Intelligent Process Automation : Building the bridge between Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence

Sammanfattning: Process Automation has the potential to yield great benefits for companies and organizations, especially in the financial services industry where companies are information-intensive and experience rich data flows. This has mostly been done through Robotic Process Automation (RPA), but the increased maturity of Machine Learning algorithms has increased the viability of combining classic RPA with Artificial Intelligence, leading to Intelligent Process Automation (IPA). However, there is a set of challenges embedded in the transition from RPA to IPA. These challenges need to be dealt with in order to ensure that the benefits of the new technology can be harvested. The aim of this research was to identify this set of challenges that the companies will face, as well as provide guidance to what preparations that need to be made before IPA can be implemented in full scale. The research was conducted as a theory building case study at a large Swedish bank. An empirical study was conducted, consisting of interviews with researchers, as well as automation professionals and R&D at the case company. The findings of the empirical study and previous research on the area were combined and condensed into a guiding framework for organizations wanting to adopt IPA.