an income tax refund
• Consider ways to increase your income
• Try reducing your rent or mortgage payments
• Get free advice to deal with debt with a long-term illness

Look at how you can manage your finances

Create a simple budget to make sure your essential living expenses and care costs are taken into account. You can use our free budget template to get started.

Your budget will help you manage your incomings against your outgoings, so you can concentrate on your health instead of worrying about money. It’s also a good way to discover where you could benefit from saving cash.

Check your Statutory Sick Pay entitlement

Some people don’t know that you can get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for up to 28 weeks if:

• You’re in work, but can’t attend because you’re ill
• You were earning an average of at least £123 per week or more in the two months before you couldn’t work

That means you’ll still get paid a specified amount while you’re off work, paid into your bank account the same way you would usually get your wages.

The current entitlement is £116.75 per week for up to 28 weeks. If you’re struggling to keep up with bills or repayments while off work, this kind of entitlement could ease some of the pressure.

Some employers have their own sick pay schemes, so double check with your HR department what you’re entitled to. If you don’t have an HR department, ask your manager, or check your contract.

Use smart ways to reduce your spending

Even if you’re already on a tight budget, there are loads of ways you can cut back and save smartly. Use an Ofgem approved switching service to find better deals on your utility bills, look out for free evening and weekend call offers from your phone provider, and find out how to save money on your TV packages.

When it comes to your food shop, you could switch to own brand products or start shopping at a better value supermarket. Cheaper food doesn’t mean losing out on taste!

Claim an income tax refund

If you’ve had to stop working due to long-term illness, or have reduced hours because of it, you might be able to get a refund of some of the income tax you’ve paid.

It’s worth contacting HMRC to check if you’re entitled to some money back.

Consider ways to increase your income

We’re not talking about getting another job or going back to work when you’re not ready, because your health must come first. If you’re off work long-term because of your illness, or have a low income as a result, there may be some benefits you’re entitled to.

Use the StepChange benefits calculator to check what you could be missing, and look into any pensions, savings or investments you might have. This’ll help to make sure you’ve got as much money coming in as possible.

Try reducing your rent or mortgage payments

If you’re on a low income and renting, you can apply for a council tax discount. If you’ve got a mortgage, contact your lender or insurance provider to see if you have insurance in place that covers your payments while you’re ill.

You might have mortgage payment protection, critical illness cover, or income protection insurance to help you cover payments. However, bear in mind that any insurance pay-out could affect state benefit claims you make.

Get free advice to deal with debt

If you’re struggling to pay your bills, use the Stepchange online Debt Remedy tool here for advice and practical solutions to deal with your debt, or give their advisors a call.

They will talk through your finances and give you free and impartial debt advice, as well as recommend a debt solution tailored to your situation.

Also, sign up to our free debt help emails here. They will support you as you work to pay off your debts and get better.

The post How to deal with debt with a long-term illness appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Original source: https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/how-to-deal-with-debt-with-a-long-term-illness

Google Ads will phase out the option to use enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) for new Search and Display campaigns starting in October. 

Key dates:

• October: eCPC option removed for new campaigns.
• March 2025: All remaining eCPC campaigns transitioned to Manual CPC.

Why we care. ECPC is the most light touch of automated bid strategies, so it allowed you to dip your toe into automated bidding without giving Google full control by just working toward a conversion target. Google is taking that away. If you haven’t started testing which fully automated bid strategies work for your campaigns, now is the time. This change will impact how you manage your Search and Display campaigns.

Options. Google introduced enhanced CPC in 2010 as a Smart Bidding strategy to optimize bids based on conversion likelihood. However, newer machine learning options like Maximize conversions (with optional target CPA) and Maximize conversion value (with optional target ROAS) offer more automated tools to improve performance.

First seen. Anthony Higman shared the email he received from Google about this update on X.

Zoom out. The shift to more advanced automated bidding strategies signals Google’s push toward greater reliance on machine learning and possible introduction of more automated bidding strategies.

• Google deprecated eCPC for Shopping campaigns last year.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-deprecate-enhanced-cpc-search-display-446350