What is our primary use case?
In general, we use it for automating monotonous, manual processes which a lot of our clients have. We also use it for internal employees in our company.
How has it helped my organization?
We had a use case where there were a lot of documents that had to processed to give access to certain systems. With UiPath, we were able to really streamline that. Instead of having an end-user go through these documents manually, do reconciliation, and send emails back and forth, we were able to automate that solution from beginning to end, with very little human interaction. In the end, over the entire process, it saved hours out of their day, when you compound how many times they run this. It has really freed them up to do other more important tasks. That was my first foray into the client side, and seeing how happy they were to have this bot was great. At first, they were skeptical, but once they saw what it allowed them to do and what it's capable of, they were really happy with the software and what we were able to develop for them.
In this use case, UiPath reduced human error by 100 percent because we completely removed the human element from the data reconciliation for those documents. Through automation, along with some fine-tuning, we were able to get the data reconciled between the two files with 100 percent accuracy, and inputted into the system. Not every use case is going to be that straightforward, but in this use case we were able to get that result, which was wonderful.
What is most valuable?
The number-one valuable feature is the ease of use. I come from a development background where I wrote a lot of code. The fact that you have these activities with pre-built functionality is great. You can drag them in and use them as shortcuts to get to an end result faster than if you had to do it in a programming language. UiPath exceeded my expectations in this area.
Also, the training that's available through the UiPath RPA Academy, as well as the community - the forums, where you can ask questions - both are helpful. The community is a good way to see what others are doing and learn tips and tricks for the platform. That's very useful in comparison to other companies that do RPA but don't have robust training.
What needs improvement?
A lot of the features that I had been asking for have actually been released. We were using an older version of UiPath and we were having issues with Computer Vision and the OCR engine with UiPath. But now that we see that there's a whole Computer Vision activity suite available, I'm excited to use that. I haven't gotten to get my hands on it yet.
But in terms of additional features, I can't think of anything that I would request. I see that they have the AI functionality, as well as the Computer Vision. They have a lot available that I haven't even been able to get my hands on yet. I think once I get some more time to explore the tool and exhaust its capabilities I can look for additions from there.
There is some room for improvement in the area of error handling. I had to create a custom approach to error handling. If there were some sort of activity or workflow that could be easily dropped in to help support that, it would be good. Error handling and logging, as well as process logging, would be a big help.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I can't speak about its scalability too much because we haven't gotten there, even as far as using Orchestrator. Most of the automations that we have done have been one-offs which are done locally on someone's laptop.
But from what I've read in the training and what I've seen in the demos, it seems like a very robust platform that can definitely scale, when designed properly. I'm looking forward to the next phase of the development journeys that we have, where we are actually doing things to scale and thinking long-term about how we can share bots across an entire enterprise. It does appear that they have a pretty robust toolset.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have had to reach out a few times to support, especially when I started and was trying to find my way around the tools and some issues that I was having. The response was great. I was able to get on a video call and actually show my use case and show the kinds of issues I was having and they were able to walk me through the process and suggest ideas about how I could approach them. My overall experience with technical support has been very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Our company is always looking at the latest digital trends and what we can do to offer our clients new solutions which keep them at the forefront of IT. We were aware of RPA and it was just a case of narrowing down which solution was the best to deliver to the clients.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. I've used other tools where there are components that you have to install prior to installing the software. You have to create a database and things like that. Whereas, with UiPath, it was a very light install. You just have an executable. It is able to install the components that it needs on its own. There was no other configuration that I had to do on top of that to get rolling. That's a major plus to me and, especially, to our clients. If we don't have to spend as much time getting them configured and set up, it's better for them.
What about the implementation team?
We did the installs ourselves. We have a test lab that we built. We set up an Orchestrator lab so we can get more familiar with the tool. That was all done in-house as part of our training to get familiar with the tools. Essentially, if we want to sell this capability to clients, we want to at least have some knowledge of how to do it ourselves and not have to rely on a third-party.
What was our ROI?
Unfortunately, a lot of what we've been delivering right now are pilots. A lot of our clients are still in the "show me" phase of what RPA can do. We don't really have any data to say what the return on investment is. But they do see the potential. I definitely see the potential. Once we get past that pilot phase and into something that we can actually deploy in a production environment, we'll have a better sense of the ROI.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did work with Blue Prism initially. I found it hard to get support and training on their platform. Whereas, when I transitioned over to UiPath it was much easier. I knew where to go to get assistance. Also, the "Welcome" documentation really helped me in developing and creating solutions for clients.
We also worked with Automation Anywhere.
The decision to go with UiPath was due to the ease of use and the training. Having that available, that we could train our employees internally and our clients as well, is invaluable. That allowed us to really get through the initial phase of familiarity and get right into development. Those other tools required a lot of learning on the job and on the project, which is not always available, especially when there are tight budgets.
What other advice do I have?
Start small. Don't try to automate the most complex use case you can find. And definitely go through the training. There's a wealth of information on the Academy site as well as in the forums to get you that foundational knowledge, to really be able to do some cool stuff with UiPath. I know a lot of people don't read the manual, they like to jump right into things, but there is a benefit to going through some of the training courses to get yourself familiarized before you dive in.
I've been working in automation for a couple of years and have used quite a few tools. I do find that the overall approach that UiPath takes toward RPA is really good for getting people in and developing and delivering in a much more efficient manner than with some of the other tools I've used.
Automation technology is something that's needed, although I don't think it is known enough yet. People know that it's out there but they don't know in what capacity it can be used and how it can help them. It's definitely something that needs to be pushed and communicated. But I see it as a technology that can assist in all facets of an organization. It's something that all people within a company can benefit from, whether internally in our company or externally for our clients.
I would give UiPath a nine out of ten. There are always things that can be improved.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.