By Tom Taulli – RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is software that helps to streamline tasks and activities within the workplace. The technology has been shown to lead to significant ROI (Return On Investment), as seen with companies like Intuit. Back in 2018, the firm launched an RPA pilot program using the UiPath platform and the initial focus was on the finance department, which had about 450 full-time employees.

All in all, the results have been standout. For example, Intuit created a bot to verify chargebacks, which shortened the process from one day to on-demand—saving 745 hours. Then there was another bot that processed customer returns, which cut the time from ten days to on-demand. There were about 450 hours saved.

This success, of course, was due to a variety of factors like buy-in from senior executives as well as extensive planning. But there was something else that was critical: the creation of a Center of Excellence (CoE). This is a team that helps to manage the RPA system.

“There are two major things that successful CoEs accomplish,” said Yasir Qureshi, who is the senior director of strategy and business development of IoT and Analytics at Software AG. “First, a COE helps standardize on the framework for deployment for the company so that it can execute a project that has faster time to market. Second, CoEs provide leadership in helping a business unit define the requirements for a successful business case and optimize the resources required to implement and operationalize the project. At its core, a CoE is a central governance structure that provides leadership, best practices and support for any business initiative. A CoE also allows these disparate technical and operational groups to quickly align on the initiative and openly collaborate, discuss and sort through any roadblocks or challenges along the way.” Read On: