Blue Prism is an enterprise robotic process automation (RPA) platform in which software robots, called digital workers, execute rule-based business processes by operating applications through their user interfaces, under central control and audit. In RPA, it is known for an unattended, IT-governed model: processes are designed in a visual studio, stored in a central database and run on managed virtual machines rather than on employees’ desktops.
The company behind it was founded in the United Kingdom in 2001 and is widely credited with popularizing the term robotic process automation. Since 2022 the product has been part of SS&C Technologies and is marketed as SS&C Blue Prism.
How Blue Prism is structured
Blue Prism is structured around a strict separation between application logic and business logic. Objects encapsulate how to operate a specific application, while processes describe the business steps and call those objects, so one change in a target application usually requires an update in only one object.
The main components and their roles are summarized in the following table.
| Component | Role | Typical user |
|---|---|---|
| Process Studio | Designs business process flows as diagrams | Process developer |
| Object Studio | Builds reusable business objects for applications | Object developer |
| Application Modeller | Identifies screen elements with spy modes | Object developer |
| Control Room | Starts, monitors and stops sessions on runtime resources | Operations controller |
| Work queues | Hold work items with status, priority and retry data | Processes and controllers |
| Scheduler | Runs processes at defined times on chosen resources | Operations controller |
| Application server and database | Store definitions, logs and credentials centrally | Platform administrator |
| Hub and Interact | Web front ends for administration and human input | Business users and administrators |
A runtime resource is the machine, usually a virtual machine, where a digital worker logs in and runs a session. Credentials are kept in an encrypted credential store, and a Login Agent can unlock a Windows session so that unattended robots start without a person present.
Designing automations in Blue Prism
Automations in Blue Prism are designed as visual flowcharts made of stages, not as recorded macros or scripts. Developers drag stages such as action, decision, calculation, loop and exception onto pages and connect them, which keeps the logic readable for analysts while still allowing code stages in C# or Visual Basic when needed.
Screen elements are identified in the Application Modeller with several spy modes, each suited to a different technology. Choosing the right mode is the main factor in how stable an automation will be.
| Spy mode | Suited to | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| Win32 | Classic Windows desktop applications | High when controls expose handles |
| Browser or HTML | Web applications in supported browsers | High with stable attributes |
| UI Automation | Modern Windows and WPF applications | High in most cases |
| Accessibility | Applications exposing accessibility interfaces | Medium |
| Java | Java applications through the access bridge | Medium to high |
| Region or surface automation | Citrix and remote desktops, images | Low; depends on screen position |
Well-built solutions use work queues for every case: a producer process loads items, worker processes lock and complete them, and failed items are retried up to a configured maximum. This pattern lets several digital workers share the same queue and gives a precise per-item audit trail.
Blue Prism compared with other RPA platforms
Blue Prism differs from UiPath, Automation Anywhere and Power Automate for desktop mainly in its emphasis on central governance and unattended operation rather than citizen development. All four automate user interfaces, but their design philosophies and typical buyers differ.
| Platform | Design approach | Typical strength | Typical consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Prism | Flowchart stages with reusable objects | Governance, audit, unattended scale | Steeper learning curve for casual users |
| UiPath | Workflow designer with large activity library | Broad ecosystem and attended options | Many products to license and manage |
| Automation Anywhere | Cloud-native bot editor | Web-based development and control | Cloud dependency for some features |
| Power Automate for desktop | Low-code actions linked to cloud flows | Fits Microsoft environments | Governance relies on environment setup |
Organizations in banking, insurance, healthcare and public administration often choose Blue Prism because its operating model mirrors existing IT controls: segregated environments, release packages, role-based access and complete session logs.
Operating model and licensing
Blue Prism is normally run by a center of excellence that owns standards, reviews designs and operates the robot estate. Processes move through development, test and production environments using release packages, which supports change control and auditability.
Capacity planning is expressed in digital workers, and the table below shows the factors that typically drive it.
| Factor | Effect on capacity | Practical guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Case handling time | Longer cases need more worker hours | Measure real times in test, not estimates |
| Service window | Target systems may be available only at set hours | Schedule queues to match system availability |
| Exception rate | Retries and manual referrals consume capacity | Fix root causes before adding workers |
| Concurrent sessions | Licensing usually counts simultaneous digital workers | Balance queues across resources |
| Peak volume | Month-end or seasonal spikes | Plan headroom or flexible schedules |
Limitations and common mistakes
Blue Prism inherits the fragility of user interface automation: when a target application changes its screens, objects must be updated. Most problems, however, come from design and operating decisions.
- Automating unstable processes before they are standardized multiplies exceptions.
- Duplicating objects per process instead of reusing them makes maintenance costly.
- Relying on surface automation where an API or Win32 mode would be more reliable.
- Ignoring exception types, so business exceptions and system exceptions are retried the same way.
- Weak queue design, such as missing item keys, which allows the same case to be processed twice.
Where a stable API exists, many teams now call it from a Blue Prism object instead of driving the screen, using the platform for orchestration and audit while reducing dependence on the interface.
A non-technical view
Blue Prism is software that lets a company create virtual office workers. These digital workers use ordinary business programs the way a person would, by reading screens, typing values and clicking buttons, but they follow exact instructions and never get tired.
What makes Blue Prism distinctive is strong central control. The IT department decides which robots run, on which computers and with which permissions, and every action is recorded, so managers can always see what each digital worker did.
A concrete example
An insurance company receives about 3,000 address change requests per week through email and web forms. Each change must be entered into a policy administration system that has no usable API and into a separate document archive.
The automation team builds a Blue Prism process that loads each request into a work queue, validates the policy number, updates both systems through reusable business objects and marks items that fail validation as business exceptions for staff review. Five digital workers run on virtual machines overnight under Control Room scheduling.
After stabilization, most requests are completed before the morning shift starts, staff handle only the referred exceptions, and auditors can trace every change to a specific queue item and session log.