According to The Forrester Wave™, a research report widely known and respected that evaluates and compares various technology products and services within a specific market segment, UiPath is the leading software platform in the Robotic Process Automation sector (Source: https://www.uipath.com/resources/automation-analyst-reports/forrester-wave-rpa).
Figure 1: The Forrester Wave™ - Robotic Process Automation
But what exactly is UiPath?
1. What is UiPath?
UiPath is a software company that provides a platform for the development of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) robots. Users can create automated workflows with low/no code using UiPath Studio and then deploy these workflows to UiPath Orchestrator, a centralized management tool that allows the monitoring and managing of robots.
Currently, UiPath has become the leading technology of RPA, with a strong worldwide reputation. Why UiPath has become a leader in the RPA area?
UiPath offers a comprehensive platform, with pre-built automation components, making the process automation development experience more intuitive and understandable;
UiPath has a large and active community of developers and partners, who create and share automation workflows and reusable components (UiPath Marketplace - https://marketplace.uipath.com/). Also, UiPath offers the possibility of integrating a Community Forum (UiPath Community Forum - https://forum.uipath.com/) that enables RPA developers to share their knowledge and help other developers to reach the best solution for their problems;
UiPath regularly introduces new features and capabilities to its platform;
UiPath offers comprehensive documentation (UiPath Documentation Portal - https://docs.uipath.com/), academy training (UiPath Academy - https://academy.uipath.com/) and support to their customers;
UiPath offers the possibility of automating processes that use systems from different technology providers.
2. Features of UiPath
Drag-and-Drop Functionality
As mentioned earlier, UiPath offers an intuitive platform that anyone can interact with. But how intuitive is it?
Well, one of the features of UiPath is the drag-and-drop functionality. Rather than being focused on developing pure and hard code, you can simply drag and drop the activity you want to use. Let's look at the following two images:
Figure 2: Example of Pure Code
Figure 3: Example of UiPath Code
Through observation of the two images above, where the first figure corresponds to an example of pure code and the second one corresponds to an example of UiPath code, what is the first thought that pop-ups into mind?
Well, if you don't have any experience in code development, or even if you have a little experience, when you look at the first figure, you might feel confused. You don't know what is happening, what usage a specific command has and, most importantly, you don't even know if you're capable to develop a code such as that. Don't worry! With hard work, you will be able to develop code just like the one shown in Figure 2.
On the contrary, when looking at Figure 3, it can be seen that the use of a drag-and-drop functionality makes the UiPath interface much more interactive and user-friendly, focusing mainly on the visual character. Don't you feel more confident looking at Figure 3 than Figure 2? Well, I certainly feel more confident and secure.
Record and Playback Functionality
If you want a more straightforward way to develop a UiPath workflow, without using the drag-and-drop functionality, you can use the Record and Playback functionality. How does this functionality work?
As the name already suggests, with the use of this feature, UiPath will record any action that you perform during a given period of time. When you have finished recording your actions, UiPath will instantly create an automated workflow. How cool is that?
Advanced Scraping Functionality
Imagine you want to extract structured information from a web page. How can you do this? UiPath also offers a feature that allows extracting of structured information, called Advanced Scraping.
With Advanced Scraping, you can easily extract structured information from a web page or any application. Usually, the result will be stored in a datatable variable.
Security Functionality
One of the main aspects that must be taken into consideration when developing code is compliance with good practice rules related to security. Even if you're working with a low/no-code platform, you still have to have in mind the security norms and implement them.
UiPath has designed its platform to comply with overall security rules and to be trusted to run automated processes that incorporate sensitive information. For example, UiPath offers a high-security login functionality and allows automated processes to run in complete privacy.
3. Components of UiPath
UiPath's platform is made up of a variety of components, each with a distinct function. These components work together to form a comprehensive automation ecosystem.
UiPath Studio: The component that offers the capability to design, build and test automation workflows. It's where you can use the drag-and-drop, record and playback and advanced scraping functionalities. It's a visual interface that offers the possibility of creating automation processes without the need for profound and extensive coding development knowledge;
UiPath Orchestrator: The component that serves as a centralized management platform that allows the deployment, monitoring and management of automated processes;
UiPath Robot: The component that serves as an execution agent for running automation processes designed in UiPath Studio. These agents perform all actions, just as a human user would;
UiPath Assistant: During the UiPath Studio installation process, a tool called UiPath Assistant is also installed. Essentially, it's a desktop application that provides a user-friendly interface for managing attended automation processes. It offers the possibility to initiate automation processes, monitor progress and receive alerts.
4. Applications of UiPath
The flexibility and scalability of the UiPath platform make it adaptable to different industries and business functions.
UiPath platform can be used to automate tasks that involve the extraction of information from various sources, such as e-mails, databases, Microsoft Excel. At the same time, UiPath platform can also be used to generate reports and to automate repetitive tasks in Customer Service and Support, Finance and Health areas. And this is just a simple example of the UiPath platform's applicability!
As already said, the usage of the UiPath platform can be applicable in a wide range of industries, such as Sales, Banking, Healthcare, Manufacturing and many others.
5. Benefits of UiPath
UiPath offers several benefits that contribute to its popularity as a leading RPA platform:
With the ability to automate repetitive and rule-based tasks, UiPath allows human users to focus on more value-added activities, increasing efficiency and productivity;
Enables cost reductions by eliminating manual errors and optimizing resource allocation;
UiPath offers scalability, since it can handle large volumes of data and supports the deployment of multiple robots, both on-premises and in the cloud. Also, it offers flexibility, since it can adapt to changing business needs and handle increased workloads;
UiPath automates tasks with high precision, reducing the likelihood of errors;
UiPath enables faster response times and reduces the occurrence of errors, improving overall customer satisfaction;
UiPath's rapid deployment capabilities and easy-to-use interface contribute to a quick return on investment;
UiPath platform respects the high-security rules.
UiPath can be integrated with existing systems, such as SAP, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Excel, Databases, and many others.
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