RPA can enhance the functionality of IBM i and eliminate the need to invest time and effort in activities such as invoice processing, updating ERP, pulling email attachments, data entry, report pulling, data validation, etc. By automating repetitive and tedious tasks, users can unleash the true potential of their AS400/IBM i system.

Regardless of the industry you serve, if the core of your operations rests on an AS400/IBM i system, you gotta read on. Even with all modern applications around, the reason why IBM i is still the first choice of countless businesses is its rock-solid reliability. The time-tested system has left a trail that’s synonymous with ease of scalability, flexibility, powerful processing abilities, and upward compatibility. Over the last few years, IBM and its partners have gradually eliminated concerns about maintenance, resource scarcity, and system compatibility of the system. Furthermore, by adding the option of cloud hosting to the mix, they have ensured that IBM i stays relevant for years to come.

So, what’s the concern?

Rapidly evolving market dynamics have forced businesses to keep pace with consumer demands while prioritizing productivity and profitability over anything else. Whether you are into Manufacturing, Logistics, Healthcare, Pharma, Retail, Casinos, Insurance, Banking, or anything else, the major obstacles in your pursuit of productivity and profitability are manual/error-prone operational tasks, tedious reporting and reviews, and high operating costs. These are the barriers that are keeping you from unleashing the true potential of your IBMi/AS400 system. When the management and staff invest time and effort in non-value-adding activities like data entry, report pulling, data validation, and the like, you can’t fully extract what your AS400/IBM i setup is capable of delivering.

How do you bridge this blatant gap in your ecosystem?

You have likely heard of the term ‘Robotic Process Automation’ or ‘RPA’, at least through the grapevine. If you haven’t got the chance to explore it, we have some delightful news for you – RPA is the answer to all your operational worries. RPA deploys digital robots to execute recurring tasks such as invoice processing, updating ERP, pulling email attachments, sending notifications for potential failure, monitoring networks, etc. data entry and validation, dynamic reporting pulling, and the like. In your context, all repetitive processes carried out on screen within your IBM i ecosystem can be simulated by RPA.

The technology allows your workforce to focus on its core expertise in areas requiring human intelligence and judgment. By now, you might have cerebrally calculated (at least attempted) the benefits that RPA delivers. The following list might come handy in your endeavor.

• RPA takes over repetitive tasks & structured processes – Your staff saves time and effort
• Eliminates manual errors – Accurate outcomes, minimum data-error induced losses
• 24/7 uptime with sustained efficiency – Reduced dependency on staff slashes operating costs
• Easy scaling of operations with object cloning - Once an RPA bot understands the process of completing a task, it can be copied time and again to function at scale. Bots leave a process trail – Effortless tracking of workflow sequence & quick identification of anomalies
• RPA interacts with multiple applications in a transactional manner - Keeps critical systems in sync

Here’s your RPA for business encyclopedia