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BPM critical to ECM optimization

Cindy Cheng, ​Sr. Director of Marketing Communications, EMEA, Appian
January 22, 2014

Business process management solutions are becoming a key piece of enterprise success as content management systems mature and firms look to put their data and documents to better use. According to TechTarget, considerations of the value of ECM show that it is driven by adoption and appropriate use of BPM software, as well as overall management over information flow. Mark Gilbert, vice president of Gartner, noted that the value of ECM systems skyrockets once businesses address collaborative processes.

"It might sound simplistic, but when you're in accounts payable processing 1,000 invoices a day, automating it makes a big difference," Gilbert said, according to the news source. "The payoff in adding BPM comes from the process automation potential."

They key benefit of integrating BPM investments with ECM solutions is driving ROI. Improving a firm's financial situation will allow it to focus on many other strategies, technologies and improvements, as well as foster the continued growth of BPM software and ECM solutions. Trends, such as going paperless and boosting productivity with unified communications and collaboration, will become more attainable for companies, as they embrace efficiency and eliminate factors that are slowing down information flow.

The ability to eliminate paperwork is one of the major advantages of investing in ECM and process management software. Firms in several industries have found BPM to drive revenues by boosting a firm's ability to keep up with demand. The explosive growth of mobile is a premium example of this.

According to Cisco's Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012 - 2017, global mobile traffic is set to increase 13-fold between 2012 and 2017 at a CAGR of 66 percent. Keeping up with the expectations of consumers will demand increased attention to mobile presence from firms, including the development of apps. Investing in high-quality mobile BPM software will help expedite app development and the integration of ECM systems with these platforms in order to ensure the optimized experience is being offered to customers and employees equally.

Keeping up with trends isn't the only revenue driver for BPM software but it often provides the most immediate ROI that firms can use to leverage other improvements in the near future. By focusing on specific gains, such as the benefits of ECM and BPM integration, enterprises will be able to foster stronger operational efficiency, rather than superficial improvements.

Cindy Cheng

Director of Product Marketing