Other RPA Challenges
| RPA Challenges for Organisations | RPA Challenges – People, Culture and Change Management |
| RPA Challenges – Security, Compliance and Governance | RPA Challenges – Digital Transformation |
What Technical Skills do organisations need to implement RPA?
When considering which technical skills are required for RPA in small companies, it is important to understand that small companies don’t need deep programming expertise to use RPA, but a few practical technical skills make adoption much smoother.
The following skills will help:
- basic process‑mapping ability
- an understanding of how their existing software behaves,
- familiarity with low‑code or no‑code automation tools. Knowing how to handle simple data tasks—like working with spreadsheets, forms, or system inputs—also helps.
As RPA expands in the organisation, the following skills will be useful:
- Troubleshooting,
- Exception handling
but most SMEs succeed by developing a small group of “automation‑savvy” staff rather than hiring specialist developers.
How Organisations including Small and Medium Enterprises can manage RPA bot maintenance
Organisations including SMEs can manage RPA bot maintenance effectively by keeping processes well‑documented, monitoring automations regularly, and assigning clear ownership for updates and issue resolution. Because small businesses often have limited technical resources, simple routines—such as weekly performance checks, exception reviews, and prompt fixes when systems change—help keep bots stable. Using standardised templates, version control, and a lightweight governance structure also reduces errors. As automation grows, SMEs benefit from training internal “automation champions” who can handle minor adjustments and ensure bots continue delivering value over time.
Why do RPA bots fail in small organizations?
Bots can fail in any size organization, but failure can be prevented by thorough testing of the bots in the development environment before going live. Failure In the live environment can usually be due to changes in the screens of the system the automation is interacting with, therefore RPA can be less suitable interacting with systems which frequently change, or if planned changes are scheduled it is important to know in advance and ensure the automation is updated.
This reason for failure can also be a positive reason why RPA is ideal for old legacy systems which are not planned to be updated, or replaced, these systems usually run from the typical RPA suitable processes repetitive and rules based, which are often slow running systems which are taking up valuable employee resource but add no business benefit, making them ideal RPA candidates.
Problems with scaling RPA in Organisations including small organizations
Small organisations often run into similar problems when trying to scale RPA, and most of them come down to limited structure and inconsistent processes. Many SMEs automate a few tasks successfully but struggle to expand because their workflows aren’t standardised, making bots unreliable as volume grows. Others depend on a single “automation champion,” so knowledge becomes a bottleneck and maintenance slows down. Legacy systems, frequent process changes, and a lack of monitoring tools can also cause bots to break more often as automation increases. Without lightweight governance, documentation, and clear ownership, scaling RPA becomes difficult even when early pilots worked well.
RPA failures caused by poor process standardization
RPA failures caused by poor process standardization are well‑documented, and they typically occur when businesses try to automate workflows that are inconsistent, highly variable, or full of exceptions. Industry analysis notes that many stalled or underperforming RPA initiatives stem from automating processes that are not clearly defined or that change frequently, making bots unstable and prone to errors. One source highlights that automating the wrong, non‑standardized processes—especially those with over 40% exceptions—often leads to rapid bot failure because such workflows require human judgment and lack the consistency RPA depends on.
How can SMEs maintain and scale their RPA solutions
To maintain and scale RPA successfully, SMEs need simple governance practices, regular monitoring, and a clear owner responsible for updates when processes change. Starting with small pilots, documenting each automation, and reviewing performance metrics helps ensure bots remain reliable over time. As confidence grows, SMEs can expand automation gradually, reusing components, improving standards, and training staff so the organisation builds internal capability rather than relying solely on external support.
How difficult is it to integrate RPA with legacy systems in small businesses?
SMEs face rpa legacy system integration challenges because older platforms often lack modern APIs or consistent data structures. This forces automation tools to rely on workarounds like screen scraping, which can be fragile and prone to errors. Legacy systems may also have limited documentation, making it harder to understand how processes behave. When combined with outdated hardware, security constraints, or minimal IT support, the integration effort becomes more complex and time‑consuming than many SMEs expect.
This doesn’t mean that it is impossible to connect rpa with outdated software. Process experts can provide important knowledge and information in making the rpa possible. RPA capabilities can write to system fields, click buttons and generally complete any system interactions, so possibly some more important factors to look at when considering is RPA a good solution for automating legacy system workflows? could be around how long is they system planned to remain in use and is there sufficient knowledge within the team which use it, knowing about its issues and workarounds, which will enable a more efficient transfer of the process to the automation.
RPA Technical Issues – Frequently Asked Questions.
Can RPA work with outdated or legacy software?
RPA can work well with legacy or outdated software because it interacts with systems through the user interface rather than relying on modern APIs.
Do legacy systems limit the effectiveness of RPA?
RPA systems do not limit the effectiveness of RPA, as these systems are often no longer updated or replaced, meaning that RPA can be a good solution for automating legacy system workflows and ideal candidates for a RPA automation. The only possible downside is that these legacy systems often run slowly, but this doesn’t cause an issue as bots can be programmed to wait a certain time length for a page to open or field or menu item to appear, when this information is common knowledge to the people regularly running the process.
How suitable is RPA for older systems without APIs?
RPA is a great alternative for older systems without APIs and can do a similar job. An API can update high volumes of information in numerous fields, however, RPA can also do this but also is able to apply logic and follow various process paths and is therefore to work high volume of work requests but work them all as a human would on a case-by-case basis.
What challenges arise when using RPA with outdated applications?
However, Legacy applications can introduce challenges such as slow performance, inconsistent screen layouts, pop‑ups, or system instability, all of which may cause bots to fail.
How does RPA handle old software that lacks integration options?
This makes it a practical option for automating older workflows. While RPA is often an effective workaround when integration options are limited, its reliability depends on how stable the old system is.
What are the automation options for old or unsupported software?
Some of the best RPA tools for legacy system automation is offered by the leading RPA tools such as UiPath, Automation Anywhere, and Blue Prism are designed to handle legacy environments well.
RPA effective for legacy system workflows?
RPA is often a strong fit for companies using outdated technology because it can automate tasks without needing APIs.
How does RPA work with old desktop applications?
RPA interacts with old desktop applications through the user interface just like a human user. This makes it compatible with outdated or unsupported business software and a practical option for companies still relying on older technology.
What are the RPA limitations when dealing with outdated platforms?
outdated platforms can introduce limitations, including slow performance, inconsistent screens, and higher bot‑failure rates. While traditional integration is more stable when available, RPA offers a flexible, low‑disruption way to automate processes in old systems when deeper integration isn’t possible.