By John Edwards – Robotic process automation (RPA) makes it easy to create software robots that emulate human actions. Like people, software robots can read screens, generate keystrokes, navigate systems, identify and extract data, and perform a wide range of other defined actions. Unlike humans, software robots can work continuously without pay or benefits.

RPA offers an efficient way to automate repetitive tasks, freeing humans to focus on more creative work, says David Zhao, managing director of IT consulting firm Coda Strategy. “Therefore, IT jobs that involve simple, repeatable tasks are most at risk.”

Any IT task that follows a strict set of steps and is repetitive in nature is up for grabs with RPA, warns Wayne Butterfield, a partner with ISG Automation, a unit of technology research and advisory firm ISG. The good news, he notes, is that most IT positions don’t fit this description. “Even jobs on the IT service desk still, in the main, require a conversation or perhaps the interpretation of a written ticket,” Butterfield says. “That means additional technologies would be needed, along with RPA, to automate even some of these processes.”  Read On: