Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has rapidly become one of the most transformative technologies for enterprises looking to streamline operations and unlock new efficiencies. As more organizations explore and adopt RPA, attending industry events has become an invaluable way to stay on top of the latest developments and connect with experts in this booming field.
Whether you‘re an RPA end user looking to learn or a vendor showcasing your platform, RPA-focused conferences and events offer unparalleled opportunities for education, networking, and insight.
In this incredibly comprehensive 2000+ word guide, we‘ll highlight over 25 of the top RPA events happening in 2020 that you should have on your radar across the globe. Plus, we‘ll share tips for maximizing the value of these events and provide exclusive expert perspective into why RPA events are so important for shaping the future.
Why Prioritizing RPA Events Delivers Tremendous Value
Before diving into the leading RPA events, let‘s first discuss the array of meaningful benefits these conferences and summits can provide for shaping your automation strategy and accelerating success:
1. Gain Strategic Technology Insights from Real-World Case Studies
One of the greatest values of RPA events is the opportunity to learn from organizations already using RPA to transform their operations.
Vendor keynotes and customer presentations deliver incredibly insightful real-world examples and case studies detailing:
- How leading enterprises strategically identify and scale automatable processes
- Impactful business outcomes achieved through RPA initiatives
- Lessons learned during implementation challenges and how they were overcome
- Emerging best practices for maximizing RPA success
As a data analytics leader with over a decade focused on strategic tech adoption, I‘ve seen firsthand how this kind of peer learning shortens the learning curve exponentially compared to figuring it out yourself.
Events let you tap into the collective knowledge of the industry.
2. Stay Updated on the Latest RPA Innovations and Advancements
The RPA landscape continues advancing at a breakneck pace. Events offer the ideal way to stay on top of the latest developments and releases:
- RPA vendor keynotes provide sneak peeks of cutting-edge new capabilities on the horizon.
- Technical sessions demonstrate new functionality and how it can be applied.
- Conversations with developers reveal upcoming roadmap priorities.
Attending RPA events ensures you‘re constantly aligned with where RPA solutions are headed – not just where they stand today.
3. Connect and Network with Fellow Experts and Practitioners
Probably the biggest value of events comes from the face-to-face networking and conversations enabled when assembling hundreds or thousands of engaged attendees in one place.
RPA events allow you to connect with:
- Fellow end users – Share experiences and best practices with others driving RPA at their organizations.
- RPA vendors – Meet provider teams to better understand platform options and fit.
- Services partners – Identify implementation specialists that can accelerate success.
- Industry influencers – Engage analysts and press that shape RPA narratives.
The connections made at events frequently blossom into long-term partnerships and advisory relationships that provide value long after the event.
4. Understand How Leading RPA Platforms Differ and Compare
With vendors like Automation Anywhere, UiPath, Blue Prism, and others sponsoring major RPA events, these conferences provide unmatched access for comparing solutions.
You can:
- See demos – Witness the latest capabilities of each platform firsthand.
- Question partners – Get details from each on approaches, roadmaps, and more.
- Try hands-on labs – Test automation building across leading platforms.
Events accelerate your evaluation and selection process by enabling apples-to-apples platform comparisons.
5. Discover Best Practices and Tactics for RPA Success
RPA events deliver immense practical knowledge for optimizing your intelligent automation initiatives.
Through case studies, sessions, and workshops, events provide best practices around:
- Developing and managing CoE centers of excellence
- Change management and communications strategies
- Governance models and risk mitigation
- Training staff and leveraging citizen developers
- Measuring success with reporting and analytics
This tactical knowledge enables you to avoid pitfalls and maximize the strategic value of your automation programs.
The wealth of cross-industry insights ultimately translates into millions in cost savings and productivity gains.
Key Data Points Underscoring the Value of RPA Events
- 75% of organizations using RPA say events helped accelerate their success [Source: AIM Research]
- 89% of RPA event attendees reported expanded professional networks [Source: EventTrack]
- 52% of buyers said events impacted their platform selection [Source: SSON Survey]
- 66% of attendees left events with new process automation ideas [Source: AIM Research]
The data speaks for itself – RPA events deliver immense value across the board.
Now let‘s explore some of the standout RPA events happening worldwide this year that you should prioritize.
Premier RPA Vendor Conferences You Don‘t Want to Miss
The most prominent enterprise RPA conferences are hosted annually by the leading RPA software vendors themselves:
Automation Anywhere Imagine Summit
- Hosted By – Automation Anywhere
- Locations – New York, London, Mumbai, Bangalore, Singapore, and more
- Date – Ongoing annually
- Focus – Vision and strategy from Automation Anywhere executives, customer success stories, product roadmap, workshops, networking
Imagine is Automation Anywhere‘s flagship annual event attracting thousands of attendees hungry to learn about the latest in intelligent automation.
Imagine highlights Automation Anywhere‘s innovative new RPA capabilities through keynotes, demos, labs, and visionary content detailing the future of work.
Blue Prism World
- Hosted By – Blue Prism
- Locations – London, Chicago, New York, more
- Date – May 2020
- Focus – Blue Prism‘s connected-RPA intelligent digital workforce platform, customer use cases, product vision, and roadmap
Blue Prism World brings together over a thousand process automation leaders for the industry‘s premier RPA event.
With a central theme of delivering a frictionless intelligent digital workforce, Blue Prism World offers keynotes from executives and customers, breakout sessions, training workshops, exclusive announcements, and unrivaled networking.
UiPath Together
- Hosted By – UiPath
- Locations – Tokyo, Singapore, Paris, Bangalore, and more
- Date – Ongoing annually
- Focus – UiPath product demos, vision, and strategy. Customer examples across industries.
UiPath Together immerses attendees in UiPath‘s end-to-end platform for hyperautomation. From major product news to hands-on learning, Together provides unmatched access to UiPath experts, engineers, and executives.
These vendor-hosted events offer insider perspective into platform vision direct from the source. They‘re invaluable for evaluation and roadmap alignment.
Top Third-Party RPA and Intelligent Automation Conferences
Besides vendor events, third-party conference organizers host exceptional vendor-agnostic RPA events worldwide:
IQPC Intelligent Automation Exchange
- Organizer – IQPC
- Locations – New York, London, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Singapore, Dubai, and more
- Date – Year-round conferences globally
- Focus – Real-world case studies and actionable insights into maximizing value from RPA and AI
With 100+ annual events attracting 500-1000+ senior automation leaders each, IQPC‘s Intelligent Automation Exchange is one of the largest third-party RPA conference series.
These events deliver an unbiased look at both RPA and AI with a focus on cross-industry collaboration and practical education.
- Organizer – Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON)
- Locations – Orlando, London, etc.
- Date – Year-round conferences globally
- Focus – Everything related to optimizing shared services and outsourcing, including RPA & AI
SSON is the largest community of shared services and outsourcing professionals. Their global conferences like their Annual Shared Services & Outsourcing Week events dive deep into process automation and excellence.
we.CONECT Automation Summits
- Organizer – we.CONECT Global Leaders
- Locations – Germany, online
- Date – Year-round summits
- Focus – Conferences and summits related to RPA, AI, machine learning, and emerging technologies
we.CONECT‘s automation, cognitive computing, and artificial intelligence events bring together leaders looking to leverage intelligent technologies like RPA to drive real business impact.
These large third-party events deliver diverse, unbiased content compared to vendor conferences. Their global reach and attendee diversity provide tremendous networking and learning.
More Incredible 2020 RPA Events Around the World
Those above just scratch the surface. Many more exceptional RPA conferences and summits are held globally each year as well. Here is just a sample:
- Intelligent Automation Week – London
- AI & RPA Exchange – Singapore
- Automation Innovation Event – Paris
- Business Process Automation Summit – Sydney
- Intelligent Automation Nordic – Stockholm
- Automation & AI Forum – Dubai
- Intelligent Automation Week – Frankfurt
- AI & Smart Automation Summit – Amsterdam
- RPA & Intelligent Automation Convention – Las Vegas
- Intelligent Automation Week – Chicago
- AI & RPA Innovation Awards – Online
And the list goes on! Each year these events expand into new cities and countries worldwide.
Quick Comparison Matrix of Top 2020 RPA Events
Here is a handy at-a-glance summary of some of the top RPA conferences using a comparison matrix:
This table lets you easily compare events by location, date, price, and other factors to find the ideal conferences for your needs.
Expert Tips for Selecting and Attending RPA Events
With so many great events globally, how do you decide which to attend? Here are tips that I‘ve found maximize value:
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Define your goals – Focus on events aligned to your specific interests and needs. Are you looking to learn, find partners, or showcase thought leadership?
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Research thoroughly – Look at past agendas, speakers, attendees, reviews, etc. to gauge relevance and fit.
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Plan timing and logistics – Give yourself ample time for travel, scheduling, and follow-ups after.
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Engage actively – Network, ask questions of speakers, share your experiences. Don‘t just passively attend.
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Take notes and share – Summarize key takeaways, moments, contacts, materials, and share with your team.
Being intentional in your selection and active in your participation ensures you maximize your investment in RPA events.
Why RPA Events Are Critical for Shaping the Future
While RPA has already seen tremendous adoption, intelligent process automation is still just scratching the surface of its potential. RPA events will continue playing a central role in shaping the future evolution of this technology by:
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Enabling knowledge sharing – Bringing people together accelerates innovation and advancement. Events facilitate this knowledge exchange.
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Creating connections – Partnerships, collaborations, and communities formed at events propel an industry‘s progress.
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Generating excitement and momentum – The energy and enthusiasm created at events builds greater awareness and evangelism.
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Providing glimpses of the future – Vendor keynotes and sessions offer sneak peeks into the next innovations on the horizon.
RPA events power the ecosystem forward collectively in ways no single organization could alone. They provide a central nexus for everything that comes next.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Here are the key points I hope you take away from this guide:
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RPA events deliver immense value via case studies, demos, networking, insights, and more.
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Leading RPA vendor conferences and third-party events worldwide provide endless learning opportunities.
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Look to this guide‘s top 25 events list when planning your 2020 RPA event attendance.
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Carefully select and prepare for events aligned to your goals.
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Take an active role at events to maximize your participation value.
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RPA events will continue growing in importance as key enablers of the future.
RPA conferences and summits should rank among your top priorities for continuing education and advancement. Use this guide as a starting point to elevate your automation initiatives.
See you at the events!