EY, Capgemini and KPMG named top RPA services providers on the planet

In the first study of its kind, consultancies EY, Capgemini and KPMG have been named the top three Robotic Process Automation services providers worldwide.

In a study of the current RPA (Robotic Process Automation) landscape undertaken by one of the world’s leading research and analysis firms HfS, the global consultancies EY, Capgemini and KPMG have been determined to be the world’s leading RPA service providers – with HfS assessing 29 providers worldwide on their ability to execute, innovation capabilities, and direct customer feedback.

For the study, HfS adopted the standardised Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ definition of RPA, given, somewhat rather robotically, as “a preconfigured software instance that uses business rules and predefined activity choreography to complete the autonomous execution of a combination of processes, activities, transactions, and tasks in one or more unrelated software systems to deliver a result or service with human exception management.”

While not as glamourous as the popular imagination of a cheery mailroom robot, the primary motivation behind RPA implementation is to enhance efficiency and productivity with respect to repetitive, time-consuming tasks, thereby freeing the human brain to concentrate on tasks where it’s most needed. RPA service providers are those enterprises which aid in the planning, implementation, management and optimisation of RPA systems.

After a rigorous market analysis, and granting equal weight to execution – depth and breadth of offering, scale, delivery of value – innovation – RPA strategy & roadmap, process transformation, tech innovation – and customer satisfaction, sourced through surveys, reference checks, etc., Hfs has ultimately crowned Ernst & Young as the current overall world-leading RPA service provider, closely followed by Capgemini and KPMG. “We are pleased with this recognition as a reflection of the EY focus and commitment to provide high-impact, transformative services to EY clients,” said Dan Higgins, EY’s Global Technology Consulting Leader, Advisory. “We are committed to further invest in truly intelligent automation solutions that have the potential to bring together and leverage the convergence of emerging technologies and help maximise value for clients.”

When broken down further, EY also topped the analysis sub-categories in scale, technology innovation and focus on business outcomes and process transformation. Accenture, meanwhile, which placed fifth overall, led the way in depth and breadth of offerings and RPA strategy and roadmap, while placing second behind EY in scale and technology innovation. Other catergory leaders were RPA pure-play specialists Symphony for delivery of value, and process management firm WNS for customer satisfaction.

Second and third placed Capgemini and KPMG on the other hand were consistent performers across the categories, with KPMG in particular assessed as the second-leading provider for depth and breadth of offerings, delivery of value, and the firm’s focus on business outcomes/process transformation – exhibiting “a strong mix of service-execution excellence, applied innovation and vision, and verified customer satisfaction,” according to the report authors.

Meanwhile, against a back-drop of what the analysts consider to be ‘squarely mediocre’ enterprise satisfaction with RPA engagements to date, with the average customer satisfaction score given as just 77 out of 100 (the scores lower than are typically given for the same firms in other areas), HfS writes of Capgemini; “as enterprises strive for scale and return on investment in the face of continued hype around ease of use and quick wins, Capgemini’s ability to perform well in all three assessment categories speaks volumes about its ability to manage expectations and deliver value to its customers.”

Asia, and in particular Singapore, has become the world’s epicenter for digital innovation – with,  among an almost endless stream of other leading multinational tech and manufacturing firms, a host of global consulting firms setting up dedicated innovation centres in the region. Among them are EY’s wavespace centres in Shanghai, Singapore and now Hong Kong, and Capgemini’s Applied Innovation Exchange and KPMG’s pioneering Digital Village in Singapore. Accenture, too, hosts a Digital Innovation Hub in Singapore, with another recently launched in China.