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BPM gaining status as business enabler

Ben Farrell
September 12, 2012

Organizations around the world are turning to business process management software in an effort to get the most out of existing IT systems. According to a recent study from WinterGreen Research, the growing need for process management solutions that help align diverse IT systems is creating considerable demand from BPM software across the global market.

The study found that businesses increasingly recognize that their technologies have to be able to cross the boundaries created by operational silos and implement process automation throughout the enterprise. However, accomplishing this requires a combination of data and system integration that allows cloud, social media and mobile systems to work together, regardless of which department is using the solution. BPM provides the ability to initiate and refine process automation in such settings.

Because companies are beginning to value the importance of cross-department technological integration and process automation, they are recognizing BPM software as a critical enabler of operational improvements, the study found.

Susan Eustis, lead author of the team that created the WinterGreen Research study, explained that BPM is rising alongside emerging technologies that are gaining a foothold in the enterprise.

"Cloud computing and smart devices represent the major forces impacting business process management markets," said Eustis. "As the enterprise managers work to implement apps that make automated process more responsive to the needs of customers, partners, suppliers and distributors, people use business process management as the tools to help workers."

The news source explained that constant connectivity is giving enterprise employees the ability to connect quickly and easily to various social media, cloud and mobile systems with relative ease. As this ability gains popularity, the role of BPM solutions increases because the technology provides a vital level of automation and integration between social, cloud and mobile channels. This helps workers move past the large amounts of data they have to deal with and gain access to the technology and information they need, when they need it.

BPM's rapid rise is not just a product of a shifting technological climate in the enterprise. Organizations in a variety of sectors, ranging from government to gas and oil, are embracing the technology because it offers the ability to overcome many of the barriers that have held back innovation in the past. In gas and oil, for example, BPM helps engineers analyze the extremely large sets of data gathered by IT systems and specialized industrial equipment in a much more effective way.