RPA platform legacy modernization

The product is an RPA solution that provides both automation and additional, optional guidance for employees. By leveraging artificial intelligence, the solution reduces errors, increases quality of the information processed, improves speed and efficiency, and, accordingly, maximizes productivity.

Let’s say, the customer is using Excel spreadsheets to create monthly invoices:

• When the web application is opened, the solution triggers the guide mode
  – The user gets asked if guidance is wanted
  – The robot indicates necessary workflow steps to create the invoice
• When the new invoice is created, the solution triggers the automation mode
  – The users gets asked if they would prefer filling in order data by themselves or automatically
  – The robot loads required order data from the Excel spreadsheet into the web application
• When done, the user is instructed to save and send the invoice
• At the same time, the sensors are monitoring on-screen activity to ensure business rules are followed

Automation involves RPA robots, which are software programs that can automate repetitive, rule-based tasks. These interact with the user interface, precisely mimicking the actions of humans.

Robotic process automation robots work 24/7, do not get tired and are less prone to mistakes, which brings significant value for enterprises.

Backward compatibility

The product is implemented by enterprises that have numerous automations – with every new enhancement, we focused on maintaining backward compatibility to ensure seamless functionality even after system updates. We utilized a combination of a side-by-side approach where the new code includes so-called fallback options and custom migration tools.

Tight deadlines

The product is developed to use browser extensions to enable browser automation – we faced a challenge when Google announced that Manifest V2 browser extensions wouldn’t longer be working in about six months. The new security rules in the Manifest V3 have limited some capabilities, in particular DOM access and custom code injection.

Our team has worked with the customer support to upgrade enterprise customers right before the deadlines. Our engineers successfully implemented the changes and ensured the product remained functional despite the described constraints.

Product installation

Abto recognized that the utilized legacy product installer was causing significant issues to the customer support. It was based on outdated technologies, with numerous hardcoded forks and conflicting configuration files, requiring complete system uninstall and reinstall to upgrade.

We handled the challenge by adopting a more modern and flexible framework, Windows Installer XML (WIX), –  our engineers carefully identified dedicated forks for each product feature and migrated them piece-by-piece. We have also designed a new product installer to support partial installation and upgrade the workflows, providing smooth, user-friendly experience.

Citrix integration

The said legacy product was meant to support Citrix Virtual Desktop and Citrix Virtual Application scenarios. We involved C and .NET engineers to implement a custom Citrix ICA virtual channel, which provides a reliable, bi-directional connection with the Citrix servers.