The Risks of Using Robot Process Automation for Property Management Software Integrations

All articles

Introduction

As businesses strive to automate their repetitive tasks and streamline business operations, the use of robot process automation (RPA) has become increasingly popular. However, using RPA to generate an integration might not be the best option, and here's why.

Issues with Robot Process Automation

To begin with, many websites and software applications expressly prohibit the use of "software robots" like RPA, as this can overload their servers and jeopardize the security of their data. Additionally, using RPA to access these platforms may be considered unauthorized access, which is illegal in many areas.

Moreover, RPA can be less reliable and less scalable compared to other integration methods. Since it uses screen-scraping techniques that replicate manual processes to extract data, changes in the layout or functionality of the target platform may result in errors and inconsistencies. Scaling RPA may also be challenging, as each robot instance requires its own computing resources, and it may not handle large volumes of data. Unreliable integrations based on RPA can result in a bad customer experience, and may actually increase your operational costs, despite the absence of "human errors."

Additionally, maintaining RPA robots can be time-consuming and have high operating costs. Since RPA relies on screen-scraping techniques, any changes to the target platform's layout or functionality can require updates to the robot's code.

Why Propexo Works Better Than RPA

Fortunately, there are better alternatives to RPA for generating integrations, such as Propexo. Our platform provides a unified interface for accessing multiple property management software APIs, eliminating the need to create and maintain custom integrations for each platform, which can be time-consuming and costly.

Propexo offers several advantages over RPA when it comes to generating integrations:

  1. Reliability: Since Propexo is designed to work with specific APIs, it is more reliable than RPA when it comes to extracting data from these sources. Propexo is also less likely to be affected by changes to the target platform's layout or functionality, as it is specifically built to work with the API.
  2. Scalability: Propexo is more scalable than RPA, as it is designed to handle large volumes of data from multiple sources. This means that as your business grows, Propexo will be able to keep up with your increasing data needs, while RPA will struggle to keep up.
  3. Ease of use: Propexo provides a standardized interface for accessing data from multiple sources, making it much easier to use than RPA. It also offers additional tools, such as reporting & webhooks, that can make it easier to analyze and understand your data.
  4. Cost-effectiveness: Since Propexo provides a pre-built interface for accessing multiple APIs, it is much more cost-effective than building custom RPA integrations for each individual platform. This is especially true if you need to integrate with multiple platforms, as Propexo can simplify the process and save you time and money.
  5. Compliance: Unlike RPA, which may violate the terms of service for many websites and software applications, Propexo is designed to comply with API providers' terms and conditions. 

Conclusion

Overall, while RPA can be useful in some contexts, Propexo offers a more reliable, scalable, and cost-effective approach to generating integrations. It is also easier to use and less likely to cause compliance issues, making Propexo the best choice.

Get in touch with us