5G and ultrafast broadband are currently trending subjects. With industry giants like Apple, Samsung and Nokia in control of the reigns on a global level, 5G and ultra-fast broadband are becoming a reality for many people. Smaller national service providers (like JIO in India and Chorus in New Zealand) are also coming up with innovative and groundbreaking deployment models. These vendors are aiming towards a complete transformation of communication and data transfer.
While 5G data on mobile devices is the buzz following the release of iPhone 12, 5G broadband (optic fiber internet) is also gradually gaining popularity in many regions. The demand for 5G broadband keeps increasing as people realize the potential it holds. The deployment of it, however, poses somewhat of a problem for Communication Service Providers (CSP).
What is 5G?
5G stands for 5th Generation technology of network provision. This technology can be accessed via mobile data and wired or wireless broadband connections. 5G promises greater bandwidth, higher download/upload, and streaming speeds.
5G also presents a revolutionary approach to the Internet of Things (IoT). Industry veterans believe 5G will allow the creation of a completely internally linked private network of devices. While this increases potential security threats (more on that later…), it also opens up a wide avenue of how people and businesses function.
The future of communications –
5G can –
- Deliver URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication)
- Deliver mMTC (Massive Machine-Type Communication)
- Enable SD-WAN (Software-Defined networking in a Wide Area Network)
- Enable MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing)
- Power IoT, private industry solutions, cloud connectivity, Device as a Service (DaaS)
- Increase reachability of AI (through IoT devices)
Where does Robotic Process Automation fit in?
Most CSPs currently use legacy documentation and architecture. While the traditional way of handling customers isn’t bad, it is definitely incapable of keeping up with the exponential growth that is currently occurring. The sheer volume of users today is enough to tire employees out before they even begin the tedious task of tackling the paperwork.
This is where RPA comes to the rescue. The digital workforce of bots put in place by organizations are accurate, swift, and efficient at managing the monotony of tasks. In fact, machine learning allows bots to become better at their job the longer they do it. They can take charge of migration to modern architectures, and most front/back-office tasks, freeing up workers for more skill-specific tasks.
The addition of more bots also solves the scalability problem – with human employees, each new worker has to be trained from scratch. On the other hand, new bots can be deployed without investing in the training period. Employing bots to do these tasks also helps reduce out-sourcing and in turn, proves to be extremely cost-effective.
The incorporation of bots in an adaptive architecture ensures that no disruption of exiting software is required. Most RPA solutions have enhanced integration capabilities and can be tied into a variety of other automation solutions. This means that RPA is non-intrusive and blends into an enterprise framework seamlessly.
Bots are also more adaptable to new workflows and contribute to automation in other spaces. For example, bots enable customer-centric automation – Automated customer assistants in the form of Chatbots and VCAs improve customer experience and ensure higher lead-conversion rates. This eventually results in higher revenues and active users for CSPs, bettering their performance in the marketplace. Simultaneously, Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) takes care of all the paperwork that comes with the addition of new users.
Additionally, automation in general, drives business intelligence, analytics, shorter processing times, shorter on-boarding times, and improved sales and marketing.
To summarize, RPA can –
- Handle high volume, repetitive tasks.
- Migrate information from legacy systems.
- Improve customer conversion and increase revenue.
- Eliminate siloed processes.
- Increase accuracy and cost-effectiveness.
- Transform customer handling and customer experience.
Lastly, what are the security threats we mentioned earlier?
As 5G becomes more accessible, it has been predicted that security concerns for users and distributors will increase manifold. This concern is specifically related to the IoT.
While progress in the LP-WAN (Low Power Wide Area Network), mMTC and URLLC fields make low-cost, high performance devices accessible to the masses, these devices increase to the number of nodes that can be attacked to paralyze communication networks. MEC stores data in localized centers and makes data tunnels shorter, but this data is then vulnerable to attacks. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) becomes a gigantic probability and CSPs have to craft technology that can curb attempts at such attacks. Security and threat control are therefore, also being automated using RPA.
All in all, process automation plays a significant role in the facilitation, deployment, and maintenance of new-age technology like 5G amongst many others. The future of IT lies in user-centric, employee friendly, and cost-effective advancements and automation is bound to contribute positively to each of these avenues.
