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Unify strategy and technology to maximize BPM success

Ben Farrell
July 28, 2014

The business process management industry is rising as more organizations recognize the importance of aligning their day-to-day operations with organizational and technological demands. Process improvements are foundational to creating value within an organization, and plenty of companies are catching on to the importance of BPM software and similar tools in delivering to this end.

According to a recent TechNavio study published by Research and Markets, the globalBPM industry is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15.87 percent during the 2013 to 2018 period. This growth comes as organizations work to deployBPM solutions that help them automate, integrate and optimize processes to help users get the job done as efficiently as possible.

With the popularity ofBPM softwaresoaring, organizations must make sure they don't get so distracted by technology that they neglect the core reasons for implementing BPM in the first place. Technology is central to any contemporary discussion of process management, but sometimes the focus on the technical capabilities offered by modern solutions can lead to neglect of the core principles that make BPM work. Unifying these foundational capabilities with modern technical functionality is critical to getting the most out of the solutions that are driving increased global investments.

BPM in practice - the foundation for contemporary solutions

Business process management wasn't always about a software solution that helps organizations automate processes, integrate operations between departments and optimize day-to-day operations for users. Instead, BPM began as an idea. The thought was that businesses that take the time to analyze their day-to-day operations, look at their long-term strategies, make clear business goals and adapt their processes accordingly can create common operational principles that standardized processes where possible and improve efficiency.

The business sense of such strategies is clear. Standardizing and unifying processes makes organizations reliant on the collective knowledge of its employees instead of the capabilities of any one individual. Furthermore, it creates a corporate framework to strive for process excellence across operations.

BPM software - enabling the strategic vision of early BPM leaders

The problem with BPM as an idea is that it is incredibly difficult to apply to processes, especially in operational environments in which users are running applications from diverse sources on varied device types. Contemporary BPM software solutions allow organizations to integrate their core BPM principles into a software package that aligns best practices across the organization and enables employees to complete processes as efficiently as possible. BPM software solutions are the tool that make BPM ideas effective, and organizations must treat both sides of any strategy with care to maximize their return on investment.