Cem has been the principal analyst at AIMultiple since 2017. AIMultiple informs hundreds of thousands of businesses (as per similarWeb) including 55% of Fortune 500 every month.
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Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.
He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.
Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
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Like all companies, yours probably relies on certain tasks and activities that don’t require a specialist’s attention. This means you can usually outsource or automate them.
If you have access to personnel who have experience working with RPA tools, you can set up a Center of Excellence and run most of your RPA projects. However, if you are not yet at that stage, or if you need additional manpower to help program automation in the process, RPA consulting can help you take full advantage of this powerful solution.
In this article, we explain what RPA consulting is, why it’s important, provide a list of the top 150 RPA consultants, and more.
RPA consulting, also called RPA implementation services, are services necessary to roll out end-to-end automation in your company’s processes.
RPA consultants offer all these services:
To offer these services, RPA consultants need to work closely with RPA technology providers. If you are working at an RPA consultant, explore our whitepaper covering cost-effective RPA tech for RPA consultants:
You can take all or some of the services of RPA consultants. The services you need will depend on a few factors:
After you have familiarized yourself with the ins and outs of RPA, you can consider these points to be the most crucial ones when it comes to the importance of RPA consulting.
Interest in RPA has risen and has stayed constant in the last 5 years (Figure 1). A reason why is that RPA has grown to become a realistic solution for companies of all sizes with repeatable processes.
Common RPA challenges, such as a lack of RPA-familiar workforce, have contributed to the rise of RPA consultants to step in and address the issues.
While organizations had to build in-house capabilities in the beginning, RPA now is part of the standard toolkit of most consultants and system integrators such as Big 4 professional services companies, Big 3 management consultancies, and system integrators such as Accenture.
RPA provides companies speed in automation because implementing it does not require vast IT infrastructure and constant oversight (see no-code/low-code RPA). Moreover, consultancies further increase implementation speed because they come with experience automating processes at numerous companies. They know the tools, the processes, and potential automation issues they will face so they proceed faster.
Now that you have a better understanding of why RPA consulting has recently become such a relevant service to so many companies, let’s talk about your business.
Here are four reasons you should consider hiring an RPA consultant.
The first is a simple but important point. Given how popular RPA has become in such a short period of time, there’s a good chance you and/or your CTO won’t have a strong grasp on how to successfully implement that.
You’re far from alone.
The fact that the demand for RPA consulting has grown so quickly speaks to how many people aren’t sure where to begin.
An RPA consultant will begin by first assessing the processes within your company that would benefit most from automation. They may even find some options that you otherwise wouldn’t have known about.
Next, they’ll explain the solutions they recommend for overhauling those processes with RPA.
Once you have decided which ones you wish to begin benefiting from, they’ll walk you through the implementation process.
Finally, they’ll execute the said process and then ensure you have ample time to ask any questions about them once they’re “live.”
Similarly, if you try to move forward without an expert, it will be easy to stumble upon RPA tools that appear to be good fits.
Unfortunately, it takes a lot of consideration to picking the best RPA tools. The right ones will depend on the industry you’re in and the unique aspects of your business.
In fact, a direct competitor may be better off picking a certain solution that wouldn’t work as well for your company.
A consultant will take the time to learn about the unique aspects of your organization so they can help you choose the right tools for it.
It would be costly and counterintuitive to increase your company’s headcount due to RPA initiatives. RPA is supposed to create a leaner and faster organization.
We touched on this earlier, but RPA consulting can be more affordable than hiring experts to join your company and oversee your robotic automation.
Unless you have an ongoing need to continuously build enterprise-level RPA deployments, hiring one or more people in a support capacity is going to be a waste of money. Your existing team members who work with consultants will acquire the necessary skills and act as your RPA Center of Excellence in upcoming projects in a part-time capacity.
It’s hard not to get excited about the benefits of RPA which we compiled using various sources.
Here are just a handful of common examples:
The sooner you begin enjoying these advantages, the sooner they’ll begin paying off – and the sooner you’ll start putting distance between your company and the competition.
RPA deployments can be complex as other sources also confirm. An RPA consultant will help you successfully navigate it so you begin enjoying the results sooner.
There are a few major alternatives to RPA consulting:
Especially for strategic accounts, RPA vendors provide extensive services. Since they own the technology stack of the RPA solution, they can be quicker to implement fundamental changes to RPA solutions vs. other consultants.
Companies like Accenture, Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro aim to resolve the IT problems of an enterprise. RPA is no different.
Most countries have local IT services leaders. They are expanding into RPA and starting partnerships with leading RPA vendors.
Riding the huge enthusiasm for RPA, these are startups focused on automation solutions.
RPA requires both understandings of technology and processes. Consultants have been working on processes for decades and some consultants are quite experienced in RPA as well.
McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and other major consultancies like Oliver Wyman have been working with enterprises to streamline and automate their processes for a long time. RPA is simply the next wave of automation and they will inevitably be working on RPA implementations. However, since they are the most expensive solution providers when it comes to RPA consulting, their involvement is likely going to be focused on identifying processes and managing implementation rather than actual RPA development.
This is mostly based on what I hear from RPA vendors. However, I also know numerous cases where large companies relied on cheaper service providers, got dissatisfied, and started working with MBB. So in the future, MBB could be providing end-to-end RPA services more regularly.
It is difficult to look into a services business without mentioning Big 4 accounting companies; EY, PwC, KPMG, Deloitte. They diversified well beyond accounting to become major service providers for most companies.
Most RPA vendors say that Big 4 and system integrators are their most important partners. Big 4 are attractive partners with their global coverage, competitive prices and extensive experience.
Service businesses depend on relationships and people so it is natural to find numerous niche consulting companies in any country. After all, it is not difficult to start a consulting business if you have good connections and are respected in your industry. In the case of RPA, process-focused consulting companies are especially interesting as their process expertise is quite valuable in RPA implementations.
If you’re sold on the value of RPA consulting services, the next step is actually hiring a qualified consultant. Make the right decision now and the entire process will be much simpler and – more importantly – successful.
Here are the top criteria to find the right RPA consultant for your business:
RPA consultants including RPA developers need to work with your team. Despite modern telepresence solutions, it is hard to completely replace face-to-face interactions. It is ineffective to leave people messages when you can just go to the location where the team is seated and have a quick discussion.
As we’ve already covered, RPA consulting is a burgeoning field, so you’ll have no lack of options. Look for consultants who have ample experience working with RPA, not the ones who are jumping on the bandwagon. You need more than just a developer or someone with programming experience (though that kind of background certainly doesn’t hurt).
At the same time, just because someone has RPA experience doesn’t mean they’ll know how to best serve your company. While any RPA consultant will need to begin by assessing your unique business, it will help if they understand your industry. Otherwise, they’ll need to spend a lot of time getting caught up or risk making costly assumptions. This kind of expertise will also help if the processes you wish to automate need to be further optimized first.
Where does your company need RPA? Will it be for the back office? For a call center? Ideally, you want a consultant who has already completed projects that helped with these specific areas.
It is easier to work with partners you already know. While this should not stop you from working with experienced RPA consultants, it could play a role in your final decision.
Finally, while case studies could also fall under any of the below categories, look for a consultant who can show examples of how they overcame past challenges. Creating RPA solutions and applying them can be difficult, even for the most talented professionals. Make sure you work with someone who is ready to overcome initial roadblocks.
This list only includes RPA companies that build other RPA vendors’ tools to deploy RPA solutions. Companies can also work directly with RPA vendors but in most cases, RPA companies prefer to leave implementation to partners. When RPA vendors implement RPA solutions, they tend to take on sizable clients like Fortune 500.
| Company | Geographic coverage | Automation Anywhere Partnership* | Blue Prism Partnership* | UiPath Partnership* | WorkFusion Partnership* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accelirate | Partner | ||||
| Accenture | Global | Partner | Certified Partner (Gold Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | Strategic Partner | |
| Acronotics | Partner | ||||
| actimai | Partner | ||||
| Aglify | North America | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | |||
| Alamato | Partner | ||||
| Arrow Digital | Partner | ||||
| Asterion | Partner | ||||
| ataway | Partner | ||||
| Atos | Global | Strategic Partner | |||
| Auro | North America | Partner | |||
| Avanade | Global | Certified Partner (Gold Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | Strategic Partner | ||
| Avasant | Partner | ||||
| AVO Consulting | Partner | ||||
| Ayesa | Partner | ||||
| BCG | Global | ||||
| Bits In Glass | Partner | ||||
| Bonitasoft | Partner | ||||
| Bosch | Partner | ||||
| BPM-D | Global | Strategic | |||
| Capgemini | Global | Partner | Certified Partner Silver Delivery Provider | Strategic Partner | Global Strategic |
| CGI | Partner | ||||
| CH&Co | Global | Global Strategic | |||
| Chazey Partners | Partner | ||||
| Cigen | Partner | ||||
| Cognizant | Global | Partner | Partner | Strategic Partner | Global Strategic |
| Comparex | Partner | ||||
| DCX.technology | Partner | ||||
| Deloitte | Global | Partner | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | Strategic Partner | Strategic |
| devoteam | Partner | ||||
| Differ | Scandinavia (Northern EU) | Partner | |||
| DigiBlu | South Africa | Partner | |||
| Digital Workforce | Scandinavia (Northern EU) | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider) | |||
| DiRWA | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider) | ||||
| Disys | Partner | ||||
| DXC Technology | Partner | ||||
| eClerx | Partner | ||||
| EPAM Systems | Global | Global Strategic | |||
| EPI-USE | Partner | ||||
| Everis | Partner | ||||
| Evolvous Limited | Canada | ||||
| Evry | Partner | ||||
| EXL | Global | Partner | Partner | ||
| Extra technology | Partner | ||||
| EY | Global | Partner | Certified Partner (Platinium Delivery Provider, Gold Capability Provider) | Strategic Partner | |
| firstsource | Partner | ||||
| FIS | Global | Strategic | |||
| Flobotics | United States | ||||
| Fujitsu | Partner | ||||
| Genfour | Partner | ||||
| Genpact | Partner | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider) | Strategic | ||
| Greenlight Consulting | Canada | ||||
| HCL Technologies | Global | Partner | Partner | Global Strategic | |
| Hexaware | Global | Partner | Partner | Strategic | |
| HGS Hinduja Global Solutions | Partner | ||||
| Hitachi | Partner | Partner | |||
| HPE Hewlett Packard Enterprise | Partner | ||||
| IBA Group | Europe (EU), Asia | Strategic | |||
| IBM | Global | Partner | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | Strategic Partner | |
| Implement Consulting Group | Scandinavia (Northern EU) | Partner | |||
| IN-RGY | Partner | ||||
| Incedo | North America India | Strategic | |||
| Infogain | Partner | ||||
| Infosys | Global | Partner | |||
| Innova | EMEA | ||||
| InnoWise | Partner | ||||
| Intersoft | Partner | ||||
| ISG (Information Services Group) | Global | Partner | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | ||
| ITC Infotech | Partner | ||||
| JKT | Partner | ||||
| KDDI Hong Kong | Partner | ||||
| KDDI Shanghai | Partner | ||||
| KGISL | Partner | ||||
| Koç Sistem | EMEA | ||||
| Korea Scoring | Partner | ||||
| KPMG | Global | Partner | Partner | ||
| LarcAI | Africa | Partner | |||
| Lateetud | Partner | ||||
| LTI | Global | Partner | Strategic | ||
| McKinsey | Global | ||||
| Mercer | Partner | ||||
| MindFields | Partner | ||||
| Mindtree | Partner | ||||
| Mphasis | Partner | ||||
| Navigant | Partner | ||||
| nBotix | Partner | ||||
| NCS | Partner | ||||
| NEOOPS | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | ||||
| Neuralify | Partner | ||||
| NEW Information Management | Partner | ||||
| NIIT | Partner | ||||
| NNIT | Partner | ||||
| Norian | Partner | ||||
| Novatio | United States | Partner | |||
| NSEIT | Partner | ||||
| NTT | Partner | ||||
| NTT DATA | Partner | ||||
| OT Consulting | Partner | ||||
| Persistent Systems | Partner | ||||
| Premier Logic | Partner | ||||
| Prodapt | Partner | Partner | |||
| Protiviti | Global | Partner | |||
| PureSoftware | Partner | ||||
| PwC | Global | Partner | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider) | Strategic Partner | Strategic |
| qBotica | Partner | ||||
| Quanton | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider) | ||||
| R Sytems | Partner | ||||
| Radiance | Partner | ||||
| Reveal Group | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | ||||
| RGP | Partner | ||||
| RMR Technology Solutions | Partner | ||||
| Robiquity | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider) | ||||
| RobonomicsAI | Australia | ||||
| Roboyo | Partner | ||||
| RPAi | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | ||||
| RPATech | Canada, India | ||||
| rrd | Partner | ||||
| Samlink | Partner | ||||
| Sapient Consulting | Partner | ||||
| SE2 | Partner | ||||
| Selir | Partner | ||||
| Servion | Partner | ||||
| SigmaRPA | Canada | ||||
| Smartbridge | United States | ||||
| SOFIGATE | Partner | ||||
| Solai & Cameron Technologies | Partner | ||||
| Sopra Asteria | Partner | ||||
| Sopra Steria | Partner | ||||
| Square One Technologies | Partner | ||||
| SV/SG Silicon Valley Software Group | Partner | ||||
| Symphony Ventures | Certified Partner (Gold Delivery Provider, Silver Capability Provider) | Partner | |||
| Symprio | |||||
| Tangentia | Canada, India | ||||
| Tata Communications | Partner | ||||
| Tata Consultancy Services | Global | Partner | Partner | Strategic Partner | Global Strategic |
| TeBS Total eBiz Solutions | Partner | ||||
| Tech Mahindra | Global | Partner | Partner | ||
| The Burnie Group | Partner | ||||
| Thirdware | Partner | ||||
| Thrive Automation | Canada | ||||
| Ultima | United Kingdom (UK) | ||||
| UniteBT | Turkey | ||||
| Valcon | Partner | ||||
| VANAD Group | Partner | ||||
| Vector ITC Group | Partner | Partner | |||
| Virtual Operations | Partner | Partner | |||
| VirtualAI | |||||
| Virtusa | Global | Partner | Partner | Global Strategic | |
| Visagio | Partner | ||||
| Vivans | South Korea | ||||
| Voyager Solutions | Partner | ||||
| Winformatics Solutions | Partner | ||||
| WiPro | Global | Partner | Partner | Strategic | |
| WNS | Partner | ||||
| WonderBotz LLP | Certified Partner (Silver Delivery Provider) | ||||
| Yash technologies | Partner | ||||
| Yates | Partner | ||||
| Zensar | Partner |
* These are publicly announced partnerships. We have seen service providers use RPA vendors’ solutions in their client engagements without having a public partnership agreement. The most common way to do this is to work with a subcontractor who is the official partner of the RPA vendor.
For a sortable / filterable version of this list, please see the comprehensive list of rpa consultants.
Some RPA vendors categorize their partners according to their volume of work or their capacity to provide advanced automation solutions.
Though they do not rely on this channel yet, RPA consultants could use RPA marketplaces to build their reputation in the RPA community and monetize their solutions.
Today mostly provides services to end users of automation, building customized solutions. A more scalable way for them to monetize their services and establish their credibility is through RPA marketplaces. They can build reusable RPA plugins to be used by companies that can make RPA bots more capable and reduce bot development time. Having a popular plugin in an RPA marketplace could also support their sales and marketing efforts as it provides a public data point supporting their mastery of RPA tools.
However, currently, we have not come across many plugins built by RPA consultants in UiPath Go which is one of the most popular RPA marketplaces. We have only come across 2 plugins, one built by Wipro and another built by Capgemini. We searched for Accenture and Tata Consulting Services but could not find plugins built by them. This may be due to multiple factors:
We will continue looking at this space. In the meanwhile, feel free to read our articles on reusable RPA plugins/bots and marketplaces to learn more.
Don’t make such an important decision unless you’re 100% confident moving forward.
If you want, we’d be more than happy to help. Our free short list of RPA vendors is a great place to start, but you can also compare tools through our data-driven lists of RPA software and consultants.
And for support from us:
