Australian and New Zealand Robotic Process Automation market set to reach $870 million by 2020

Traditional people-centric processes increasingly being automated

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Australian and New Zealand organisations are ramping up investment in robotic process automation (RPA) according to a new study from emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte.

The Telsyte ANZ Robotic Process Automation Study 2017 found the ANZ RPA market will grow strongly with a CAGR of 45 per cent from 2016 to 2020.  The market is set to grow from $216 million in 2017 to $870 million by 2020.

RPA has many uses across industries with large customer support and request processing requirements, including insurance, banking, telecommunications and government. Finance and insurance operations are expected to be the fastest adopters of RPA in the short term.

Telsyte’s RPA maturity model classifies the organisation’s stage of RPA adoption – from not using RPA, to a mature, established use of RPA in the organisation. It shows most organisations are still at the basic stages of adoption.

RPA is now being used or investigated by 6 out of 10 ANZ organisations surveyed by Telsyte (businesses greater than 20 employees). Already 12 per cent are in production with a RPA strategy in place.

However, 38 per cent of organisations with more than 500 employees have active RPA programs already, showing automation is becoming a cornerstone of many business transformation strategies.

RPA maturity within Australian and New Zealand organisations

Source: Telsyte ANZ Robotic Process Automation Study 2017

Telsyte’s research investigated the role and impact of RPA, including:

  • Business roles most impacted

  • Existing BPO maturity and its impact on RPA adoption

  • Industry sector uptake forecast

  • Operations most expected to benefit from RPA

  • Assessment of procurement models

  • DYI and procurement preferences

  • Investment drivers and barriers

Telsyte Managing Director, Foad Fadaghi, says the business case for RPA is clear, but IT and business leaders need to look to partners that can understand their business problems and to improve efficiencies while generating a competitive advantage.

“RPA is not simply about cost cutting, it can drive innovation and change the way organisation’s conduct their business altogether” Telsyte Managing Director, Foad Fadaghi, says.

“A proof-of-concept is important for organisations to first understand the nature of processes that can be best solved through RPA, before progressing to an enterprise-wide strategy,” Fadaghi says.

“Equally important is to use of pilot programs to understand the change management requirements before a further roll out.”

Telsyte recommends organisations assess the processes to be automated by their level of complexity. Complexity has a positive correlation with automation costs and targeting lower-complexity processes initially can result in better initial returns.

Telsyte research shows 57 per cent of enterprises prefer to engage with an IT service provider for RPA solutions.

For further information on licensing the study or media enquiries contact:

Rodney Gedda
Senior Analyst
+61 2 9235 5891
Twitter: @rodneygedda
Email: rgedda@telsyte.com.au

Telsyte’s emerging enterprise technology research program provides leading insights into the technologies and services that are re-defining how Australian organisations, including the public sector, manage operations and innovate with new products and services.

In preparing this study, Telsyte used:

  • An online survey of a representative sample of CIOs and IT decision makers in Australia and New Zealand with 302 respondents completed in September 2016.

  • The research was conducted among businesses with more than 20 employees.

  • Interviews conducted with executives from software vendors, system integrators, hardware and big data software providers, as well as their channel partners.

  • On-going monitoring of local and global market and vendor trends.

About Telsyte
Telsyte is Australia’s leading emerging technology analyst firm. Telsyte analysts deliver market research, insights and advisory into enterprise and consumer technologies. Telsyte is an independent business unit of DXC.technology. For more information visit www.telsyte.com.au.

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