Robotic process automation (RPA) was 2021’s disruptive technology, with organisations realising the benefits of deploying bots to perform repetitive and tedious tasks. But, as is so often the case, companies want more.

“We know the RPA market is booming,” says Brian Little, chief operating office of Saucecode. “Gartner expects RPA software sales to hit $2,9-billion this year, up from $2,4-billion in 2021, at a sterling year-over-year growth rate of 19,5%. This compares to the rest of the software market, which is expected to grow at 16%. And next year, the rise is set to continue, with a 17% growth rate predicted.”

But RPA is no longer the whole story: analysts believe that hyperautomation is rapidly becoming a vital part of every IT and business process.

Gartner says organisations will expand their automation technologies to include low-code application platforms, process mining, task mining, decision modelling, computer vision and integrated development planning (IDP).

Forrester agrees with the direction the RPA market is taking: it predicts that RPA will rapidly become part of a broader automation fabric to support enhanced digital differentiation and transformation.

And a new report from Robocorp indicates that the new generation of RPA is rapidly becoming an imperative, with open source low-code development and organisation-wide automation the next step in the RPA journey.

So where does this leave RPA? “It’s a vital part of the hyperautomation story,” Little explains.

“It has become the entry point for hyperautomation, and forms part of the overall solution,” explains Little. “What organisations need is a layer that enabled things like computer vision, integration with legacy systems, and all the other services required for hyperautomation.

Gartner defines hyperautomation as a business-driven, disciplined approach that organisations use to rapidly identify, vet and automate as many business and IT processes as possible.

Saucecode helps organisations quickly move to hyperautomation with its Z-One and StarBridge solutions.

“There is a low-code stack with Z-One, which gives the commonality and the ability to pull data from wherever it is, and connect all the way up the software pillar to StarBridge, where you can connect, convert and manipulate data, add in RPA where it’s needed, and feed the data back in whatever form is required.”

Barry Buck, chief technology officer of Saucecode, describes StarBridge as the singularity. “It is the layer that bridges all the systems and can connect down to everything else in the organisation. It brings everything to the singularity, and then RPA or any other tools can be used to do what is needed with the data.

“It gives customers a much better view of their data, enabling them to manage, manipulate and create intelligence out of it.”

With StarBridge, SpacePencil believes it can deliver reduced development effort while saving money and increasing quality. “This used to be known as the trifecta of the impossible,” Buck says. “Who would have imagined we could have it all.”

StarBridge brings together all the disciplines associated with software development into one platform. “This makes it very easy to create high-quality software that could include complex features – and it’s 1 000-times faster than normal development,” Buck explains.

“It gives organisations the power to be able to deliver macro software solutions, with the ability to span multiple facets of the business, addressing a lot of separate tasks with high cognitive loads. It does all this in one user-friendly business space that gives organisations the ability to pivot with their business needs.”

Saucecode will be demonstrating how it is delivering on the promise of hyperautomation at the AI Expo being held at the Sandton Convention Centre. Visit Stand A1 on 19 and 20 September to find out more.

For more information, visit www.spacepencil.co.uk or mail Brian Little on brian@saucecode.tech