Get to Know MuleSoft RPA
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Define robotic process automation.
- Explain when to use MuleSoft RPA to automate your business processes.
- Describe MuleSoft RPA components.
Automate Your Business
Modern companies face a constant need to increase employee productivity and digital competitiveness. However, many standard workflows contain time-consuming, manual tasks. These manual tasks decrease an employee’s ability to focus on more complex tasks.
As a solution, robotic process automation (RPA) emerged in the early 2000s. RPA uses a program called a “robot” to automate manual tasks performed by a human user (such as an employee). This automation takes advantage of advances in computer technology.
Unlike traditional programs, robots are designed to imitate a human user when carrying out designated tasks. This is called the process. The process includes interacting with open applications, extracting data, manipulating the computer mouse, and typing on the keyboard. By completing these processes, bots can save employees time and increase the efficiency of repetitive tasks.
We’ve established that RPA is a great way to perform simple, repetitive tasks that eat up countless working hours, but how do you determine if RPA is right for your business needs? Check out some common use cases for RPA in the following table.
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
|
Data extraction/entry |
Many companies store data in dispersed systems and formats including Salesforce, other online systems, PDFs, spreadsheets, and CSV files. Using technological advances such as OCR, RPA bots extract data from one system and write it to another. This saves employees hours of data entry. |
|
Payroll processing |
Every month HR teams spend hours manually processing large quantities of data to ensure employees receive appropriate pay. RPA bots save HR teams time by automating data entry and validation across multiple systems while adhering to regulations. |
|
Price comparison |
In today’s high-speed, competitive world, companies must ensure they get the best possible deal on inputs and offer customers competitive prices. The traditional process requires employees to actively monitor the market, but the workflow is slow and repetitive. RPA bots enable companies to automatically monitor many products and respond accordingly in a fraction of the time required for an employee to perform the same task. |
|
Processing refunds |
Customer retention depends on customer satisfaction. Most customers want interactions with customer service for tasks such as processing a refund to be simple and smooth. However, employees traditionally have reviewed each request and assessed its merits before processing the request. RPA bots are designed to quickly process large amounts of variable data to ensure customers have the best experience possible and quickly receive their refunds. |
So if RPA is as great as it sounds, then why don’t all companies implement it? The answer is a little complicated. RPA is a young technology, so adoption takes time. According to a survey performed by Deloitte in 2018, 52% of companies were in the process of incorporating RPA solutions. By 2020, this number increased to 78%. Additionally, the survey found that using RPA led to decreased costs and increased data quality.
Many companies struggle to implement RPA solutions effectively due to difficulties involving governance, transparency across the RPA project lifecycle, scalability, and collaboration between business and IT. Companies may also try to use RPA as a one-size-fits-all solution. However, automation solutions combined and orchestrated with one or more robots are more suitable. As a consequence, it’s estimated that 30–50% of RPA projects aren’t successful.
Additionally, due to restrictions on the delivery capacity of IT, many of these processes remain a low priority for IT.
What Is MuleSoft RPA?
MuleSoft RPA is designed with the user in mind. It enables companies to benefit from RPA while simultaneously avoiding common pitfalls. MuleSoft RPA achieves this by employing a single, unified platform to transparently manage the full RPA lifecycle. It also works seamlessly with Salesforce workflow automation tools and the MuleSoft platform, enabling end-to-end workflow automation across any system for Service, Sales, Industries, and more.
This approach enables companies to develop, manage, and monitor deployed robots in one place. It also ensures increased governance, audit capabilities, and collaboration. MuleSoft RPA is built with simplicity in mind. Processes are automated using clicks, not code. Individuals familiar with a task but lacking coding skills can automate the process without IT involvement.
In this module, we assume your organization has purchased a MuleSoft RPA license. If your organization has not purchased a MuleSoft RPA license, that’s OK. Read along to learn how users perform the steps. Don’t try to follow the steps in a Trailhead Playground, because MuleSoft RPA Builder isn’t available in the Trailhead Playground.
MuleSoft RPA Components
MuleSoft RPA makes it easy for you to quickly create reliable RPA solutions and manage them through the phases of the lifecycle. MuleSoft RPA is composed of four components: MuleSoft RPA Manager, MuleSoft RPA Recorder, MuleSoft RPA Builder, and MuleSoft RPA Bot instances.
MuleSoft RPA Manager is a cloud-based control plane that is integrated with the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform. In a single cloud-based environment, you perform the following actions.
- Manage user access and permissions.
- Assess the viability and financial benefits of automating processes.
- Design a graphical representation of the automated process either manually or by recording the process.
- Generate and manage API keys to connect RPA Bot instances with MuleSoft RPA Manager.
- Test and troubleshoot RPA processes in RPA Bot instances.
- Deploy production-ready RPA processes to RPA Bot instances.
- Manage and monitor deployed RPA processes.
MuleSoft RPA Recorder is an application that resides on your (or another user’s) Windows host. A Windows host is a local computer or a virtual machine. It enables you to perform the following actions.
- Create a graphical representation for your RPA process design automatically by recording yourself performing the steps you’d like the RPA bot to perform.
- Autogenerate documentation for your RPA process design.
- Edit and merge graphical representations and associated documentation of RPA processes into a single design.
- Publish (upload) the RPA process design to MuleSoft RPA Manager.
MuleSoft RPA Builder is an application that resides on your (or another user's) Windows host and connects with MuleSoft RPA Manager. It enables you to perform the following actions.
- Download the RPA process design from MuleSoft RPA Manager into RPA Builder.
- Use the design, including autogenerated workflows and recorded documentation, as the framework for implementing the RPA process logic.
- Work offline to implement the RPA process on a local Windows computer.
- Run local tests on the RPA process.
- Upload the implemented RPA process to MuleSoft RPA Manager where it can be assigned to a bot for testing and deployment.
MuleSoft RPA Bot is an application that resides on your (or another user’s) Windows host and executes implemented RPA processes. The RPA bot doesn’t have to run on the same Windows host that ran the RPA Recorder or RPA Builder, but both Windows login sessions should have similar configurations. For example, screen resolutions and font sizes. It enables you to perform the following actions.
- Connect the RPA Bot software to a particular MuleSoft RPA Manager account.
- Download new or modified RPA process implementations from a MuleSoft RPA Manager organization.
- Configure the Windows account and session details that influence how RPA processes execute.
- Test, deploy, and run implemented RPA processes.
- Send diagnostic data to MuleSoft RPA Manager to monitor and troubleshoot RPA processes that are running and executing on the RPA bot.
You just learned what MuleSoft RPA is and how it enables companies to automate human user tasks. In the next unit, you explore the MuleSoft RPA project lifecycle.