The technological and business worlds are merging, creating an environment in which organizations must find a way to mesh data and processes to support employees using a variety of devices and solutions.
This trend is especially clear in case studies presented in a recent Wall Street Journal report. The news source explained that cloud computing and mobile devices are becoming far more prominent in a variety of types of businesses. As a result, organizations are adapting how they function to support the emerging technologies.
Joe Fuller, CIO of Dominion Enterprise, presented the Wall Street Journal with a mature cloud computing model that fuels mobile device use and helps the organization reach users where they are. The mobile marketing firm has already begun working heavily in the cloud and has developed 29 applications that support the technology. Currently, approximately 26 percent of the organization's budget is devoted to enabling mobile application development. By the end of the year, Fuller expects that statistic to climb to 40 percent. Furthermore, the company is also working to develop a hybrid cloud computing environment that will integrate public and private cloud solutions to streamline operations.
Barry Libenson, CIO of Land O'Lakes, told the Wall Street Journal that his company is working to integrate cloud operations wherever possible and is already using the technology for some database, human resources and help desk functions. Roughly 2 percent of the organization's IT budget is devoted to cloud computing. At the same time, the organization is also working to put a greater emphasis on mobile device use, with efforts to develop field diagnostic tools for the iPad, iPhone and Android-based mobile devices making up 1 percent of the total IT budget.
These usage scenarios present examples of environments where business process management software can be used to fuel process-level innovation. In these companies, which are following many mainstream IT practices, cloud computing and mobile devices are not only important, but perform functions that integrate technology across multiple departments and in a variety of settings. They also help support a customer-centric approach to operations in many cases. BPM solutions can integrate these diverse technologies and operational goals into a central set of processes and solutions that help companies make the most of emerging IT platforms and use cloud, mobile and social systems to fuel growth.
