Proximus NXT and KPMG Bring RPA Within Reach of All Companies

Proximus NXT has partnered with KPMG to offer businesses a unique and comprehensive Robotic Process Automation (RPA) service, enabling them to reap its benefits regardless of their size or the maturity level of their processes.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a particularly relevant approach for taking a first step toward implementing a digital transformation strategy. It involves using software or “robots” to perform tasks previously carried out by humans more quickly, without interruption, and without errors. Delivered as a service, RPA promises to deliver results aligned with expectations, without bearing the burden of governance, risk management, compliance, and security constraints.

An End-to-End RPA Service

The shared objective of Proximus NXT and KPMG is to help organizations successfully complete the first phase of their digital transformation by enabling them to automate their business processes quickly and efficiently.

In this context, Proximus NXT provides RPA “as-a-service,” meaning a complete service that includes infrastructure requirements, configuration, development with the necessary expertise, and the underlying technologies required to execute automated tasks. These are managed from Proximus NXT data centers by a new digital workforce deployed at the client’s site: the robot.

KPMG, in turn, contributes its proven expertise in strategic business consulting on digitalization topics, as well as its extensive experience in deploying and implementing robotic solutions for many clients in Luxembourg.

This first step toward digitalization enables significant cost reductions while increasing employee satisfaction, as staff can focus on handling exceptions and, above all, on higher-value activities.

RPA enables seamless interoperability between heterogeneous systems (web platforms, file servers, databases, etc.), allowing data extraction, comparison, manipulation, and processing of all types of technical and financial data, as well as automatic completion and sending of documents.

A Virtuous Dynamic

The RPA-as-a-Service solution offered by Proximus NXT has the potential to trigger a virtuous cycle of gradual process automation.

“RPA projects often act as accelerators, opening the door to many other opportunities. They lead clients to review additional processes in order to further optimize efficiency, reduce costs, and adopt a true strategic digital transformation approach,” explains Benoît Delobbe, Head of Business Consulting at Proximus NXT.

“Many existing business processes can benefit from digitalization and avoid the necessary but time-consuming corrections, adjustments, and updates,” he adds.

“RPA is often considered the first step in an intelligent automation journey. However, we have observed that moving from a few automated processes in production to a highly automated enterprise can be significantly more complex. Beyond governance aspects, which are also very important, it is essential to be able to scale quickly with this technology. RPA-as-a-Service generally allows companies to overcome challenges related to individual licensing costs and bot allocation optimization, and instead pay based on usage according to their current needs,” explains Julien Baudouin, Senior Manager in charge of digital transformation topics at KPMG.

Three Service Models

The Proximus NXT RPA offering is available in three models.

The first enables on-premises deployment within the company’s own infrastructure: supported by KPMG, Proximus NXT provides initial consulting, supplies and installs the necessary software licenses, develops and integrates the solution, and finally trains users.

The second model—Hosted in Proximus NXT Datacenters, applies to companies whose infrastructures are managed and operated in the Proximus NXT cloud, with additional business process automation capabilities.

The third approach is an RPA-as-a-Service solution. This is a hybrid model in which the core solution runs in Proximus NXT data centers while the robot is deployed within the company’s infrastructure. Proximus NXT provides consulting services, installs, configures, and develops the robot, and opens and secures the network so that the robot can communicate with the data center. With this model, clients benefit from management, security, and 24/7 monitoring services.

“Proximus NXT thus enables companies that do not have sufficient critical mass to benefit from a turnkey RPA solution that is easy to implement, agile, and flexible, helping them address specific challenges and allowing their teams to focus on higher-value activities,” emphasizes Philippe Bonbled, Business Consultant at Proximus NXT.

Preparing Today for Tomorrow

The impact of an RPA solution on a company’s operations and competitive positioning is significant in several ways: economic value, skills and talent management, quality and control improvements, and agility gains that benefit the entire organization.

According to Gartner, RPA solutions play an increasingly critical role in digital transformation and the dematerialization of business processes. The firm estimates that the RPA market grew by 19.5% in 2021 compared to 2020, reaching two billion dollars. Despite the economic pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the market is expected to continue growing at a double-digit rate at least until 2024.

As companies increase their level of automation, they will continue to improve their experience in this field, and new RPA applications will emerge. This will enable them to establish lasting changes and maintain their competitive advantage. In other words, RPA helps companies prepare today to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

[1] Forecast Analysis: Robotic Process Automation Worldwide, Gartner, September 2020