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The Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) announced today that it has launched the country’s first public sector, end-to-end service offering of robotic process automation (RPA). The first-of-its kind RPA service offering, powered by industry partner UiPath, opens expanded potential for efficient and modernized processes across a wide range of essential statewide operations. 

The innovative technology provides automation of repeatable, manual business processes to ensure accurate results and optimized time, human effort, and technical resources. Using customized code, RPA can complete tasks and processes automatically to allow for Virginia’s public servants in the executive branch to redirect their time and efforts to other higher-valued work.   

“VITA is committed to delivering sustainable and effective results to our customers through innovative, efficient and secure services,” said Nelson Moe, Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth. “Our RPA service offering will enable employees across the entire executive branch to save thousands of hours of time that can now be directed toward strategic work and provide our customer agencies with opportunities to realize maximum returns on the public’s investment while innovating for the future.” 

With the service now launched into VITA’s enterprise portfolio of services, 65 agencies can now benefit from exponential, compounding benefits both immediately and over time.  

The VITA team conducted market research and pilot projects to meet customer agencies’ growing business needs, starting with its own internal financial system and expanding to partner with other state agencies to respond to needs prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. VITA’s financial system pilot, which focused on running financial reports on agency invoices, yielded successful results. With a small investment of 16 business hours to write the customized script, the team immediately realized the results of 100% accuracy and the ability to retroactively check previous financial reports. The team will save hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars in just the first year of deployment.  

“Together with our partners at UiPath, the VITA team conceived and developed this innovative service offering. I’m both proud of and grateful to VITA Deputy Chief Operating Officer Demetrias Rodgers and VITA Enterprise Services Manager Jamey Stone for their leadership and collaboration,” said VITA’s Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Ozovek. 

The RPA service was expanded to assist the Virginia Department of Health as it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year. In the pilot program, VDH is working with the tool to digitally transform paper health lab reports received from providers across the Commonwealth into electronic forms, with a goal of workflow improvements.  

“During this pandemic, access to data has been critical as we made decisions to protect the health of Virginians and to prevent spread of disease,” said State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, M.D., M.A. “Technology that speeds up and improves our access to data allows us to make public health recommendations that reflect changing circumstances.” 

“The VITA RPA service offering is a true example of innovation in action that will create real-world, positive outcomes for all residents of Virginia,” said Jim Walker, Chief Technology Officer and Public Sector Evangelist at UiPath. “It is a model approach in making RPA accessible and immediately impactful in many different areas of state government. We’re proud to be Virginia’s trusted partner in implementing automation and accelerating its digital transformation.” 

Along with the service, the VITA team is launching an RPA Center for Excellence, which offers valuable training opportunities, builds a network of partners across the enterprise, and develops a library of RPA code to deploy and customize for individual agencies’ needs.