A business process is, generally speaking, a group of linked tasks that contribute to the end result of delivering a product to a client. Business processes can also be applied to management, internal operations and organizational goals -they are not always directly tied to customer-facing functions. Companies that adjust their strategies to support a process-focused environment can achieve considerable efficiency gains, contributing to new revenue opportunities.
Focusing on processes
Business process management can go a long way toward helping organizations put processes at the center of their operations. As a management tool, BPM emphasizes process analysis. Within this model, corporate leaders analyze operations to identify all of the processes that workers complete on a day-to-day basis. Through statistical analysis and other forms of evaluation, companies can progress from this initial process evaluation phase to a greater understanding of how workers get the job done. This knowledge can be used to drive process innovation.
Once company leaders figure out how employees work and develop strategies to improve operations, they can begin to look at the processes that drive functionality. In many cases, business processes include a number of repeatable tasks that can be automated. BPM provides the organizations oversight necessary to identify the tasks that can be automated, freeing workers to perform other processes more effectively. BPM software serves as the solution that puts automation into action and drives productivity gains within an organization.
Making use of BPM software
Implementing BPM solutions gives companies the tools they need to align IT with business processes. As a result, the back office moves in concert with end users to enable true enterprise social functionality. This goes beyond chat functions built into applications and other social media efforts. The social enterprise represents a system in which data workflows and application accessibility is seamlessly aligned with processes so workers can collaborate naturally. BPM software makes this possible through data workflow and process automation.
The end result of a process-driven approach supported by a BPM platform is a business that functions in a much more intelligent, human way. When IT systems and end-user processes are designed to interact socially, the implications are considerable. At their core, social enterprise functions enable companies to get the job done more smoothly and intuitively. This can lead to major productivity gains because it ensures thatemployees are able to use cloud, mobile and traditional applications in conjunction with one another to work as flexibly as possible.
Ben Farrell
Director of Corporate Communications
