Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is software that automates repetitive computer work by copying the way a person does it. The software, often called a bot, logs into applications, reads and types data, clicks through screens and moves information between systems, all by following a set of rules you define. No robotic arms, just a program working the same interface a human would.
A handy way to picture it: a new hire who is given a precise, written checklist for entering orders and follows it perfectly, all day, every day, without slips or fatigue. The big advantage over a normal integration is that RPA works on the surface of your existing software, so it can join up an old system that has no API to anything else. That makes it popular for connecting legacy tools that would otherwise be stuck on their own.
The flip side of that surface-level approach is maintenance. Because the bot relies on screens staying put, a vendor update that moves a field can quietly break it, so RPA usually needs more babysitting than a proper API link. A common rule of thumb is to use RPA as a bridge while a real integration is built, not as a forever solution.
The work is split among individual workers. Each RPA bot runs a specific process, and many can run side by side. RPA shines on rule-based, high-volume tasks and struggles with anything that needs real judgement, where you would add AI on top. A clean test for fit: if you can write the steps as a numbered list with no “it depends”, it is probably a good RPA candidate.
At TopDevs we use RPA to bridge systems that cannot talk to each other directly, taking the manual copy-paste off your team’s plate.
