What Business Process Management Systems Need Now

As businesses grow and alter, their internal processes — the way individual packets of work, if you will, travel through the organization — undergo change. While in the initial stages, change is organic. But, it takes a significant expansion, takeover, or dynamic market alteration to force the organization to change.

Under these circumstances, business process management (BPM) comes into the picture.

BPM was until just a few years ago, only ever undertaken by huge businesses with budgets to match. However, the emergence of a new generation of BPM tools means that organizations of all sizes can deploy BPM methods in order to meet their needs as they grow.

The overarching theme for business process management activity can primarily be described today as digital transformation, as the use of IT in the enterprise is ever-present.

Collaboration

Wider distribution of resources, be they people or technological (such as data held internally and in the cloud) means that the interchange of ideas and information becomes increasingly difficult.

This position is exacerbated when companies outsource functions, either to discrete, separate companies or to remote facilities. Whichever the case, meaningful collaboration between working groups has never been more challenging.

From document management systems to AI-driven information retrieval, to simple messaging protocols, the latest BPM systems need to be at the heart of collaboration and communication.

Analytics

Data repositories are growing exponentially. New technologies are coming online which are adding to the flow of zeros and ones which power modern enterprise (case in point – IoT) . Where once the data was the remit of the massive enterprise or esoteric branch of academe, even the most modest organization will now probably have terabytes of information at its disposal.

Creating meaningful results in a business sense from data, therefore, becomes essential. Analytics-capable BPM ensures stakeholders can receive rule-based alerts, for example, to more quickly disperse problems as they arise.

Analytics can be used to control costs and optimize processes, of course; next-gen analytics can detect fraud, and proactively evaluate risks before they begin to cost the organization dearly.

Mobile

In many areas of technology, it is the consumer use of technology which is bringing about change in the enterprise.

The ubiquity of technology generally has led to a massive rise in the popularity of mobile working, piecework, and freelancing. Indeed, freelancing is set to be the HR trend dominating for the next ten years according to a survey by Gartner. (*)

The latest BPM systems should be fully mobile-enabled, and best of breed will also utilize mobile technology itself, rather than merely rendering traditional desktops on a small screen.

Mobile allows a new raft of useful information for BPM functions, including location data, digital signatures, QR code scanning, and virtual reality. These unique technologies are, like mobile acceptance itself, percolating through from the consumer world to the business.

Flexibility

As mentioned above, businesses’ use of freelancers is indicative of the way that commerce has changed in the last five years or so. With personnel and IT systems profoundly malleable, business process management systems need to be similarly fleet-of-foot.

BPM platforms which are dynamic will fully reflect ever-changing workflows in an organization; businesses which retain the same models without responding to massively dynamic markets are the ones that will fail.

The latest generation of business process management software reflects this new paradigm. Dynamic businesses need dynamic software.

Below are three suppliers of next-generation business process management (BPM) software which we at Tech HQ considered to be worth your examination.

QUALIWARE

Originating in Denmark, QualiWare’s next-generation management system helps transform organizations and enables positive change; both to the key processes, and across the entire enterprise’s processes, methodologies & technologies.

Web-based features include dynamic information monitoring, smart searches, and a simple yet powerful interface.

QualiWare X features a handy smart capture tool, which allows the upload of files detailing existing processes and plans in order to start the BPM process. What differentiates this feature is the AI engine behind the function, which can even interpret images — such as those of whiteboard diagrams produced in brainstorming sessions.

The tool is particularly strong on collaboration and communication, creating a central repository of pertinent data. This single source of truth allows a greater degree of coherence in overarching business strategy planning.

QualiWare X creates multiple digital twins, so that businesses may model possibilities without committing expensive real-world resources into transformation plans that may not be successful in the long term.

You can read more about QualiWare here

BIZZDESIGN

BiZZdesign’s emphasis is very much on increasing stakeholder collaboration, especially between business and IT claims. Its HoriZZon product creates powerful visualizations of processes and provides the basis for meaningful business intelligence analytics.

Used by organizations all over the world to bring about digital transformation, BiZZdesign boasts a client list which reads like a “who’s who” of modern, household name companies. These range from electronics giants Sony and Dixons Carphone, through to industrial giants Tata and outsourcing behemoth Maersk.

The BiZZdesign Enterprise Studio creates business models right across disciplines in even the most globally-distributed industries. The enterprise architecture solution is based on open standards such as ArchiMate and TOGAF.

From modeling and strategy planning via digital abstraction of processes, through to IT portfolio management routines, its design offers enterprises in all industries an end-to-end BPM solution.

As well a traditional IT audit, the solution also offers a data management facility. This allows the prioritization and description of data use in products, processes, and applications. This aids in creating a structure for more accurate and safer data governance, with clear lines of responsibility intrinsically linked with architecture in the organization.

In addition to the IT-centric solutions, overall business logic can be represented independently from systems, allowing a clear route to reduce complexity and improve overall business agility.

PLANVIEW

Planview’s portfolio includes solutions for strategic planning, portfolio and resource management, product innovation, and technology management.

Whether your organization works on lean or agile methods, its solutions span different industry types, helping businesses with the most diverse teams, departments, and divisions.

Planview Enterprise One includes business modeling facilities designed to prioritize investment at any scale, allowing enterprises to create optimized portfolios along their roadmaps.

Overarching programs can be managed and change delivered across the existing structures and geographical silos.

Enterprise One forms the basis of four powerful solutions: strategic planning, portfolio management, enterprise architecture, and product innovation.

The company also offers a range of certifications for its products, ensuring that its professionals are suitably equipped to deliver solutions at the very highest levels. In a marketplace where marketing hype and glib phrases predominate, it is reassuring to know that industry standards such as TOGAF 9 can be upheld, ensuring best results.

*some of these companies are commercial partners of TechHQ