The city of Las Vegas, known for its vibrant energy and life-changing shows, recently hosted an event of a different kind – one that might not change one’s fortune overnight but promises to revolutionize the way businesses operate globally. UiPath Forward VI, the monumental gathering of automation and AI professionals, unveiled innovations set to transform industries.

UiPath Autopilot: Navigating the Future of Automated Workspaces

The star of the show, UiPath Autopilot, emerged as a revolutionary tool designed to amplify productivity across various business functions. This intelligent system is the epitome of advanced AI, simplifying everyday tasks and complex processes alike.

With Autopilot for Assistant, users can seamlessly run existing automations or craft new ones in real-time, pushing the boundaries of attended automation. It’s an unparalleled level of support, making everything from routine purchases to intricate workflow management effortlessly executable.

For developers, both seasoned and aspiring, Autopilot for Studio is a game-changer. By enabling ‘Text to Workflow’ and ‘Text to Expressions’ features, it eliminates conventional barriers, allowing developers to communicate their automation needs using everyday language. The ‘Automated Code Generation’ further simplifies this process, translating descriptions directly into code, cutting down on development time, and putting an end to syntax errors.

Autopilot for Apps revolutionizes the way developers design user interfaces. By interpreting text, documents, or images, it creates intuitive, user-friendly designs, making application development more accessible and efficient.

In the realm of quality assurance, Autopilot for Test Suite is making strides by expediting every phase of the testing lifecycle. It uses requirements as a foundation to generate tests, transcribes comments into code, and derives insightful analytics from test results, ensuring software meets the highest standards of quality.

Empowering Business Analysts with Autopilot for Process Mining

Autopilot for Process Mining is not merely a feature but a powerhouse that leverages data to transform insights into action. Business analysts often grapple with the complexity of identifying automation opportunities within voluminous data. UiPath’s solution? A system that simplifies data exploration, making it more accessible than ever.

This innovative platform goes beyond traditional data analysis, offering real-time, dynamic insights. By analyzing operations at the front-end, it uncovers efficiency gaps, allowing analysts to optimize processes proactively. Its user-friendly interface means even those unfamiliar with data mining can generate and understand comprehensive reports, democratizing data and ensuring informed decision-making.

Moreover, with its ability to interpret extensive data sets, Autopilot for Process Mining stands out as a transformative tool for businesses. It underscores the fact that efficient data management leads to streamlined operations and, ultimately, a robust bottom line.

UiPath AI Trust Layer: Setting the Standard for Secure AI Interactions

The AI Trust Layer is UiPath’s strategic initiative to fortify the foundation of secure AI operations. In an environment where data breaches are rampant, and mistrust around AI is prevalent, UiPath is pioneering a framework that encapsulates robust data protection policies.

This comprehensive layer serves as a guardian, ensuring that all AI-powered interactions comply with organizational protocols and global data privacy standards. It allows enterprises to maintain control over AI’s decision-making pathways, fostering transparency and trust. By enabling a mechanism where AI’s reasoning can be tracked and understood, it reassures stakeholders that AI operations are performed within ethical and legal boundaries.

Accelerated Model Training with DU and Comm Mining

In the field of document understanding and community mining, UiPath has made strides with tools promising to cut down model training times significantly. The ability to train models quicker, without compromising on their accuracy, is revolutionary.

With these enhanced tools, what used to take months now takes weeks or even days, marking a dramatic shift in project timelines. This acceleration is not just about speed but also about the agility and flexibility it offers businesses. It means being able to adapt swiftly to market changes, customize offerings at short notice, and innovate continuously, all thanks to the reduced time-to-market.

Furthermore, UiPath’s approach counters the challenge of decreased precision in Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) seen with rapid training, by integrating advanced algorithms that retain accuracy, even as they work faster.

Expanding Horizons with UiPath Generative AI Connectors

The unveiling of Generative AI Connectors marked the advent of a new era in automation. These connectors are not standard tools but gateways to infinite possibilities, stretching the boundaries of what businesses can achieve with AI. They allow seamless integration with technologies like GPT-4.0, enabling capabilities from advanced image recognition to multilingual text generation.

These connectors stand as testimony to UiPath’s vision of a future where businesses are not limited by technology but empowered by it. They open doors to global operations, where language and geographical barriers cease to exist, and scalability is only a matter of choice. With these, enterprises can venture into uncharted territories, tapping into new customer bases and creating diverse product lines.

By equipping businesses with the power to generate content, understand multifaceted images, and break down language barriers, UiPath’s Generative AI Connectors are setting the stage for a global marketplace where the only limit is imagination.

Cultivating Expertise: UiPath’s Specialized AI Professional Certification

UiPath Forward VI also spotlighted the educational aspect, introducing the ‘Specialized AI Professional’ certification. This program is designed for professionals aiming to deepen their understanding and skills in AI, affirming UiPath’s role in fostering knowledge within the community.

From unveiling groundbreaking tools like Autopilot to emphasizing secure AI practices and offering advanced training, UiPath Forward VI was more than an event; it was a milestone in the journey of automation and AI. As businesses around the world watch and adapt, UiPath continues to lead the charge, redefining what’s possible in the digital age.

Conclusion: Embracing the Future with UiPath

The revelations at UiPath Forward VI underline a crucial narrative: the future of work hinges on our ability to embrace and integrate these technological advancements. With UiPath taking monumental strides, we’re not just spectators in this arena of innovation; we are active participants, shaping the future of our industries and our world.

Our previous internship was a resounding success, with over 100 RPA interns from across the globe joining us to explore the world of UiPath automation. Participants hailed from diverse locations, including Romania, the USA, the UK, Argentina, Spain, India, and Nigeria. Together, they collaborated with us to create UiPath Automations. Many of our former interns have since become RPA Developers in leading companies within their respective countries and continue to excel in their careers.

Now, we’re on the lookout for the next generation of enthusiastic interns who are eager to dive into the world of UiPath and embark on this automation journey with us.

The internship will be conducted online, welcoming candidates from anywhere in the world. Our primary objective with this internship is to foster the RPA community by offering guidance to anyone interested in becoming a UiPath RPA Developer. Our seasoned team, with years of successful experience, is here to mentor you on this exciting journey.

Here is what Ovais says about our internship:

“My experience with Aggranda as an RPA Intern has been amazing. The hands-on experience has helped me secure my job as a full time RPA Consultant at the largest IT company from Pakistan. For someone who is new to RPA, this experience is priceless. They taught me tips and tricks regarding UiPath and shown that they really care about their Intern’s success.”

Here is what Meena says about our internship:

“At the time of completion of Advanced UiPath RPA developer certification, the internship at Aggranda has given me an opportunity to apply my knowledge and explore more about UiPath and RPA. It helped me to gain knowledge about RPA in a practical way. The experience of RPA intern at Aggranda led me to get my full time job as an RPA developer. Thanks Aggranda, for providing this opportunity!”

Internship structure

The internship is unpaid and spans one month, beginning on September 25, 2023. Each week, interns will engage in 2 to 3-hour sessions with our team’s two Senior Developers. During these sessions, you’ll receive the guidance and training necessary to successfully complete a comprehensive end-to-end UiPath Automation project, adhering to high-quality standards. You’ll gain practical insights from real-life use cases we’ve encountered during our automation journey, along with invaluable best practices, tips, and tricks to aid you on your automation journey.

Benefits

• Assistance in developing a fully functional UiPath Software Robot
• Learning from our top RPA Developers & Business Analysts
• Accelerated learning curve through hands-on practice
• Internship experience at Aggranda
• Personalized Certificate of Completion
• Featured blog presentation on the Aggranda Blog along with your contact details (LinkedIn, Email Address)
• Exposure to other RPA companies
• Recommendation Letter
• Opportunity to potentially join Aggranda

Requirements

• UiPath Academy – RPA Starter – Fully Completed
• UiPath Academy – RPA Developer Foundation – Fully Completed
• UiPath Academy – RPA Developer Advanced – Optional, Highly Recommended
• Proficiency in English
• Self-learning abilities
• Ambitious, motivated, and curious mindset
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Self-learning – emphasized twice because it’s THAT important 🙂

Location: Anywhere

Application Deadline: October 20, 2023

Internship Period: October 25, 2023 – November 24, 2023

Interested? Apply here

The goal for each intern is to construct a functional software robot using UiPath and gain an enriching learning experience in the process. Join us in shaping the future of automation!

Unlocking HR Excellence: Key Insights from Gartner ReImagine HR Event

The Gartner ReImagine HR event in London brought together HR leaders, professionals, and experts from around the world to explore the latest trends and strategies shaping the future of Human Resources. With a lineup of thought-provoking presentations, the event provided valuable insights and actionable takeaways for HR professionals looking to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of work.

Staying Bold: How HR Can Unlock Human Performance in Any Context

Presented by Anna Krasniewska, Group Vice President, Gartner, and Brent Cassell, VP Advisory, Gartner

In a world marked by extreme disruption, HR leaders have stepped up to drive innovation and adaptability in the workforce. Key takeaways from this session:

• HR leaders have an unprecedented opportunity to redefine work and boost impact.
• Becoming “everyday bold” requires building stability, initiating trust, and forging ahead.
• Organizations offering stability observe a 61% rise in employee engagement.

Keeping Score: Measuring the Effectiveness of Well-Being Investments

Presented by Brent Cassell, Vice President, Advisory, Gartner

With well-being programs on the rise, measuring their effectiveness is crucial. Key takeaways:

• Only 32% of total rewards leaders believe their organizations assess well-being investments effectively.
• Improving wellness can boost employee engagement by up to 60% and increase intent to stay by 11%.
• Demonstrating well-being value requires a comprehensive measurement framework.

Building a Vibrant Intergenerational Workplace in a Fragmented Setting

Presented by Rachael Marshall, Director, Advisory, Gartner

In today’s diverse workforce, cohesion across generations is vital. Key takeaways:

• Cohesion among generations is low, with only 29% agreement among Millennials.
• Team cohesion doubles high-performer percentages and increases intent to stay.
• Strategies include empowering teams, facilitating connections, and providing inclusive benefits.

The World-Class Recruiting Leader in 2024

Presented by Saikat Chatterjee, Senior Director, Advisory, Gartner

Recruiting leaders are preparing for 2024 and beyond. Key takeaways:

• Key forces shaping recruiting include talent shortages, evolving expectations, and automation.
• Focus areas include branding the employee experience and forecasting hiring needs.
• The candidate experience is just as important as pay and benefits, with 56% considering it.

Think Like a CFO: How DEI Leaders Can Lead with Authority and Manage Diversity as a Resource

Presented by Jane Alancheril, Senior Director, Advisory, Gartner

DEI leaders must navigate challenges while advocating for their functions. Key takeaways:

• DEI leaders can learn from CFOs by emphasizing risk reduction and organizational impact.
• DEI metrics should go beyond demographic data, focusing on intent to stay, psychological safety, and diversity of hiring pool.
• Leveraging power mapping can help build influence.

Addressing the Early Signs of Manager Failure

Presented by Vitorio Bretas, Director, Advisory, Gartner

Managers play a crucial role in talent outcomes. Key takeaways:

• 48% of managers are at risk of failure, impacting their teams.
• Predictors of manager failure include lack of self-awareness and empathy.
• Addressing these predictors can reduce the percentage of failing managers by 43%.

Beyond Demographic Data: Rethink DEI Metrics for Meaningful Action

Presented by Shannon Wiest, Senior Principal, Advisory, Gartner

Effective DEI metrics go beyond demographics. Key takeaways:

• Leadership’s failure to take ownership is a top challenge for DEI leaders.
• Metrics should guide future performance and go beyond demographic data.
• Measuring value requires a focus on outcomes beyond just numbers.

How Will Generative AI Impact Your Workforce?

Presented by Helen Poitevin, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner

Generative AI is reshaping the workforce. Key takeaways:

• Employees concerned about AI job displacement are 27% less likely to stay.
• AI impact on jobs will be uneven, creating new roles and redesigning existing ones.
• HR leaders should take an active role, monitor roles, and map their portfolio for AI impact.

The Gartner ReImagine HR event provided a wealth of insights, emphasizing the need for HR leaders to be bold, data-driven, and adaptable in the face of change. As HR continues to evolve, these insights will prove invaluable for organizations seeking to thrive in the future of work.

By joining our know-how and extended RPA expertise, we aim to better help our customers scale up their automation program and achieve their digital transformation goals.

The new extended team of versed professionals will be able to faster deliver high-quality automations and provide more advanced solutions to our customers.

Extended expertise and stronger capabilities

I fully trust this move, as RPA Box has a strong reputation among customers. They’re known for their tech expertise and high focus on understanding customer needs. Founded by two UiPath alumni, RPA Box delivers complex automations for companies like Virgin Group, Michelin, SGS, and many others.

In the founders’ words:

“Our continuous goal is to provide our customers with high quality and stable automations using the latest technology. By joining our forces with RPA Box, we bring more know-how and capabilities to faster deliver quality automation solutions. In parallel, we’ll continue to develop Link, our new product designed to give companies an easy way to manage and automate business processes in a single dashboard and a seamless experience for all employees.”

Cristian Ignat, Aggranda Founder & CEO

“It felt natural that we joined forces with Aggranda. Striving for maximum efficiency across the board for our customers is just one of the many common genes that are deeply rooted in both our companies’ DNA and we have a lot more to share with you on this.”

Tudor Tache, RPA Box CEO

What’s next for Aggranda 

The acquisition of RPA Box by Aggranda is part of our larger strategy to become a leading provider of automation services. Aggranda plans to continue its rapid growth in Europe and the USA. The company will focus on its strong partnership with UiPath and consolidate its services to help enterprises scale through automation and digital transformation.

Above all, this acquisition supports our mission to create time in companies and in people’s lives through automation. At this moment, we’re helping companies from the USA, the UK, Germany, France, Austria, Portugal, Romania, and other countries. USDA, Sunrun, Chloride, Liaison, BMS Group, BA Glass, INSEAD are some of the customers that trust us. 

By now, we have saved our clients over 200,000 hours of manual and repetitive work, helping employees to be more productive and happier. Aggranda invests in education through its annual internships, guiding 100 interns from all over the world during each program period. Several interns are now Digital Transformation Managers at large companies, which makes us very proud.

Stay tuned, more good news will follow.

Productivity, Costs, Customer Experience, Employee Experience, Consistency, Accuracy and Compliance. These are the markers of running any business.  Over decades the relative importance of these pillars have moved up and down, changing on the back of economic or social conditions and market forces.

Technology vendors have forever built their propositions around business ‘values’, and the promise of better solution outcome. Little is worth buying unless, whatever it is, can leverage one or more of these markers.

Intelligent Automation is the established phrase when referring to the use of automation technologies to improve our office, administration, and customer services.  It is unique because it impacts ALL of the markers listed above in much the same way the internet did  the same. It is why we call these technologies ‘disruptors’.  And its proof is abundant.

In the words of McKinsey and Gartner, ‘Intelligent Automation’ has become an established and “must-have strategy” for all businesses now and into the future.   Is this what they mean by the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

Personally, I don’t like the use of the word Revolution. It assumes upheaval, change beyond recognition, an uncertain time to come. It tends to instil fear at a time when business needs to be brave in the face of low productivity, increased employee unrest and demands to be a lower cost, higher satisfaction provider.  But put in the context of the evolution of the internet, which has changed the way we transact with and serve our customers, it is certainly a game changer. Except this time, change in the way we work and the way we develop our skills for the future.

Let’s take some examples.

Uber

A digitally native business born in the internet era and a business that changed forever the way we book a taxi ride.  Despite being new, with access to all the best technology of this era, they quickly had a need for automation. Why? Uber’s business grew quickly, its use of SAAS applications grew too as they sought to find solutions that met the very niche requirements of their fast growing business. Each new App means another database. And in order to report upon and plan the future of Uber, these multiple sources needed to be brought together digitally in preference to employing people to do a pretty mind-numbing task of gathering data and collating in spreadsheets. Upshot, they achieved $10m in annual savings and achieved a return on Investment of 350% in the first year of implementing intelligent automation. Read more here.

Spotify

Again, digitally native and born into and 100% dependent upon digital technology. Yet the rapid growth of Spotify created weaknesses and risk within its financial and administration processes. Automation projects stretched from Treasury to general Ledger and across all financial processes and meant they saved 45,500+ hours of manual executed business through the execution of a well-managed and a visionary Centre of Excellence for automation. Read more here.

AirFranceKLM Group

Well established businesses with a long legacy of difficult to use and out-dated technology are immediate targets for automation. The airline group focused on  higher labour intensity and low human value work by setting about the automation of finance, financial controlling and maintenance business processes.  With teams operating in Budapest, Paris and Amsterdam, they ‘competed’ to achieve the highest productivity increases and savings. Budapest recorded 610% RoI on their projects, Paris and Amsterdam centres achieved 710% RoI. And it wasn’t just about time and money savings. Increases in accuracy meant re-work dropped dramatically and customer services experienced increased value figures as customers were being served faster. Read more here.

Carglass / Autoglass

For many businesses, ensuring employees remain loyal employees is crucial. On-boarding and training can be costly in business that requires unique and expert skills. Engineers were becoming bogged down in daily paperwork and administration processes. The business was being bound up by the labour it needed to handle things such as Invoices and Suppliers.

Carglass took this seriously and focused on freeing up employees from repetitive and boring tasks and enable them to contribute more of their own skills to the business. Over 200 business processes were automated, and employee reflected 99% positive experience as an outcome. A great example of how to build and maintain a valuable workforce. Read more here.

A host of other businesses such as Atlassian, Salesforce, Slack and more have experienced 100,000’s of hours saved, huge increases measured at 98% and more in the speed to complete financial and administration and 75% increase in the time to market measures.

The pandemic experience includes a host of examples where businesses used intelligent automation solutions to grow support for a ‘work from home’ necessity. We know of business who went from supporting 3,000 to 19,800 home workers in just 3 weeks by leveraging intelligent automation solutions.

IAG noticed that the BA Holidays booking processes led to significant manual error and the need for rework was costing holiday destination providers, airlines, and others. Enter automation and its implementation became so successful that Disneyland Orlando switched their preferred airline to British Airways. Bookings coming through BA became error free with increased efficiency and accuracy. The result was happier customers and an additional estimated £5m revenue generated by BA which would previously have gone to a competing airline.

The facts are these:

The Technology is proven and Tested

• The technology, from a broad choice of vendors, is well proven and tested with thousands of customers. Newcomers should have no fear of being at the leading edge or risking their investments.

Business needs this for Productivity and Efficiency

• Businesses continue to consume SAAS Apps. This creates an increasing need to ensure information generated in one application becomes relevant to the data in another application. Should we hire more people to do this boring work? Of course not. Continued take up of new SAAS solutions is a 100% guarantee that intelligent automation will remain an integral part of Business and IT infrastructure for the foreseeable future.

We are creating Robotic jobs

• In most businesses, we have employed numerous people to enter data, transfer data and manipulate data for the purpose of ordering, invoicing, reconciling, onboarding and measuring. These are all tasks in which we are asking intelligent and often University qualified humans to complete. These are actually robotic processes. This has to stop if we are to upskill our workforces and create higher value jobs.

We must upskill for better lives and living

• No matter what industry, no matter which country, no matter digitally native or legacy bound, every business using computer applications in their daily routines MUST implement automation to create a more skilled workforce for the future. It is essential that business reduces the bad habit of creating further low-pay, data-entry / data-transfer, screen and keyboard centric tasks.

Savings and  Productivity increases are fast and significant

• Businesses that have worked with Intelligent Automation have, over the past 10 years, achieved savings of up to 800% within one year by quickly identifying the routines of their business which can be automated. Every business can achieve substantial savings and productivity increases.

Huge Corporations have Invested billions and Tested and Proven this thousands of time over

• World leading businesses have invested millions (up to $3billion in one customer instance alone) to automate their processes, upskill their employees and re-model their businesses for a world that needs higher skilled service delivery, greater productivity, lower costs and vastly improved customer service.

Customer Service improvements are easily achieved

• Contact Centres and every business that depends on their customer service to win more customers and retain those they have are seeking all the time to reduce call waiting times and achieve higher levels of service. This is happening in all telecommunications providers worldwide because they know we hate waiting on them to answer our calls.

Scary to Start

But let me ask. Is your business taking the action it needs to take? Where are you in planning to improve the working lives of millions of employees, increasing your business productivity and creating scope for growth?

Why are some businesses hesitating? What is preventing every business, large and small from having a defined automation strategy?

If you are a Builder in the construction industry, you have already invested in digging and lifting machinery so that you move move and lift earth and stone faster, in order to build faster and reduce the volume of employees using picks, shovels and spades

If you are an Accountant you have invested in skilled people, applications and excel in order to maximise the productivity you can generate and thus more fees and profitability. Yet you will find you have thousands of employees manually intervening in processes to get data from one application to another.

If you are a Baker with ambition, you have invested in machinery which can make more dough, mix more ingredients and create consistent high-quality products at a better price margin.

So why then are some businesses taking their time to implement Intelligent Automation? Its just the same principle – with digital intelligence rather than machine muscle.

Out of the Comfort Zone

For the majority of businesses, implementing intelligent automation solutions introduces new challenges not previously faced.

• Do we fully understand the processes within our businesses? If we are to automate them we must surely have a clear sight of what they are, isn’t that correct?
• Not exactly. It is true to say that software applications have taken over much of the heavy lifting of data processing and that humans are employed to answer the phone and principally to type data in and transfer data across applications to fulfil the business need.  It’s pretty terrible work to be asking our employees of the 21^st Century to do.
• But even as these may be well established routines, Process and Task Mining tools can very quickly provide you with the blue print of your business and immediately identify the processes, map them accurately and set you up for automation. Once you start the Discovery Phase of your automation plan, things become far clearer.
• Do we know how to engage our employees so that they are comfortable with Automation and not spooked by the false assumption that jobs will be lost
• For sure, few of us want to create a movement which ultimately leads to the loss of someone’s job. And that is why the most successful automation implementations include all employees from the start.
• Most employees in a busy business environment can offer insights and intelligence on how the job could be done better and faster. Most employees can describe in detail how if one or two of the office processes were changed, they would have more time for customers
• Driving an automation strategy means engaging everyone, especially those whose work will be impacted. But managed correctly, we have witnessed that these employees often add the most valuable insight into how to be better.  Think of using an Automation Hub tool, where ideas can be gathered, analysed, actioned and measured
• Finally, make sure that your strategy includes upskilling for employees. After all, if someone in Finance no longer has to read and re-type Invoices for example, they will probably be very adept at helping understand where they could add more value to the business.
• Projects involving IT have been difficult to manage and oversea in the past – there is a fear of getting into another technical engagement and long drawn-out exercise
• Applying Intelligent Automation to your business is, first up, a business decision with business benefits. It must be led by those tasked to make the business run at optimal cost and speed. Rely on IT to ensure the necessary resources are available. IT brings important hands-on experience in setting up and managing technical environments however all the benefits of your Automation strategy will be realised in business operations. IT is a tool just as a spanner is important when building a car.

Conclusion

Do your Discovery

The facts are that once you can get an oversight of how business flows across your various internal departments, which system depends on which other, where people are intervening and solving challenges today. Identify all those points across your business where a human intervenes and adds value and/or just transfers data and knowledge. The rest becomes clearer.

Identify and expect to Measure what you intend to achieve

Work with your teams to find the best ideas, incentivise improvement programs and have a clear vision of the Before and After scenario.

Choose a Partner to work with

It helps considerably if you can find a solution provider who listens to you, understands the entire automation landscape and can work with you for the Outcomes your business expects.  Make sure they are experienced in all disciplines and can you to map the business as well as provide the automation technicalities

Take short sharp steps to begin.

Help everyone understand and buy into your goals. Do some obvious task automations to begin, ensure everyone witnesses the benefits and plan your second and subsequent stages into more complex and more rewarding automations.

Not so many years ago it was not uncommon for a business to go through a lengthy procurement exercise to choose an ERP solution or CRM solution or other major enterprise-wide core solution.  The culmination of perhaps a years evaluation, workshop, pilot and trial ends with a purchase of millions of dollars of software and the prospect of a project of implementation which could take 1, 2 or even 3 years. Finance signs the check, a solution provider enters the business and for a year or more, hundreds of executives hope the outcome is what they expect. The money is spent, the requirements have been captured and now the implementation fires into full speed.

Sadly the first user acceptance tests start and users are ‘challenged’ to understand what has happened. Changes are identified, misunderstandings are clarified, changes are made and the process continues. We’ve all been there.

Intelligent Automation introduces new methods and new outcomes. It doesn’t demand you change your applications or your operation (though it may help you identify how things could be better) but helps unlock all the potential of skilled and intelligent employees. By getting them way from robotic desk bound jobs, we can free up workforces to be more creative, care for our customers, focus on the things that help you grow and create a better working environment for your people. Did I mention ‘churn’? Creating a better work environment, allowing people to express themselves and carry out more fulfilling work is a huge contributor to keeping your staff with you and helping you grow a more profitable business.

Let’s start with a UiPath Activity that you’re probably already familiar with – adding an auto number column to an existing data table that’s already populated with data.

Using the UiPath Activity to add an auto number column can be a helpful shortcut. The downside, however, is that you will not have the auto numbered values after. In fact, you add just a column with no data. The auto number columns are useful because they help you uniquely identify a row within a collection of rows.

The challenge, thus, is figuring out how to add the column and to have the auto incremented numbers (values) in this column for the previously existing rows.

To accomplish that, I will use the invoke code activity, and I will explain the logic behind the code.

You can get the code in C# or VB.Net. I wrote the code in both languages.

You can also clone a demo project from GitHub:

https://github.com/BogdanIstrate/AutoNumberDemo.

The main idea is to transfer the data from the existing data table into a DataTableReader.

The DataTableReader obtains the contents of one or more DataTable objects in the form of one or more read-only, forward-only result sets. You can read more about the DataTableReader class here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.data.datatablereader.

C# Code

DataTableReader dtr = io_dt.CreateDataReader();

DataTable clonedDT = io_dt.Clone();

clonedDT.Columns.Add(new DataColumn(“RowNo”)

{

AutoIncrement = true,

AllowDBNull = false,

AutoIncrementSeed = 1,

AutoIncrementStep = 1,

DataType = typeof(System.Int32),

Unique = true

}

);

clonedDT.Columns[“RowNo”].SetOrdinal(0);

clonedDT.Load(dtr);

io_dt = clonedDT;

VB.Net Code

Dim dtr As DataTableReader = io_dt.CreateDataReader()

Dim clonedDT As DataTable = io_dt.Clone()

Dim idCol As New DataColumn(“RowNo”)

idCol.AutoIncrement = True

idCol.AllowDBNull = False

idCol.AutoIncrementSeed = 1

idCol.AutoIncrementStep = 1

idCol.DataType = GetType(Integer)

idCol.Unique = True

clonedDT.Columns.Add(idCol)

clonedDT.Columns(“RowNo”).SetOrdinal(0)

clonedDT.Load(dtr)

io_dt = clonedDT

Let me explain the code now:

Step 1: Save the data from the existing data table (io_dt) into a DataTableReader (dtr).

Step2: Clone the existing date table into a new data table. As you know, the clone mechanism only copies the structure of an existing table to another table without data. Let’s name the new data table ‘clonedDT’.

Step 3: Assuming that new auto number column is named RowID, let’s add it to the clonedDT. When we add this column, we can specify several properties (AutoIncrement, AllowDBNull, AutoIncrementSeed, AutoIncrementStep, DataType, Unique). Here we have two interesting properties: AutoIncrementSeed, and AutoIncrementStep. The AutoIncrementSeed property is used to set the starting value (default value is 0). AutoIncrementStep sets the increment used by the RowID column. You can find more documentation about these column properties here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.data.datacolumn?view=net-7.0.

One of my favorite methods is to set the ordinal of the auto numbered column in the data table. I do this because it is always recommended to have the auto number column first in the data table for better visibility, easier identification, and referral to that row. Therefore I always use SetOrdinal(0) method to set the auto number columns in the first position.

Step 4: Add the data to clonedDT from data table reader (dtr). In this manner, the new auto number column (RowID) and all other columns will have values.

You will be able to find the above mentioned code in the UiPath package (library) in a few weeks.

I hope you will find this useful in your projects.

Check back in with me each month for more UiPath Tips and Tricks that will have YOU developing like an expert!

Changing careers can be challenging, but with the will to succeed, perseverance and the correct mindset, you can get your dream rpa job faster than you think.

After accumulating the necessary information regarding the new field you are preparing to enter and after you feel confident that you can start practicing what have you learned, the next step is taken: start searching for a job.

As a future Junior employee, it is essential to land in a company that has a healthy organizational culture.  And here, it is not about the things they are promising on their website, job ads or interview, it’s all about what is happening after you start working there.

The behaviour and the philosophy of the company will have a tremendous impact on your professional development and career path. If the environment is proper for a person, that will lead to commitment, involvement, boosting confidence, growth, and dedication.

There are many stories around regarding bad experiences at workplaces, but that negative feedback can be just 1 in a thousand because out there are many companies that demolish any negative myths and creates the perfect environment to develop as a professional, and why not, as a person.

Aggranda is one of them!

When I landed the rpa job as a Junior RPA Developer in this company, 1 year and a half ago, I was very nervous, but my colleagues stood by my side and guided me. Metaphorically, they hold my hand step by step until I was able to walk on my own. Time has passed, and my Junior title is just a memory because I got a promotion and advanced to the next level, now I manage my own projects with some of the biggest international clients of the company and I am responsible to make my own decisions regarding my robots. After all this time, and after gathering all the realistic data, I can confirm that Aggranda makes dreams come true.

Why is this company the best place to work:

• Aggranda believes in you: they hire for attitude first! The skills will be developed at the workplace. It is wonderful for a company to put trust in you and give you a chance and opportunity to prove yourself as a professional. This type of trust will create an ethical foundation to learn, develop and accumulate new skills to become very good at your job and not disappoint.
• Aggranda has high-level trainers that will teach you the best practices to get all the jobs well done! Aka Gods. When entering the company, regardless of your level of experience, one of the Gods will take you under their wing and they will teach you tips and tricks about how to do a job well, with patience and understanding. Will encourage a newbie to ask questions because maybe not everything will be understood from the beginning.
• Aggranda gives you the trust to handle projects and clients on your own in a short time after hiring, which is another boost of trust that you are doing your job good, that you are already growing, and that the professional path looks great! Of course, everything will be monitored by the Gods, but it will never feel like they are watching you or waiting for you to make a mistake.
• Aggranda always has your back: if something goes wrong with a project or in communication with a client, they will never throw you under the bus! They will understand the situation and help you get out of the impasse.
• At Aggranda, all the employees will help you, no matter what! Aka angels. Not only the Gods will be by your side, but also the colleagues will always be there for you. Even a small question will be transformed into a lesson that will be a guide on how to get out of different situations in projects, which will help you in the long run.
• Aggranda has an organisational chart. There are people with different levels of experience in each department, but when working with them on projects, they never make you feel inferior, in case your level of experience is lower than theirs.
• Aggranda doesn’t overload you with work! They see the employees as humans first, they know that they have limits, and they take care immediately of the matter if the workload is increasing. They distribute the projects in a fair way, and they keep in mind the level of experience when they assign the new projects, so the person in charge of delivering not to be overwhelmed by the difficulty level of the task.
• Aggranda always sees you: in silence, they keep track of your progress, and they recognized it with constructive feedback and rewards.
• Aggranda shows transparency: Everything is discussed in detail and without covering the unpleasant parts of the company’s life.

And finally, one of the many reasons why this is an amazing company is the fact that Aggranda is a FRIEND. Is there for you in case of a personal problem, you can talk openly about any professional aspect, and it will make sure that everything will be successfully overcome.

Aggranda gives you TIME to adapt and learn, and the opportunity TO GROW. Never settle for less!

Never has it been more important for HR leaders to become a critical part of the corporate management. The workplace is changing substantially. Employers are struggling to get and keep the right people. Talk of attrition and resignation as trends are consequences of the way we have developed the workplace over the past 3 – 4 decades. The best positioned leaders to help guide employers back to a better work environment are the HR Leaders.

Much is being made of the trends in attrition and resignation across our workforce. Some see this as a manifestation of social media influences on the millennial population. Others see it because of the pandemic and the trend exposes a simple refusal on the part of the employee, to be told where to work.

The truth is that it is probably caused by both of these together with a culmination of several decades implementing various technologies focused on the systems.  The combined impact on our employees has now reached a tipping point.

Goldman Sachs are amongst those who published reports on personal productivity rise and fall from the 1980’s and how that peaked in 2000 and has fallen ever since (Byrne Oliver & Sichel Dept of Labor – Goldman Sacks Investment Research). The causes of this are too many to examine here.  Suffice to say technology has consistently been implemented to address the business process and not the needs of the employee. The impact has led to a substantive decrease in personal productivity output for the past 20 years.

Software solutions have been implemented over decades to carry out the heavy lifting of processing data. Since 2015, enterprises have grown the number of software solutions they use by 65% (Source).

This has most certainly helped to maintain business productivity. At the same time, however,  personal productivity fell as the software became the principal engine for processing of business data and the duty of the employee was increasingly focused on pressing the keys and filling the boxes.

Business Process Reengineering is a phrase that many became familiar with 10 – 15 years ago. And indeed, some businesses re-engineered some of their processes. However, there is no statistical information to support what that benefit was or is. In many respects, digital transformation, a term we hear referred to time and time again, actually took place when manual processes became the workload of software. With this transition however there was no ‘re-engineering’ of the processes – rather we mimic’d our manual processes and had the software carry out the tasks in the same way we had been doing it manually. Did any ERP project across an enterprise take less than 2 years? What took so long? We saw the software working in the demos and the presentations and we ok’d the return on investment as a three year or even five year project.

What we did was to make the software vendors, and many very wealthy implementation businesses, transform the software to run the way we did things ourselves. We even helped the major and less major consulting businesses rename their genre and gave birth to the Global Systems Integrators. These GSI’s embraced what many businesses wanted – for the system to take on responsibility and to run the processes that everyone had become so familiar with. Customising the software meant we did not have to retrain the workforce to work a different way.  Instead, we would teach the workforce how to use the software.

It was at this point we started the movement toward whatever it is we have today – attrition, resignation, displacement, obstinance.

People are happy to change, happy to embrace new technology and new ways of doing things. But there is an un-stated condition they should be included in or drive the change process.  Placed in the position of being a subject of change is a different thing. When we consistently change our work practices and organisation, its goals and objectives, we consistently disenfranchise our workforce and tell them in subtle form, that their job is to obey the transition and ‘fit in’.

Decades of software installation, implementation, re-engineering and more has made most of us slaves to the software. The GSI’s are now being employed in many instances to unravel the spaghetti of processes which have been deployed in our software and help the business understand what they are actually doing. One example being a UK telecommunications provider which spent £6m over a nine month period for the output only to be a description of what the processes deployed within the software now do. This is common place. Re-engineering of processes is a high-cost activity and it’s not entirely possible to determine if the money spent doing this yields a return. So, we continue to re-invent manual processes in an ever increasing portfolio of On Demand and SAAS services. So what?

Throughout this entire time, we have made the resource and the return more important than the people that do the jobs. How often do we hear businesses promote their employment record and contest to be “Best Place to Work’? Cynically, it is possible to interpret these sorts of programs as a realisation by the employer that the work is generally boring, so they have decided to run programs which counter this. Are they conscious that these jobs are dependent upon how the software works and that there is little dependency on the employees? We like to be depended upon, don’t we?

To compensate for the uninspiring nature of so many jobs, there are nights out, employee workshops, team building exercises and many other forms of encouragement to accept the work as it is and enjoy it more for the ancillary activities that come with it. In short, a lot of work has become boring. We know it has. And finally, we have reached the tipping point I mentioned in the second paragraph.

Throughout this whole term, from simple business processes to software to web and SAAS services we have focused on making the software fit the processes we created for business to function. Little thought has been given for the people on whom we will ultimately depend. The R has been more important that the H.

Intelligent Automation is our way out of this conundrum. We made the people a slave to the software however, we also have the technology to make the software take care of itself and have the humans take on more creative, more challenging and more innovative roles. All that investment that Customer Services said they needed to look after customers better can now be invested. The new products and services the business has wanted to bring to market but could not because of the costs they have for running the business today, can be brought forward. Thousands of employees across thousands of businesses can be freed from the monotony of typing, cutting, pasting and data entry.

Will this alleviate the attrition or resignation? Well, it will certainly help. Examine the key reasons for employees leaving their jobs and you will find that money is rarely the driver.  Neither are good working conditions or the number of nights out in the year. People are bored and feeling under-valued.

Process Automation is a means of ‘teaching’ a digital agent what exactly a business processes is for, and how the human normally interacts with it. The Agent learns how to do the jobs where there is high degrees of repetition and the where ‘rules’ are applied by the employee. We have hundreds of these positions in almost any business you can imagine.

Tied up on cutting, pasting, typing and running reports every day, the employee is tied to a routine and dictated to by how the systems work. Their work is measured by the volume of transactions they process, the level of accuracy they achieve and the commitment they show to achieving goals (set mainly by the systems). Process Automation releases this time spent completing robotic tasks and gives time back to employees and employers. This is time that can be used to ask employees for advice, to re-design the processes so that business, create new products, serve customers better and to deploy people into roles to which they are suited – an opportunity to tap into personality & cognitive skills for example. And when we tap into these things, we create more valuable work and the opportunity for higher salaries.

At the grass roots of almost any business is a cohort of people who understand what the business is trying to do. They are able and qualified to comment on what does and does not work well and will happily engage, within the right structure, to make it better.

In this context, the role of HR leader has never been more important. Businesses have been very quick to maintain the cliché “Our employees are our most important asset” and “We are a People company”. But few have demonstrated this clearly internally. And it is this that has driven the Attrition and Resignation. Today’s HR leader must not only seek to improve the lot for their own HR employees, making on-boarding and off-boarding and assessments slicker , faster and more accurate. He or She must play an integral role in helping the business understand how making work more inspiring and engaged is the key to tomorrows more productive workforce.

The HR leader is responsible not only for the processes around pay hiring, firing and payroll etc but for the entire workforce. They owe business a service to demand more inspiring and motivating work activities and to work tirelessly to create a working environment where the employee is no longer a slave to the software. The HR leader needs to be first in line to explain the attrition and resignation to the other business leaders. Strategically there must be a program to automate the processes than can be automated, and free up time for employees to make a greater overall contribution.

We all like change, provided we have some control and contribution to make. We all dismiss change when it is being enforced upon us.  Automation is a means of cutting out the type of work that is of no human interest or development potential. It is a means of creating a working environment that nurtures employees once more and can help bring an end to the attrition / resignation debate.

We need a strategy to make the ‘H’ more important that then ‘R’ and who better than HR leaders to drive this?

The 2022 Internship ended a couple weeks ago, after 45 days of hard work and research from the participants. It was quite a journey, with plenty of growth opportunities – both for the interns and for us.

We’re glad to conclude that everyone involved had their share of Development, be it RPA or personal development. 🙂

Out of 100+ internship applicants, 11 made it with the final project by submitting a fully-functional, end-to-end automation they have designed and built on the UiPath Platform. Congratulations are in order to the below finalists, for their patience, dedication and, above all, willingness to learn (alphabetically ordered):

• Anjali Dahiya – India, with ”RPAStars”, demonstrating a lot of technical know-how by completing difficult automation challenges. 
• Devendra Singh – India, with ”Supply Chain Bot” – an automated assistant that speeds things up in handling supply chain issues. 
• Garima Karve – India, with “Insurance Bot”, a robot that helps people gather insurance related data in a quick way that is easy to access.
• Getheswari D – India, with “HR Employee Onboarding”, an automation suitable for the HR Department, that automates the process of enrolling a new employee into the company 
• Mohammed Waseem – India, with “Balance Sheet Account Reconciliation”, automating the process of verifying balance sheet data and informing the business user of any errors found. 
• Mohanraam Pillai – India, with “Train Status”, a very useful automation for anyone that rides the train, providing the user with useful data related to the train they are about to board.
• Sameer Adhikari – USA, with “RealEstateBot” – a bot that searches different real estate websites with the purpose of finding advantageous locations to rent/buy.
• Sawaira Nawaz – Pakistan, with “PakWheels”, a useful automation that searches different car-selling websites and returns the results in an easy-to-read format.
• Tache Stefan – Romania, with “PartsAdvisor” – an automation that could eventually become a standalone product. It searches the web for consumables for any vehicle and returns the best deals in a very easy to read format.
• Tijani Abdullah – Nigeria, with “AutomationChallenge” – an automation that goes through a series of RPA-Related challenges and solves them in an efficient manner.
• Tejaswini Yadav – India, with “WeatherBot”, an automation that provides useful weather-related data to the user.
• Yunus Tijani – Nigeria, with “Invoice Processing Bot”, an automation that automates the data extraction and data entry from different invoice types.

If you’re interested in our future Internship Programs, feel free to follow us on LinkedIn or stay tuned on our blog – more is yet to come with the best project submissions and feedback from the participants!

Time. To learn.

2020 may have left us hanging, but as of 2021, UiPath’s biggest event of the year rebounded, ( and victoriously so, if we may add.)

This year, UiPath promises an even more spectacular event than ever before: Forward V, a tournament created by automation professionals for automation professionals and rallying up some of the best names in the field – and some of the most passionate attendees too. 

More than 3,000 people will be there to grow and network over the course of 2 and a half days of celebration, learning, and community gathering – all with the goal of pushing digital transformation forward.  

Because if there’s one thing the pandemic taught us is exactly this: digital transformation is long past its “buzzword” phase. It’s here. It’s happening. And it won’t stop soon. 

…Just like UiPath itself 🙂 

Between the 27th and the 29th of September, robotic process automation (RPA) will find a home at UiPath Forward V – this time, at the Venetian Las Vegas. 

Here’s a quick run through the event agenda: 

September 27th

The first day of UiPath Forward V will be dedicated to partners. Following the meet-up between UiPath leaders and partners, everyone will be invited to a Welcome Reception where groundbreaking experts in the automation field will network, discuss, and have fun. 

September 28th 

The real fun starts on September 28th, at 9 am. Grab your cup of coffee from the breakfast area and join UiPath forwarders for a day full of presentations on the most exciting and cutting-edge RPA topics of the moment. 

The day will be kick-started by none other than Mary Tetlow (Chief Brand Officer at UiPath) and Bobby Patrick (Chief Marketing Officer at UiPath), and followed by presentations given by specialists from UiPath, EY, Spotify, Deutsche Bank, Xerox, WESCO Distribution, Puma North America, Toyota, Amazon, Meta, and more! 

Are you in for an added bonus for the first day of UiPath Forward V? Join Marcus Buckingham, New York Times best-selling author for a discussion on how to bring joy into work. 

The day will end with a Venetian Masquerade to honor human achievement through innovation, technology, art, and music – a perfect way to end a perfect day! 

September 29th 

UiPath Forward V is far from done, as the second day of the event brings even more top-listed experts from around the world in discussions and presentations about automation, AI, and transformation. 

Presentations will be given by leaders at The California Department of Motor Vehicles, Dentsu, ManpowerGroup, Palo Alto Networks, Forrester Research, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Cisco, UiPath, and many others. 

The event will end with a farewell Happy Hour led by UiPath Co-CEOs, Daniel Dines and Rob Enslin. 

Why Should You Join UiPath Forward V in 2022? 

UiPath Forward V is one of the single most exciting automation events of the year, but you don’t have to take our word for granted on this. Here are five major reasons you should at least consider attending Forward V this year:

Top Leaders from Top Companies Will Be There 

Every year, UiPath Forward exceeds its attendees’ expectations by putting together rockstar line-ups: the kind of thought leaders and experts that are truly adept at what they do: automation.

If you want to hear from them and see how they think (as well as learn more about the grand ideas that keep them at the top of the industry), Forward V is the best way to do it. Nowhere else will you get a chance to listen to as much condensed expertise as you would at this event – that’s a promise UiPath has been making since their first Forward event in 2018, and which they have never failed to deliver on.

It’s Like A Mega-Masterclass on Fast-Forward 

Not only will you get to listen to people who have a depth of experience in the automation/ RPA field, but you will get a chance to interact with like-minded people and learn from everyone there.

UiPath Forward V is more than just an event like thousands of others: it’s a celebration of intelligence, human drive, expertise, and innovation driving. It’s the automation masterclass on fast-forward you (and probably everyone in your team) should take if you want to excel.

The best part of it all?

You don’t have to just sit down and take notes listening to an academic perspective on things. You can learn from people who are right there, in the trenches of automation every single day, and who have made a real difference in their organizations (and the world!) Now, that’s the kind of course you want to attend! 

It Will Help You Drive Innovation and Transformation 

Maybe you won’t go home and automatically pull it off or come up with the idea that will completely transform how your organization runs its business.

But the kind of information and learning you get at UiPath Forward V is mindset-shifting. Once infused with this kind of information, your entire view on RPA and automation will change, because it will have been fueled with the best, most qualitative, and most cutting-edge tactics and strategies from the best people in this industry.

Innovation doesn’t happen overnight – but access to the right kind of information and learning can definitely put it all on fast-forward. 

Two Words: Quality Networking 

We all know just how essential networking is in business.

If you want to connect with like-minded people who are genuinely interested in making the world a better, safer, and more efficient place through automation, Forward V is where it’s all at.

This is more than just a series of presentations: it’s an experience in itself – one that will connect you with people from all over the world, teach you more than any other masterclass, and help you build your career, advance your business, and achieve your goals. 

The Venetian Las Vegas Is an Experience in Itself 

OK, OK, as our special guest Marcus Buckingham will probably tell you as well, work shouldn’t be a joyless experience.

So for this year’s Forward V event, UiPath has made the single most exuberant, delectable, and rapturous location: Venetian Las Vegas.

What could possibly be better than a crowd of automation enthusiasts gathering in an exquisite place like this?

Conclusion

There are a thousand and one reasons to attend UiPath’s Forward V event in 2022 (or at least as many reasons as presenters there are.) But if we had to narrow it down to a single, over-arching motivation, it is this: Forward V is where the future of automation is happening.

The best experts, the most interesting talks, and all crowned by a location worthy of admiration: UiPath Forward V is bound to be an unforgettable adventure for pretty much anyone passionate about automation!

Aggranda will be there, and we’d be more than happy to meet and chat about automation. Come join us at UiPath Forward V and let’s help your business fast forward into the future – we’d be more than delighted to discuss this with you!