These are some excellent points. I think the big takeaway here is that RPA isn't what it used to be, and the rapid changes in this space help explain why RPA is

These are some excellent points. I think the big takeaway here is that RPA isn't what it used to be, and the rapid changes in this space help explain why RPA is gaining traction (seemingly inexplicably, if one still assumes that RPA = screen scraping mainframes). RPA products are increasingly becoming integration products. For example, and vendors like UiPath increasingly provide native API integration capabilities where possible. I've even seen integration products that formerly would have fit into the "iPaaS" space market themselves as RPA solutions, even though they are primarily providing what is essentially an API abstraction layer, and they have no roots in "true" RPA. I think this is happening due to the hype around RPA, and how effective the terminology is with the target audience. I agree that "traditional" RPA is already a legacy solution, but at the same time, RPA vendors are rapidly pivoting to support API integrations (see UiPath's recent acquisition of Cloud Elements). I hate the muddiness, but I've also had to take a step back and re-orient how I think/talk about RPA products due to how quickly the space has evolved. Source: Also work in the RPA and Integration Platform space, primarily on the Product Management side.