“It’s very clear that the age of automation is here,” said Dave Vellante, co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the UiPath Forward event in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Machines have always replaced humans … but this is the first time in history that machines are replacing humans with cognitive tasks.”

Vellante and theCUBE co-host Rebecca Knight discussed the keynote speakers during the first day of UiPath Forward, UiPath Inc.’s rise to the top of the robotic process automation market and its chances of staying there (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

Is RPA transformative or a step function?

RPA sits on the second rung of the ladder toward fully cognitive artificial intelligence. It doesn’t require human intervention, but it is still driven by process rather than data. This makes it the ideal tool for automating repetitive tasks, such as data entry, that have always been the curse of the workplace.

“From that standpoint I think it is real and it is unique,” Vellante said. ”[But] the big question is how much of this is transformational and is it really a path to AI?”

UiPath has been on a rapid rise, from $25 million annual recurring revenue in 2017 to a projected $300 million this year, according to Vellante. Part of this is the result of the current hype around the RPA market, with investors rushing to be part of what could be the next transformational wave.

The company is currently pulling ahead of competitors Automation Anywhere Inc. and the Blue Prism Group PLC, but with big names such as Microsoft Corp, Google LLC, and even SAP SE joining the RPA race, UiPath’s market leadership position will be challenged.

“Will UiPath be able to maintain its competitive position as these very established and frankly very smart companies move into this area?” Knight asked.

UiPath has been making small moves into mergers and acquisitions. “But it’s all about how can they transform from this little startup to this major player that can compete with the Microsofts and the SAPs and the big whales of the world,” Vellante said.

Is there an IPO in UiPath’s future?

Noting the number of bankers “sniffing around” at UiPath Forward, Vellante hinted that there may be “some kind of IPO on the horizon.” That would benefit the company in its battle against “the big guys,” he added.

“UiPath’s advantage is its simplicity,” Vellante said. “They want to move fast, they believe in openness and they believe in transparency. I think those things work in today’s marketplace.”

Comparing UiPath to the early days of customer relationship management giant Salesforce Inc., Vellante pointed out that transformation doesn’t have to be exciting. “[Salesforce] made IT better, which is kind of boring,” he said. “But having good IT where you’re not constantly down and you’re not complaining … can be somewhat transformative.”

RPA usually automates existing processes, warts and all, rather than redesigning from the ground up, Knight pointed out. “The question is should we actually think about redesigning the process itself rather than automating the flawed process?” she asked.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Vellante said. “Process redesign is a heavy lift, and I don’t have to do a heavy lift if I can improve what I’m doing today.”

As to whether UiPath will be able to “cross the strategic chasm” to become an enterprise-scale platform for automation and AI? “I don’t have the crystal ball on that,” Vellante said. “But I think there’s a decent opportunity given that there’s enough attention on this business right now that it could be transformative.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of UiPath Forward. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for UiPath Forward. Neither UiPath, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: UiPath