UiPath vs. Celonis vs. Kyp.ai: Get to Know the Leading Task Mining Tools

Let’s return to the groovy era and imagine ourselves in a typical office in the 1970s. Your employees probably punch a clock in the morning and out when they’re done. Then, you do multiple daily rounds, closely supervising their work. Each week, you sit down to review their work logs and notes detailing all activities performed and tasks completed.

These methods, while trust-based, made it challenging to obtain reliable data on employee activities. They were also heavily manual, involving a lot of effort on the employee’s and employer’s side while leaving plenty of room for error and omission.

Fortunately, today, task mining makes it possible to achieve 99% accuracy in tracking teamwork efficiently. The only question remains, “Which task-mining solution should I go for?”

In our two-article series, we’ll help you make the optimal choice by reviewing and comparing task mining tools like UiPath, Celonis, and Kyp.ai, and learning how to use them to support your teams better. Let’s begin by covering the basics of task mining and briefly looking at some leading solutions.

Task mining is a technology-driven approach that traces and analyzes user interaction data to optimize task efficiency. These user interactions include employees’ activities on their computers, mobile devices, and software applications to accomplish assigned jobs, such as keystrokes, mouse clicks, or data input.

Contemporary task mining tools combine them with various techniques, including optical character recognition (OCR), heat maps, natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning algorithms to interpret user actions and recommend improvements to optimize task execution and make it faster, more efficient, and streamlined.

Task mining or process mining. What’s the difference?
When we employ task mining tools to whole processes, not just individual tasks, we speak of process mining, which typically uses a broader scope of data sources than just user interactions, also ingesting data from ERP systems, CRM tools, Product Information Management platforms (PIM), and other software.

In addition, process mining aims to discover, visualize, and evaluate the actual processes as they occur, helping organizations understand how tasks are related and where that relationship underperforms. Meanwhile, as already mentioned, task mining is primarily concerned with analyzing and optimizing the execution of specific tasks.

Since task mining is an automated procedure, we need software that executes it. Many applications help record and analyze user interactions by scraping desktop or mobile device-level events from individual or cohort workstations.

Depending on the technologies they draw from, they can be more or less advanced. For example, some older-generation, basic task-mining tools gather basic information based on mechanical user interactions like clicks, scrolls, screenshots, and time stamps. Advanced, AI-based solutions employ artificial intelligence to go deeper and capture information from the workstation and screens, offering a more detailed, insightful analysis of user activity.

Regardless of the tool or its level of advancement, all task mining applications return the analysis results in the form of reports, dashboards, and insights. These again differ in specificity and range of presented insights, from the more high-level information like the number of mouse clicks to detailed information like toggles between specific apps and interfaces.

There’s full steam ahead for the task mining tools market, growing at 85-95% yearly, so competition is ripe, with new players coming each year. The leaders of dozens of task- and process-mining applications include UiPath, Celonis, Kyp.ai, IBM Process Mining, Fluxicon Disco, and Process 360 Live. In this and the next article, we focus on the first three.

And why this choice? UiPath is the first platform that combines task mining capabilities with RPA (Robotic Process Automation); Celonis is a leading process management platform with a revenue of $365 million in 2023 and over 1,000 customers worldwide. Finally, Kyp.ai is a truly ingenious proposal heavily relying on the latest automation trends and AI innovations.

We will analyze the three competitors closely in a second, but first, let’s see how they can generally make a meaningful difference to your tasks and processes.

Task mining tools help optimize each step of process analysis by identifying inefficiencies and bottlenecks in individual tasks. Then, the compounded effect of task optimization enhances the entire process flow.

Regarding business process analysis and optimization, task mining tools particularly help with:

• Enhancing workflow visibility. Task mining makes work more transparent. This makes it easier to spot inefficacies and eliminate them from workflows. Simplified workflows, on the other hand, lead to better process efficiency.
• Measuring performance. One of the key functions of task mining is assessing and analyzing task execution to get insights into how individual performance can be improved. Again, when this happens, and employees improve their outcomes on the task level, it will positively affect the entire process.
• Reducing process gaps. Analyzing a team’s task efficiency helps capture areas that require revision and optimization. By extension, these will help eliminate process defects.
• Impacting process improvements. One example may be data entry. If you use task mining to pinpoint why it takes so long and then apply automation to speed it up, all the following tasks in the process will see faster execution. Same with quality assurance. Rooting out quality issues thanks to task mining enhances quality at a task level. This naturally improves the quality of the whole process and reduces the time and effort spent on retroactive problem-solving.

Now that we’ve covered some basic information about task mining technology and tools let’s dig into specific solutions to give you an exact view of what you might expect from task mining. We will see how UiPath v. Celonis v. Kyp.ai stack up against each other to choose the best one for your needs.

Mind you that all three tools we selected slightly differ regarding their strengths and core applications. The choice between them is not an easy one and should be dictated by a variety of factors. If in doubt, you are always welcome to turn to our task-mining expert team. They will carefully analyze your work patterns and advise on the optimal task-mining tool for your teams.

UiPath, a global software company founded in Romania in 2005, specializes in automation solutions, primarily in Robotic Process Automation (RPA). With over 4,000 employees and a presence in 30+ countries, UiPath’s platform has expanded to encompass various automation tools like chatbots, AI, and ML for business processes.

The solution’s task capture and mining feature uncovers and documents processes for automation. It captures tasks in the background, translating them into visual and textual reports, allowing workflow improvements. Managers can share their desktops, capturing interactions seamlessly. AI-driven analysis suggests task optimization for specific business goals. These insights are visualized on graphs for easy exploration and can be exported to documents or UiPath Studio, an RPA creation dashboard, with a single click.

UiPath distinguishes itself from other task-mining tools with the following:

• Scenario analysis. With the tool, it’s possible to explore the variations of the same task to address an issue meticulously and choose the best solution.
• RPA integration. Since UiPath is a Robotic Process Automation company at its core, naturally, UiPath Task Mining engine seamlessly combines with RPA capabilities. This means that instead of using two separate tools—one for identifying automation opportunities via data capture and one for automating them with chatbots—the company offers a complete platform where both can be accomplished.
• Business applications integrations. As a complete automation platform, UiPath offers more than ‘just’ task or process mining. It’s a complex machine that integrates with hundreds of business applications, data management systems, and cloud services. This is especially valuable for large enterprises that want to minimize disruptions, keep their workflows flowing, and reduce technology stack despite using vast data. And there are plenty of seasoned UiPath developers available to support you with this task.

Company: Dexcom
Industry: Healthcare

As a multinational company with years of experience in the automation market, UiPath has served thousands of clients, accumulating dozens of use cases on its website. While its task mining offering is relatively new, we can find a few strong success stories documenting the company’s achievements in this respect, too.

The one we’ve chosen to feature is that of Dexcom, a US manufacturer of glucose control devices. It was looking to optimize its operations and reduce costs through RPA, employing task mining first to spot the areas for optimization and finally deciding to employ AI to take maximum advantage of automation. All in one tool.

What started the transformation: An increasing volume of data entry tasks; an increase from 300 to 600 prescriptions manually entered into the system by Dexcom agents each week.

How task mining was used: The first step was implementing UiPath’s Task Mining to understand how work is done in Dexcom, what tasks are performed, and which applications are employed.

What results were achieved: Automating the prescriptions will save about 200,000 hours a year on manual processes.

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Celonis is a leading enterprise-grade provider of cloud-based process mining and analytics software (in 2020, it held 60% of the market). The company started in Europe in 2011, focusing specifically on process mining. In over a decade, it has grown to serve more than 5,000 enterprise customers who remain its main focus.

Celonis platform helps organizations visualize, analyze, and optimize their business processes through a platform called the “Execution Management System” (EMS). It extracts and analyzes logs from different data sources, such as CMS or ERP systems, and integrates them with clicks, copy/pastes, time spent, and other user interaction data. The platform incorporates task-mining software as one of its components.

In terms of task mining capabilities, Celonis’s enterprise platform offers the following:

• End-to-end task and process analysis. As a comprehensive platform, Celonis combines task-mining features with other components of its vast platform. Once its software captures user interaction data, it integrates it into a Celonis Process Data Model, then to be processed by the Celonis Process Data Engine. So, there’s no need for integrations with external process mining software.
• Detailed event log extraction. With an expansive customer base, years of experience, and a sophisticated software suite, Celonis excels at extracting insightful data for task and process analysis. All data is collected in the background without disrupting user’s workflows.
• Enterprise focus. Since day one, Celonis has aimed at enterprise customers, so it is well-suited to the complexity and scale of larger organizations. It can support a high volume of data, users, and diverse business processes.

Company: Pepsi
Industry: Consumer Industries

Like UiPath, Celonis can boast a massive portfolio of data mining and automation use cases featuring the world’s most recognized brands. One of them is Pepsi, the food and beverage giant, undergoing a transformative journey to better respond to modern consumers’ tastes.

The company’s Global Process Excellence team came to Celonis with the challenge of quantifying its tasks and processes to optimize them and “take out the work out of the work,” in the words of Chris Knapik, Senior Director of Process Transformation. This was actually a bigger use case, focusing on optimizing nine processes, including Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable, Procure-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, and Make-to-Deploy.

As happens with all big corporations, complex, multifaceted processes and tasks within them are often riddled with inconsistencies, discrepancies, and complexities. Therefore, the project’s main goal was to provide a detailed view of its teams’ work and to dig into specifics to make working at Pepsi easier, more productive, and more enjoyable.

What started the transformation: Strategic, end-to-end global brand transformation based on data insights and evidence.

How task mining was used: Pepsi used out-of-the-box Celonis’ capabilities to identify areas that needed improvement in the first place and carried the biggest potential. This was Days Sales Outstanding, which was broken down into individual tasks. The first action performed by the task mining tool was the identification of delinquent accounts and ranking them by invoice value so that the team knew which of them to prioritize. Then, step-by-step optimizations based on close task and process analysis were applied to the other areas.

What results were achieved: Streamlining payment collection and processing activities released millions of dollars in free cash flow for Pepsi. By pinpointing faulty procedures and automating and facilitating some tasks, the order rejection rate has lowered to 4%. Automated identification of split invoices saves the accounting team over 1,000 hours per year on manual tracking.

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KYP.ai is an AI-powered process mining platform for real-time process and task data analysis. It excels in pinpointing areas for enhancement and offers intelligent suggestions for streamlining operations and enhancing task efficiency.

Thanks to its heavy use of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, KYP.ai offers precise and timely performance data, swiftly detects task anomalies, and identifies risks, empowering companies to optimize operations for maximum efficiency and cost savings. Its flexible architecture fits easily and nicely into every company’s tech stack and doesn’t require much coding to configure. Compared to the other two solutions, Kyp.ai seems to take a more holistic approach to business tasks and processes, making business pain points and optimization central to its platform and features.

The following are core differentiators of Kyp.ai regarding task and process mining:

• Embedded generative AI capabilities. When evaluating a company’s optimization areas, Kyp.ai also determines the potential of embedding generative AI to improve its task and process performance and ROI.
• ROI-driven automation. Built with ROI growth in mind, Kyp.ai embeds profitability into its engine. In practice, the system’s intelligence allows users to distinguish and prioritize tasks with the greatest financial return potential.
• Real-life, interactive insights. Kyp.ai stands out with its immersive and neat interface that gives users detailed yet straightforward cues and insights into actions and processes. All data is ingested in real-time, and advanced AI algorithms constantly digest and process it to reflect the current state of the organization and past performance for more comprehensive analysis.

This quick feature summary already shows that Kyp.ai stands out with its AI-powered, futuristic approach. Some other elements make it a unique task-mining solution.

Company: Mindsprint
Industry: Technology & Business Services

While Kyp.ai is a more recent task and process mining solution, it has already amassed an impressive number of clients and several powerful case studies. One of them is that of Mindsprint, formerly known as Olam Technology and Business Services.

The Singapore-based company is a digital and business transformation partner offering digital solutions, enterprise technology, business process services, and cybersecurity platforms. A business that stays on top of technological advancements was seeking cutting-edge task and process optimization solutions to boost operational efficiency and retain competitive win on the market.

What started the transformation: The company had over 600 intricate processes to manage by more than 1,300 agents supporting 55 countries. With that span, it needed improved insights into task and process efficiency and a tool to help automate some of them to become more manageable and easier to monitor.

How task mining was used: The project started from a smaller in-scope Proof of Concept and quickly evolved over 1,200 machines from which data of different types and granularity were being captured. Kyp.ai was used to capture 100 events over those machines and present their analyses on tailored data-driven dashboards.

What results were achieved: With Kyp.ai, Mindsprint got hold of instant insights into its task and process efficiency, equivalent to 15 years of manual data collection and analysis. The value stream mapping delivered by the tool has also allowed the company to improve its data and process flows without spending an extra dollar.

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As you can see, UiPath, Celonis, and Kyp.ai all have their unique strengths and weaknesses. With that knowledge and the understanding of task mining and its potential, you’re now better equipped to choose the most fitting solution for the needs of your organization.

However, before you make that strategic decision, it’s worth checking how all three platforms match against one another. That’s why we prepared an additional article covering a detailed UiPath vs. Celonis vs. Kyp.ai comparison. Check it out to see which one is top in key areas like integrations, capabilities, support, and more.