A growing number of businesses are turning to information technology as an avenue to innovation. In a slowly recovering economy, the right IT upgrades can provide an avenue for more sustainable operations. However, IT changes the way companies operate, creating an environment in which they have to adjust to different functions. Business process management software can provide organizations with the support they need to adjust.
Considering how IT investments impact operations
Many experts agree that a significant number of businesses are beginning to look at IT as a strategic enabler. This represents a shift away from IT simply facilitating innovation and creates an environment in which information technologymakes improved operations happen. As a result, organizations face a complete reversal of how operations change.
In the past, business leaders may have gathered in a few meetings, identified ways to improve operations and told IT to adjust the technology to support such workflows. With the rise of cloud computing, personal mobile device use and social operations in corporate settings, many organizations are facing an environment in which users are turning to new technology before new processeshavebeen developed.
Aligning IT and business processes has always been important, but the perspective has changed. In the past, process changes were developed and IT had to respond. In a world where information was fairly static, that was a viable solution. However, IT innovation is happening so quickly and consumer influences are impacting companies to such an extent that IT has to change, with business process innovation coming as a result.
Mobile device use is a prime example of this movement.
Looking at how mobile changes the process landscape
When businesses controlled mobile devices, the processes were still tightly integrated with the technology, because users were only given corporate mobile devices if they needed them for specific work functions. This made it easy to ensure that employees using a mobile device for work had access to the systems they needed. With the consumerization of IT movement gaining popularityand bring your own device becoming a common office strategy, the traditional model has been turned on its head.
This has created an environment in which end users dictate what technologies they use and IT has to respond. Business leaders then have to take this environment and ensure each business process aligns with the new technological climate. BPM software can ease many of the challenges that come in such settings.
Malcolm Ross
Vice President of Product Marketing
