And again about the automation of IT professions



    It is generally accepted that professions that do not require analytical activity are mainly affected by automation. Therefore, many IT-specialists feel safe, they say, they will not put a robot in my place. However, the development of machine learning already allows the use of RPA (robotic proccess automation, robotic process automation) to refuse to hire people (mainly outsourcing) in such areas as support services, server and data center services, network support, etc. How serious is the progress in this area and is it time to start worrying?

    Perhaps we can talk about a creeping revolution, which can radically affect all prevailing outsourcing models in IT. Thanks to the development of software and artificial intelligence algorithms, automation began to be selected for professions that were always considered the prerogative of people.

    What is an RPA?


    This abbreviation hides special software that can record, analyze and interpret the activity of other applications. That is, an RPA application can be "trained" so that it repeats certain action algorithms within the framework of various business processes. For example, it can carry out bank transfers on its own, manipulate some data, initiate responses to requests and interact with other systems. That is, the main goal of RPA applications is a complete rejection or a noticeable decrease in the share of “human” participation in mass IT support, ensuring work processes, managing remote infrastructure and various auxiliary tasks. Moreover, the RPA is primarily focused on the financial sector, accounting, supply chain management, customer support and even personnel management.

    Of course, an “RPA application” does not mean just one application, it is software packages. They include all kinds of tools for collecting data, including taking screenshots, OCR, modules for connecting to servers and websites. Also, RPA engine engines often use algorithms similar to those used in business process management tools. For all this, RPA packages are equipped with clear graphical interfaces and do not require constant attention in everyday use.

    On the one hand, the introduction of RPA promises huge cost savings and relieving IT employees of a boring and tedious routine. But on the other hand, it jeopardizes the very existence of a number of professions and positions occupied by these same IT employees. And we are already talking not only about the tasks of mechanically performing certain operations.



    Really?
    More recently, the RPA was a semi-futuristic horror story, to which many were skeptical or condescending. However, the development of this technology has already led to the fact that consulting companies, outsourcing contractors and some "end users" - large companies have become interested in its capabilities. An organization engaged in an in-depth study of the problems of process robotics has already appeared - IRPA, Institute for Robotic Process Automation. According to IRPA specialists, the introduction of this technology can bring savings of 20-40% of the salary fund, and from such promises any businessman will “make a stand”. Moreover, the IRPA predicts that over the next three years, most jobs in the field of supporting IT infrastructure will be automated.

    Some of the pioneers have already replaced about 60% of their employees with RPA complexes. First of all, automation was performed on data center maintenance services, server and network infrastructure. The software development and support departments were out of danger, however, there are all the prerequisites for the RPA to be gradually, step by step, introduced in this area. Maybe this now seems unlikely, but even the current capabilities of the RPA were once questioned by many.

    Most likely, such tasks as entering information into the database, including from the keyboard, creating and processing selections according to some rules, will be the first to “fall” before automation. Yes, almost any process that operates within the framework of the rule system can be automated using RPA technologies. At least in part. A striking example is software testing.



    Honestly, automation has long been winning back people's work. And it's not about the deep antiquity of the times of Ned Ludd. Even 30-40 years ago, there were many office professions that we don’t even remember today - their tasks are now performed by technology, and for us it looks for granted. It all started with the simplest operations, but the developers of RPA-technologies are constantly developing their products, crushing under themselves the increasingly algorithmically complex responsibilities that people perform today.

    An example is the process of company migration to a new ERP system. Often this requires a large amount of work to manually transfer data. This requires either an increase in the burden on personnel, or the attraction of additional labor. In any case, the process is not fast and costly. And here it’s just right in time to use the RPA-complex, thereby significantly increasing the speed of migration and saving significant money.

    It should be noted that companies that feel the taste of RPA in the future try to resort to hiring new employees less and less. Indeed, in addition to direct savings on salaries, computers can improve the efficiency of automated business processes. At the same time, the influence of the human factor in such a sensitive area as customer support is significantly reduced.



    A spoon of honey


    Many experts point out that the introduction of RPA does not mean a complete rejection of human workers: after all, someone must train and retrain the systems, maintain them. So for some, the automation process will provide an opportunity to find their professional niche. After retraining, some of the employees whose place was taken by computers can do this. Also, a certain number of employees will need to be left to solve situations that do not fit into the embedded algorithms. The rest will either have to change their profession within the company, or seek a better life in the market.

    On the other hand, the opinion is quite popular that the need for good specialists in various IT professions is so great that it is not covered by graduates of universities. Therefore, people being reduced in connection with the introduction of RPA, without any problems will be able to find a job, especially highly qualified. But this will certainly depend on their efforts to increase their potential attractiveness to employers. So expanding the capabilities of RPA as a technology will force many IT employees to learn new, higher-rated professions or to improve their current qualifications.



    On the threshold of change


    Regardless of how the RPA develops in the future, this technology will bring some confusion to the IT sector: the migration of workers, the surge in the popularity of educational programs, the development of new systems by companies. It is unlikely that all these processes will be immediately noticeable, it will begin gradually. As with the Internet, whose cheaper and widespread distribution has taken a phenomenon such as outsourcing to a whole new level, as a result of which many people around the world have had to change jobs or retrain. But labor markets in a number of countries only benefited from this.

    On the other hand, RPA can cause much larger changes. Already at least in terms of social tension, rejection by tens of thousands of people whose well-being will be in jeopardy. Despite the fact that for real professionals, the arrival of the RPA will not be a tragedy at all.

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