[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=“From Manual to Marvelous“ font_container=“tag:h1|font_size:48|text_align:left“ use_theme_fonts=“yes“ css=“.vc_custom_1701435646637{margin-top: -25px !important;}“][vc_custom_heading text=“RPA and Low-Code in Process Automation“ font_container=“tag:h2|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23676b6d“ use_theme_fonts=“yes“ css=“.vc_custom_1701435656377{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}“][vc_column_text]Felix Weber, NEWWORK Software Inc.

(Titelbild: Adobe Stock | 605830070 | akkash)[/vc_column_text][ultimate_spacer height=“15″ height_on_tabs=“15″ height_on_tabs_portrait=“15″ height_on_mob_landscape=“15″ height_on_mob=“15″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=“Kurz und Bündig“ font_container=“tag:h2|font_size:34|text_align:left“ use_theme_fonts=“yes“ css=“.vc_custom_1661761237969{margin-top: -25px !important;}“ el_class=“box-headline“][vc_row_inner el_class=“box-content-wrapper“][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Low-code platforms have emerged as the logical successors to RPA, offering organizations greater flexibility, scalability and efficiency in precisely automating complex business processes. While RPA has proven itself in automating existing manual tasks, low-code platforms take automation to the next level by enabling the development of business processes and workflows with less programming through visual and userfriendly tools.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=“.vc_custom_1519752670572{margin-top: -10px !important;}“][vc_column][ultimate_spacer height=“30″ height_on_tabs=“15″ height_on_tabs_portrait=“15″ height_on_mob_landscape=“15″ height_on_mob=“15″][vc_column_text]Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Low-Code-Development (LCSD) are two different approaches for the digitalization and automation of business processes. While RPA focuses primarily on automating existing and manual processes in an established system landscape, the use of low-code is better positioned for more complex business processes and innovations. Low-code oers the advantage of a rapid development and deployment while taking into account compliance, governance, but also flexibility for process adjustments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In software development, source code is written from scratch using programming languages, which requires in-depth technical knowledge and skills. Users must be able to define the flow logic, create algorithms, deal with data structures and manage the entire software development lifecycle. In contrast, low-code development relies on visual interfaces and pre-built components to simplify the creation of application. It is also intended to enable people with limited programming skills to develop software quickly. Most often, the development relies on a visual development environment that allows applications to be created using a drag-anddrop interface with predefined elements.

Low-code and Business Process Management (BPM) merge as powerful allies and change the way, how businesses optimize and streamline their processes:
• Low-code accelerates the development and change of processes (agility) and enables businesses to quickly adapt to changing requirements and market dynamics, and by that promotes the flexibility of the business.
• Low-code promotes a user-centric approach, involving business users and experts in process design (user involvement). This alignment between business requirements and execution is critical to the success of BPM.
• Low-code enables the automation of repetitive and rule-based tasks within processes,
which reduces the amount of mistakes and increases efficiency. This is especially valuable in BPM, where automation can eliminate bottlenecks and streamline workflows.
• Low-code platforms are usually equipped with monitoring and analysis tools, which grant a real time insight into process performance (transparency). This data driven approach enables businesses to make profound decisions for the improvement of processes.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=“Low-code platforms“ font_container=“tag:h3|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23676b6d“][vc_column_text]Low-code platforms are software solutions providing an environment for the creation, design and deployment of applications with minimal manual code [1]. These platforms offer a set of prefabricated components, templates and visual development tools to simplify the application development process. Centralized and visual interfaces can often be used to define the application logic, workflows, data and user interfaces. Low-code platforms aim to make application development more accessible to a wider range of users, including business users and enterprise analysts (so-called „citizen developers“). These platforms are widely used in various industries and companies for tasks such as developing internal tools, customer-oriented applications, automating business processes and creating software prototypes.

Low-code platforms usually offer various components and functions, which simplify the development of applications with minimal manual programming efforts. These components are designed in a way, that the process of application development is streamlined, and made more accessible for target groups with different technical knowledge. Whereas specific components vary between different platforms, the four general components exist in most available low-code platforms (Fig. 1).

The Experience layer is mainly composed of a user interface (UI)-builder and components for the creation of forms and control items. With a visual UI-builder the user interface of the application can be created using “drag and drop“, which simplifies the design process. The form and data input as well as control elements are used to create and customize input and interaction options.

The Logic layer is mainly based on a process and workflow designer and represents the core of low-code development, and can also be seen as the most important link to business process management. Process and workflow components enable the modeling, control, automation and orchestration of business processes and application logic, which include the ability to create flowcharts, define process steps and set up automated triggers and actions. Ideally, the platforms support well-known standards, such as the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN).

The System and API layers include database integration and APIs. The components are used for integration with various forms of data management, whether for creating schemes, database tables, defining relationships between them, data queries, or integration with external databases or data sources. The connectors and APIs allow the created applications to interact with external systems, services and data sources – including events, RESTful APIs, SOAP services and more.

Across all of these layers, there are reusable templates, pre-defined components and (graphical) widgets in libraries that can be easily integrated into the applications. These
components speed up the development and also ensure consistency in the processes.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=“How do RPA and low-code differ?“ font_container=“tag:h3|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23676b6d“][vc_column_text]While RPA and low-code are often used for the same task, they serve different purposes and use different technologies. RPA is primarily used to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks that require interaction with existing software applications, such as data entry, copy-and-paste, and transaction processing. RPA focuses on automating manual tasks – without changing the underlying systems. Low-code is designed to create custom applications or software solutions with a minimum of manual programming. It is easier and faster for automate repetitive tasks, and is therefore well suited for activities that do not require complex logic or decision-making.

RPA uses software components („bots“) to mimic human interactions with software systems. This involves recording and replaying user actions or using predefined rules to execute tasks. Low-code platforms provide a visual development environment with pre-built components and modules that allow new applications to be created through a combination of visual modeling and minimal coding. The components are more like those used in traditional software development and, unlike RPA, the focus is not on automating user interface interactions, but on creating additive software solutions.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=“Complexity, Testability and Governance“ font_container=“tag:h3|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23676b6d“][vc_column_text]Low-code outperforms RPA in managing complexity due to its versatility and ease of use, and is designed for end-to-end process automation – making it ideal for handling complicated workflows. In addition, low-code platforms excel in integration capabilities by seamlessly connecting different systems, databases, and APIs, which is essential for managing complexity. Adaptability and agility allow companies to quickly respond to changing business needs and the intricacies of complex processes. In contrast, RPA can be less flexible and may require extensive reconfiguration to cope with more complex changes [3].

The visual development editors simplify the understanding and create a more general readability of the implemented workflows and processes, and by that promote the testability by enabling a visual inspection of processes, inputs and outputs [1]. The modularity of low-code design enables the creation of reusable components, making it easier to test individual modules, reducing the test complexity.

With regard to governance and compliance low-code platforms support structured and standardized development practices, due to their underlying (enforced) deisgn principles. Whereas RPA with less mandatory design principles relies on organizational enforcement.
Low-code platforms often include role-based access control that allows organizations to define and manage user permissions to ensure data security, and reduce the risk of unauthorized access – which is largely not the case with RPA. Most platforms offer built-in compliance checks and rules that can be configured in applications and workflows to ensure processes meet regulatory requirements. In addition, lowcode platforms have detailed audit trails and version controls that allow organizations to track changes, monitor access, and provide visibility, which is essential for compliance.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=“Support for automation and AI“ font_container=“tag:h3|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23676b6d“][vc_column_text]Low-code platforms are critical in supporting automation and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, because they typically integrate seamlessly with AI services – so that AI capabilities, ranging from natural language processing (OCR, text understanding, or even chatbots) to predictive forecasting, can be incorporated. Some platforms offer pre-built AI components and connectors that can be dragged and dropped into applications, simplifying AI integration. Workflow automation tools within these platforms help design and automate business processes that include AI elements and enable the data integration and transformation essential to Artificial Intelligence applications.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=“Transition between RPA and Low-code“ font_container=“tag:h3|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23676b6d“][vc_column_text]RPA is agnostic to the used technologies and the system architecture. Since the only relevant interface is the user interface (UI), RPA projects are unlikely to generate disruptive solutions [6]. As mentioned earlier, bots performing robotic process automation are designed to perform repetitive tasks, so not all processes are suitable for this type of automation. According to Fung [7], the typical criteria for processes that are relevant for the selection decision between RPA and low-code are the following:
• Low cognitive requirements: Processes with many repetitive tasks are ideal for a RPA application, whereas complex processes with many different, integrated and dependent tasks are more difficult or even impossible to be implemented.
• High execution frequency of manual processes speak in favour of the use of RPA and low-code from the perspective of process management.
• Access to multiple systems is possible in an automated manner through RPA, which is only built on top of existing applications, but is usually limited within a single application or to a single information system.
• Number of exceptions and relevance of their solution. If the processes do not have many opportunities for specific exceptions, they are potential candidates for automation through RPA application. Otherwise, a low-code approach with extensive error handling capabilities is needed.

The criteria of frequency of execution and the complexity of the processes and workflows to be implemented, stand out in particular (see Fig. 2). This enables a rough – but by no means a conclusive – evaluation basis for the use of RPA and low-code for business processes.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=“Summary“ font_container=“tag:h3|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23676b6d“][vc_column_text]Low-code platforms have emerged as the logical successors to RPA, offering organizations greater flexibility, scalability and efficiency in precisely automating complex business processes. While RPA has proven itself in automating existing manual tasks, low-code platforms take automation to the next level by enabling the development of business processes and workflows with less programming through visual and userfriendly tools. An important reason for lowcode as a successor of RPA is the broad field of application that low-code offers. RPA concentrates mainly on the automation of tasks and requires a comprehensive development for the integration with different systems and the administration of exceptions. On the contrary, lowcode platforms enable businesses to create whole applications as well as the seamless integration of data and business processes. Additionally, low-code platforms offer better governance and compliance capabilities. RPA bots can sometimes perform tasks without the necessary checks and adjustments, while low-code applications are designed to include built-in security and
compliance measures that ensure business processes are in line with regulatory requirements. The long-term perspective, in particular that of the value contribution and the effect of the technologies mentioned [8], should also be taken into account. For example, it is assumed that the use of RPA in particular – except for the shortterm automation of manual activities, such as the rollout of SAP systems – is contrary to an acceptable system architecture in the long term.[/vc_column_text][ult_createlink btn_link=“url:https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3Q325KG|title:Literaturangaben%20%26%20weitere%20Infos|target:_blank“][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][ult_dualbutton btn_hover_style=“Style 2″ btn_border_style=“solid“ btn_color_border=“#ffffff“ btn_border_size=“2″ btn_alignment=“left“ dual_resp=“off“ button1_text=“Einzelheft kaufen“ icon_link=“url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.im-io.de%2Fproduct%2Fmetaverse%2F|title:Metaverse%2C%20NFTs%20%26%20Cryptos|target:_blank“ btn1_background_color=“#f3f3f3″ btn1_bghovercolor=“#f07d00″ icon=“Defaults-book“ icon_size=“22″ icon_color=“#f07d00″ icon_hover_color=“#ffffff“ button2_text=“Jetzt abonnieren“ btn_icon_link=“url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aws-institut.de%2Fim-io%2Fabo%2F|title:Abo||“ btn2_background_color=“#f3f3f3″ btn2_bghovercolor=“#f07d00″ btn_icon=“Defaults-chevron-right“ btn_icon_size=“22″ btn_icon_color=“#f07d00″ btn_iconhover_color=“#ffffff“ divider_text=“oder“ divider_text_color=“#f07d00″ divider_bg_color=“#ffffff“ btn1_text_color=“#f07d00″ btn1_text_hovercolor=“#ffffff“ btn2_text_color=“#f07d00″ btn2_text_hovercolor=“#ffffff“ title_font_size=“desktop:20px;“ btn_border_radius=“30″ title_line_ht=“desktop:22px;“ btn_width=“280″][/vc_column][/vc_row]