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Over the past decade, organizations have embraced automation in waves – starting with basic task scripts and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), then moving to hyperautomation, and now exploring “agentic AI” as the next frontier. Each step in this evolution has expanded the scope of what can be automated, and revealed new challenges. This blog offers a detailed comparison of RPA, hyperautomation, and agentic AI, their key differences, strategic advantages, and potential drawbacks.

Automation has reached an inflection point. What began as simple task replication has evolved into a strategic imperative for businesses seeking a competitive advantage. Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is no longer a peripheral technology. It’s a core driver of operational excellence. In fact, according to a 2023 Gartner study, the RPA software market grew at a steady pace in 2023 at 22.1%, on par with its 2022 growth rate.

If ServiceNow had a robotic process automation (RPA) fan club, I’d run for president. After seeing firsthand how an RPA-driven bot can improve productivity, I’m a firm believer in this technology. Not long ago, I was assigned a new project for my team: Use RPA to enhance data integration and management of our highly complex configure, price, quote (CPQ) system and processes, which our sales team uses to generate product configurations and pricing.

I’m incredibly thrilled to share that, in our very first year of entry, ServiceNow has been named a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave™: Robotic Process Automation, Q1 2023. We believe this validates the impact of our product vision and current capabilities in this market. More importantly, we think it’s proof that our customers are reaching their business goals.

The critical use case for BAM is to provide a simplified business-friendly view of the integrated processes that are key to your business. In business today, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a trending technology. While it has been around for quite a long time, it has gained a significant boost in popularity alongside the popularity of citizen developer and maker use cases.

When you first hear “Robotic Process Automation” (RPA) you might immediately think of a manufacturing line with a series of physical robots each doing their part to build something. RPA is SO much more than that! The “bot” in this sense is an AI powered piece of software that can interface with any system you run today just as a human would.