The textbook definition of the term ubiquitous is "being everywhere at the same time, or being constantly encountered." Ubiquity of business and IT services supports the drive for increased agency effectiveness, cross-agency collaboration and constituent inclusivity. The term is very apropos for what is happening today as the government increasingly adopts Business Process Management (BPM).
How fast is this happening? Many of our readers may not be aware that dozens of government agencies are currently using Appian's BPM solutions. To just name a few, Defense Acquisition University, Department of Justice, FDA, FEMA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Library of Congress, the US Army and the US Marines have all experienced the benefit of increased efficiency and effectiveness through more flexible, agile and adaptive business processes.
These agencies have improved everything from dealing with committee approvals for new medical devices being introduced to the market; to reducing the time it takes for the onboarding of talent; enhancing a Micro-Purchase Management System; improving procurement processes; as well as providing visibility into acquisitions, budgets and spending. Clearly, BPM for government addresses a wide breadth of applications ñ from the routine to the truly mission-critical ñ that are critical for effective governance.
While we recognize that BPM is still an emerging trend in government, we believe it will reach true ubiquity within the government sector within the next few years. As the expression goes, there is a Starbucks on every corner; there should be BPM in every corner of government. When that happens, the "effectiveness revolution" will truly be achieved; and we, as citizen-consumers of government services, will be the beneficiaries.
