Everest Group publishes the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology provider landscape – PEAK Matrix® assessment (2022) 

Organizations need to evolve into digital-first businesses if they want to be resilient and competitive. Enterprises are attempting to switch to automated and Intelligent Business Processes since manual operations provide several difficulties. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has become a significant enabler in the enterprise automation space.

New technologies like Process Mining, Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), Conversational AI, and API-based Automation accelerate the whole automation ecosystem’s evolution. The implementation and success of new technologies reinforce the idea that RPA is still a key component of business automation. RPA has been crucial in assisting enterprises in achieving cost savings and improved operational quality and efficiency. In the long run, the technology increases labor productivity, improves employee and client experience, and delivers rapid time-to-value.

RPA is a popular investment objective for enterprises, Global Business Services (GBS) companies, and service providers. Over the past ten years, RPA has seen one of the highest growth rates in the software industry.

Regarding product features, deployment choices, product design, support and training, partner ecosystem, and business models, RPA is fast changing. The capabilities and functions of the technologies and delivery strategies are rapidly developing. Enterprises must choose the appropriate enterprise-grade RPA technology to get the anticipated benefits.

Everest Group analyzed 23 RPA technology providers across the RPA landscape on a global scale. The Peak Matrix® identifies three categories that indicate the position of an RPA provider in the RPA landscape. The three categories are Leaders, Major Contenders, and Aspirants.

Leaders, Major Contenders, and Aspirants as identified in the PEAK Matrix® by Everest Group

Leaders

The leaders of Everest Group’s RPA PEAK Matrix®, 2022, are Automation Anywhere, Microsoft, NICE, SS&C Blue Prism, and UiPath.

Leaders have seen modest, steady growth in the RPA industry. The development is driven by the addition of new customers and the expansion of current business installations. They want to discover new market prospects through partner sales channels by growing their service provider partner ecosystem. Leaders record their complete automation cost structure. They document more complex end-to-end processes’ discovery, coordination, and automation.

Leaders have a clear vision for their Intelligent Automaton platform and are investing in complementary capabilities. Investments include processes like orchestration, IDP, API automation, task mining, and custom AI/ML-based solutions. Leaders are updating their business models to make them flexible, scalable, and more straightforward for clients. The processes need to be simple so that clients can keep up with the complexity of their products.

They are improving their fully managed SaaS platform and using serverless robots and other technologies. Focusing and improving the SaaS platform will allow usage-based pricing, which lowers the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

 Major Contenders

The Major Contenders of Everest Group’s RPA PEAK Matrix®, 2022 are Aiwozo, Appian, AutomationEdge, Cyclone Robotics, Datamatics, IBM, JIFFY.ai, Laiye, Nintex, Nividous, OpenBots, Pega, SAP, and WorkFusion.

Major Contenders are increasing their market share in various sectors, regions, and customer categories. Some regional RPA firms are playing to their advantage and attempting to reach new geographies. They plan to expand into areas with industry knowledge and a collection of pre-built automation assets.

The advent of big-tech competitors has already put downward pricing pressure. Major Contenders are pricing their RPA systems competitively to compete directly with the Leaders. Businesses benefit from smaller upfront expenditures and a more significant ROI with competitive pricing. Following the Leaders’ lead, the many Major Contenders are also investing in establishing a comprehensive intelligent automation platform. They want to successfully build a platform that combines IDP, RPA, Process Mining, and Task Mining.

Additionally, some of them are developing pre-built automation resources that incorporate these diverse technologies to use right now.

Aspirants

The Aspirants of Everest Group’s RPA PEAK Matrix®, 2022 are ElectroNeek, HyperCAP, qBotica Qruize, and SAIO.

Aspirants concentrate on a specific use case, sector, or region. They generally set themselves apart from other, more established companies by making their platform flexible. Flexibility ensures that their IT and BP service partners may develop unique solutions to match the needs of businesses.

The main focus areas of Aspirants are –

1. Making the platform user-friendly for customers.
2. Forming alliances with SIs and service providers to broaden their reach and improve support.
3. Improving some of the fundamental RPA functionalities like robot design and development.
4. Control and monitoring, security and governance.

A summary of the competitive RPA landscape according to the RPA PEAK Matrix®, 2022 by Everest Group

• Automation Anywhere, UiPath, and SS&C Blue Prism are still at the top in revenue from software. The growth observed in smaller companies indicates the presence of a substantial market for RPA technology.
• Regarding the number of RPA clients, automation Anywhere, IBM, Laiye, Microsoft, SAP, SS&C Blue Prism, and UiPath are at the forefront.
• In 2021, the number of RPA clients increased by over 100% YoY for Cyclone Robotics, Laiye, and OpenBots.
• In the majority of industrial verticals, UiPath has the largest market share.
• In addition to automation Anywhere, SS&C Blue Prism, NICE, and Pega are among the leading vendors with sizable market shares in several industrial verticals.
• SS&C Blue Prism has the most significant market share by revenue in process areas relevant to the banking and insurance industries. At the same time, UiPath dominates in areas like F&A, contact centers, procurement, and HR.
• In the regions of North America, Continental Europe, and APAC, UiPath has become the market leader.
• In LATAM and MEA, Automation Anywhere is the market leader, with SS&C Blue Prism, NICE, and Microsoft rounding out the top five globally.

You can access the report here.