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BPM software can help when dealing with complexity

Malcolm Ross, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy, Appian
October 22, 2012

An optimal business process is one that is as simple and concise as possible. Organizations do not want their employees spending an extended period of time jumping through procedural hoops to get things done. Instead, processes have to be efficient, clear and easy to repeat.

In an ideal world, every process would be so clear that humans are not even needed to do them. Instead, software would just automate everything, leaving workers free to focus on key operational functions that help drive revenue. The world, of course, is not perfect. However, business process management software can help companies get their operations as close to this ideal as possible.

BPM enabling process efficiency

BPM software can enable businesses to get their processes under control. The technology operates at a few layers to impact end users. The first is the underlying IT functionality. At this level, managers can configure the software to automatically handle data and content pertaining to repeatable business decisions. For example, the system can take data that is universally filed into a certain segment of the database and automatically sort it to that location, saving workers from that process and enabling them to spend more time with data that requires human interaction.

The second level of BPM has to do with integration. A BPM solution can take background application data and make sure it freely flows between mobile, cloud and PC-based versions of an application. In some cases, the same server may support these software solutions, but if the functionality varies based on the platform, the databases and servers that support them can vary. Under those circumstances, the data has to be integrated in the background to ensure users always have access to the same data. BPM can play a vital role in making this possible.

These background functions have a major impact on what the end user sees. An effective BPM deployment manages to integrate all of the background data and automate processes while maintaining the context of the information. This ensures that workers not only get access to what they need to perform processes quickly, they also understand the nuances of the data and content they are using based on their source context.

These three layers of BPM combine to enable users to simplify their processes as much as possible, leading to optimal efficiency and revenue opportunities in a diverse range of sectors.

Malcolm Ross

Vice President of Product Marketing