Robotic process automation (RPA) has rapidly emerged as one of the most transformational technologies for businesses over the last decade. By using software bots to automate repetitive, rules-based tasks, RPA enables companies to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and focus human talent on higher-value work. No wonder the RPA market has been booming.
This article provides an in-depth look at the growth trajectory of RPA adoption along with an analysis of major vendors shaping its future. We‘ll examine what‘s driving demand, evaluate top providers like UiPath, and highlight key factors like intelligent automation that indicate an even more expansive role for RPA going forward.
Surging Demand Driving Massive Market Growth
Forecasts for RPA market growth this decade are rosy, as near limitless potential use cases drive adoption across every industry vertical. From banking and insurance to healthcare and retail, hardly a sector is untouched by RPA‘s promise.
As per leading research and advisory firm Gartner, the RPA software market was valued at $1.4 billion in 2019 but is projected to grow at a 36% CAGR between 2020-2024 to reach $15 billion by 2024.
RPA market worldwide revenue 2018-2024. Source: Gartner
Forrester also estimates strong growth for RPA with annual spending expected to reach nearly $12 billion by 2023, a 21% compound annual growth rate from 2019. Everest Group too put the RPA software market at $2.9 billion in 2021 and forecasts it hitting $17 billion by 2025, representing a 24% CAGR.
What is fueling this RPA adoption explosion? Key drivers include:
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Need to improve productivity and efficiency: With increasingly lean workforces, RPA enables employees to focus on creative and analytical work rather than manual processing and data entry.
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Ability to scale operations rapidly: RPA software bots can handle spikes in transaction volumes without capacity constraints. This helps support business growth objectives.
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Strong ROI and short payback cycles: Quick wins from automating high volume repetitive tasks lead to a typical payback period of 6-18 months.
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Increased regulatory compliance: Automating standardized processes reduces errors thereby improving compliance with internal governance policies and external regulations.
Together these powerful value drivers make RPA a strategic imperative that no enterprise can afford to ignore. Almost all Global 2000 firms have RPA initiatives underway or are currently evaluating options.
Now let‘s analyze the RPA vendor landscape and see how the top players are positioned.
UiPath Dominates RPA Software Market Share
The RPA market remains relatively consolidated with the top 3-4 vendors still commanding almost 60% share. These include UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, and NICE. Hundreds of small pure-play RPA firms have emerged too but largely serve niche needs.
UiPath clearly leads the pack when analyzing across several parameters:
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Market share – Gartner pegged UiPath as having the largest share with 13.6% in 2018 followed by Automation Anywhere at 12.8% and Blue Prism at 8.4%. Everest Group also ranks UiPath as #1 by revenue share in 2021.
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Revenue and growth – UiPath closed a blockbuster 2021 with $607 million in ARR, signaling 78% YoY growth! The company is on track to cross the magical $1 billion revenue mark in 2022 as per reliable estimates.
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Funding raised – UiPath stands way above rivals having raised a mammoth $2.1 Billion in 16 funding rounds so far, with its Series F round valuing UiPath at $35 billion!
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Customer base – Over 63% of Fortune 500 companies use UiPath solutions making it the undisputed RPA leader worldwide by penetration of large enterprises. Industry heavyweights like Toyota, Orange, Chevron, HP, Fujitsu, Bank of America, AXA, and Vodafone use UiPath.
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Partner ecosystem – Its thriving partner network of System Integrators, advisors, and developers enable UiPath to have the widest and deepest market reach globally.
So what is UiPath doing so right to earn this market position? For starters, it identified and targeted RPA opportunities early on, winning over first movers with its easy drag-and-drop interfaces and desktop automation capabilities. This enabled UiPath to build a solid customer base and war chest for future growth.
Strategic moves like acquisitions of process mining company ProcessGold in 2019 and AI computer vision leader CloudElements in 2021 have expanded its automation platform with new capabilities. An unwavering focus on product innovation to facilitate end-to-end process automation has kept customers entrenched in the UiPath ecosystem.
Add to this its pioneering efforts to nurture an automation-fluent workforce through free training and certifications, UiPath has secured leadership through a multi-pronged strategy that balances technology leadership with business vision.
Nevertheless, rivals like Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, and WorkFusion continue nipping at its heels by innovating smart features into their intelligent automation platforms. So UiPath cannot afford to slacken the pace if it intends to stay king of the RPA market hill!
Intelligent Automation Ushering New Phase of RPA Growth
While macro-level capability to automatically handle high volume repetitive tasks fueled early RPA adoption, leading vendors are taking automation to the next level by embedding intelligence.
Integrating capabilities like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and optical character recognition (OCR) makes RPA smarter and more responsive. This empowers software bots to dynamically adapt in unstructured environments, unlocking the potential to automate increasingly sophisticated work.
For instance, Automation Anywhere‘s IQ Bot allows users to train RPA bots so they keep improving over time. It leverages AI to automate document processing and convert speech into structured data.
WorkFusion goes a step further to offer pre-built AI models, virtual agents and human-in-the-loop services in an integrated intelligent automation platform targeting the hottest digital transformation opportunities.
Meanwhile UiPath continues to augment capabilities like AI-enabled document understanding, chatbot integration, and process mining fueled by acquisitions discussed earlier. It already has over 65% of the RPA market using its AI capabilities.
The net result of intelligent automation is expanded use cases and total addressable market for RPA vendors. While early adopters focused mostly on back office functions like F&A, HR, and call centers, AI-enabled automation now targets customer-facing functions like marketing, sales and support plus middle office risk and compliance.
It is allowing RPA to penetrate industry verticals more deeply including:
- Banking: Automating lending decisions, KYC checks, compliance reporting
- Insurance: Claims assessment, personalized policy creation, fraud pattern detection
- Healthcare: Patient care plan design, precision diagnosis, personalized wellness apps
- Energy & Utilities: Predictive grid management, real-time monitoring. personalized pricing
- Media & Publishing: Content tagging/distribution, ad targeting, sentiment analysis
These technology trends and use cases foreshadow immense headroom for growth in the coming decade as RPA cements its status as a must-have enterprise capability.
Key Takeaways from the RPA Market Landscape
In summary, the rapid evolution of robotic process automation over the last decade has seen enterprise adoption skyrocket, thanks to the tangible benefits of efficiency, scale and cost reduction it enables. This is fueling massive market growth that is likely to average over 20% CAGR through 2025.
Currently UiPath stands tall as the leading RPA software vendor commanding significant market share. Its sustained technology innovation focused on enabling end-to-end automation coupled with visionary moves to build an automation-ready workforce is paying rich dividends.
Nevertheless, capabilities like AI and ML are getting embedded deeply into RPA solutions signaling the next evolution of intelligent process automation. This will expand the category beyond basic task automation into more complex workflows requiring responsiveness and learning.
Incumbents UiPath, Automation Anywhere and agile innovator WorkFusion are best positioned currently to capitalize on this opportunity. But expect increased consolidation with leading platforms acquiring best-of-breed point capabilities to augment their stacks in future.
Exciting times ahead for the hyperautomation era where integrated automation technologies transform how enterprises run!
