Progressing beyond awareness creation around Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to focus on operationalization of organizational structures, to facilitate and reap the benefits of RPA, the Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM) recently hosted a very successful RPA Conference 2020 virtually , engaging a host of top notch speakers and panelists from both the local and international arena.

The event kicked off with SLASSCOM’s Finance Director and Head of the BPM Forum, Jehan Perinpanayagam addressing the gathering and introducing the Guest of Honour , Head of UI Path – Asia Manish Bharti. “I appreciate the forward looking industry approach of Sri Lanka in the RPA space – the nation’s passionate drive and early adoption of RPA is encouraging,” said Bharti, adding that RPA technology “is a great leveller for the island to minimize the gap with bigger economies.”

The events first speaker Steve Palmino– Managing Member of Palscott Business Consultancy LLC USA, spoke on “How to start your RPA journey” explaining that Covid-19 has pushed organizations to rethink business models.” We’re seeing a generational shift throughout businesses globally, wanting to explore newer work areas. The need to reduce expenses and increase profits is also impactful, as is the role of RPA in organizations’ strategic roadmaps, where the technology looks at process change within weeks , not months or years, and is comparatively inexpensive. The business case for RPA is that is naturally aligns with business requirements and has become a digital resource which acts more efficiently.”

Speaker sessions were hosted simultaneously, enabling attendants to listen in on interested discussions, with topics that ranged from CEO and Founder of Qbotica (USA) Mahesh Vinayagam speaking on “Streamlining Enterprise processes with an Intelligent Automation Ecosystem” to Partner and ASEAN Workforce Advisory Leader at Ernst and Young (UAE) Samir Bedi covering insights on “Revolutionizing Workplace Culture for a successful RPA Journey.”

Innovative disruptor Dhanusha Muthukumarana from Potenza discussed “The Relevance of RPA and Getting it Right” whilst Prasad Godbole from Deloitte (India) touched on “Risk Management for RPA Projects”. A panel discussion followed on “Managing the RPA transformation.”

Several insightful and engaging discussions were witnessed, including “Process Mining – Data science based Digital transformation”by Christiaan Esmeijer (USA), “The decline of RPA and the rise of operations intelligence platforms” by Bavesh Sood (Modular Capital, India) and another panel discussion on the “Latest trends in RPA/ Evolution of RPA.”

Thought provoking industry case studies were showcased on “The RPA Journey in HSBC” by Manu Augustine (HSBC, India), “RPA for Financial Services” by Mahesh Parab (PwC) and “Boosting sales through messaging platform automation” by Parth Choudhury (Route Mobile).

The conference which saw a large participation of attendees, marked a “leaping improvement from the previous year’s event thanks to the virtual platform which enabled a far greater reach. Conference Chair and Alternate Forum Head, Rohith Pradeep noted: “We were delighted by the large number of people that attended who made the conference a success. We noted the enthusiasm of the attendees which is a true reflection of the zeal of Sri Lanka to optimize on RPA. SLASSCOM will continue its mission on educating the public on RPA by holding frequent seminars in the coming months.”

The announcement of the Industry RPA Case Study Competition Results, covering 12 case studies was a just finale, showcasing the potential of RPA towards a greater efficiency for businesses. As such, SLASSCOM once again takes center stage in fostering knowledge of futuristic, trending technologies and acting as the catalyst for encouraging innovation and forward thinking, progressive ideas for local businesses.

SLASSCOM was supported in this initiative by Corporate Sponsor Dialog Enterprise, Platinum Sponsors ,EGuardian and UiPath, Silver Sponsors POTENZA and Millennium IT and Media Partner Capital Maharaja Group.