Robotic Process Automation (RPA) first emerged in early 2000s with UiPath, Blue Prism, and Automation Anywhere releasing their products and libraries around 2003. RPA started as a way to reduce outsourcing costs, with business leaders finding new revenues to automate in each industry, such as finance, healthcare, and HR.
The RPA market revenue was $1.4 billion in 2019 and was estimated to reach $1.8B in 2021. Continuous developments in AI and Machine Learning (ML) will amplify RPA power to tackle sophisticated tasks such as pattern recognition and decision making in cognitive automation.
We reviewed RPA market statistics in detail in our article 44 RPA Statistics from Surveys/ Studies: Market Size, Adoption. In this article you will find information about:
Top RPA Vendors in the Market
There are currently more than 80 RPA vendors globally with most of Fortune 500 using RPA software. For example, UiPath claims that 8 out of Fortune 10 use their software.
The market is quite concentrated. We looked at how many times each RPA company is searched on Google with its brand name. >75% of search engine users are searching for the names of just top 3 players: UiPath, Automation Anywhere and BluePrism. Similarly, these players lead the pack in terms the funding they raised. According to our comprehensive list of RPA vendors, these three companies have the highest ratings and market presence.
Other analysts’ view of the market
Older industry analysts also rank RPA vendors. They are opaque in how they rank companies and use jargon that can not be measured objectively like “Strength of strategy” to rank companies. But given their historical reach, their reports are still valued by vendors so we also took a look at their rankings:
Gartner MQ RPA from 2021
Forrester Wave RPA from 2021
Everest Peak RPA from 2021
List of RPA vendors
Here, leading RPA companies are sorted by their year of founding
1. Blue Prism
Blue Prism (Acquired by SS&C in 2022 Q1) is the oldest RPA vendor, founded in 2001. They claim to have coined the term “Robotic Process Automation” and they provide an intelligent automation platform that digitalizes workforce.
- Product: Intelligent RPA Platform
- Example Features:
- Load balancing, encryption, and audit
- Visual process designer, allowing the user to monitor data flow, and which tasks come next
- Free trial: None
- Prerequisites: Moderate level programming skills
- Companies using Blue Prism: Many enterprises
- Revenue: £141M in 2020 (Reuters)
- Market share: 8.4% in 2018 market (Gartner)
- Customer ratings: 4.4/5(AIMultiple)
Check our data-driven article on Blue Prism alternatives to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the tool.
2. Automation Anywhere
Automation Anywhere was founded in 2003, and currently provides a cognitive RPA platform to automate end-to-end business operations for companies. The most significant feature of Automation Anywhere software is the macro recorder which records the user performing the tasks and then makes logic out of it without the need for programming sequential actions.
- Products: Automation Anywhere Enterprise, IQ bot
- Software Key Features:
- IQ Bot: Built-in AI technologies (OCR, NLP, predictive analytics)
- Macro recorder, task scheduler, and single click web data extraction
- Free trial: 45 days for enterprises
- Prerequisites: Beginner level programming skills
- Companies using Automation Anywhere: Includes Deloitte, Dell, PwC, AT&T and Boston scientific
- Revenue: $375 million in 2020 (owler)
- Market share: 12.8% in 2018 (Gartner)
- Customer ratings: 4.5/5 (AIMultiple)
3. UiPath
UiPath was founded in 2005 and was ranked #2 in in the Financial Times FT1000 ranking of Americas’ fastest growing companies 2020. UiPath offers a scalable platform that can be integrated with existing company infrastructure. A key feature in UiPath software is the drag and drop which allows the user to create visual processes by dragging and dropping relevant activities onto the graphical workspace.
- Products: UiPath Enterprise RPA Platform
- Software Key Features:
- Macro recorder, workflow drag and drop, pre-built templates
- Built-in AI technologies (OCR, NLP)
- Free trial: 30 days for enterprises
- Prerequisites: Visual basics, no programming skills required
- Companies using UiPath: 8 out of Fortune 10. Includes Deloitte, Wells Fargo, DHL, Siemens, and Schneider electric.
- Revenue: $400 million in 2020 (Wikipedia)
- Market share: 13.6% in 2018 (Gartner)
- Customer ratings: 4.6/5 (AIMultiple)
4. WorkFusion
WorkFusion was founded in 2010 and was ranked #1 in innovation capability by HFS. WorkFusion provides enterprises with the only automation platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI). WorkFusion offers hyper automation solutions with pre-trained bots on processes such as anti-money laundering, account opening, and KYC.
- Products: WorkFusion Intelligent Automation Cloud
- Software Key Features:
- Macro recorder, pre-trained bots,
- Document intelligence: digitize, classify, make decisions, and extract data from unstructured data
- Workflow designer (combining machine learning, manual and bot tasks and other elements into complex automation workflows)
- Task designer (creates manual tasks for including the human-in-the-loop (HITL))
- Free trial: None
- Prerequisites: Beginner level programming skills
- Companies using WorkFusion: Includes Deutsche Bank, Scotia Bank, and Mckinsey & Co.
- Customer ratings: 4.3/5 (AIMultiple)
5. Softomotive WinAutomation
Softomotive was founded in 2005 and acquired by Microsoft in 2020 as part of Microsoft Power Automate. Softomotive provides an end-to-end intelligent RPA platform for enterprises.
- Products: WinAutomation
- Software Key Features:
- Macro recorder, pre-built processes, and workflow drag and drop
- Visual Editor
- Attended and unattended automation
- Bot Performance Analytics
- Free trial: 30 days for enterprise
- Prerequisites: Beginner level programming skills
- Companies using Softomotive: Includes J.P Morgan, Adobe, and Intel.
- Customer ratings: 4.4/5 (AIMultiple)
Which vendor is the most popular and why?
According to our article , there wasn’t any significant difference before 2017. However, UiPath is getting the most attention in RPA market searches.
For more on RPA
You can find everything you need to know about RPA software vendors, market presence, and insights, in our webpage RPA Software
To learn more about:
- RPA use cases and applications, read our article about Top 67 RPA Usecases / Applications/ Examples
- How to get training on RPA, read our article Top RPA Training Courses to Become an RPA Developer
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