Businesses will spend more than £500m on
business process management (BPM) tools worldwide
this year, as they attempt to gain a competitive edge, according to
analyst firm Gartner.
Janelle Hill, research vice-president at Gartner, said, "The
competency of a business to change its processes more frequently
will be the main differentiator between one company and another.
BPM will be the next killer application of IT."
IT directors will have a key role to play in this drive for
efficiency. Research from Gartner suggests that IT directors will
take more responsibility for business processes over the next five
years, with a growing number of products available to automate
business processes and improve operational efficiency.
However, BPM tools, which are designed to automate business
processes using workflow, cannot yet be sourced from the major
software providers.
Hill said, "It is not quite a mainstream market. There are more
than 170 suppliers and the leaders are not household names."
Although IT directors needed to think strategically about
process improvement, Hill recommended they take a tactical
approach. "Start with a strategic design of the process to improve,
assess development skills, then pick one of the best-of-breed
providers, but recognise that the supplier may be acquired or may
merge," she said.
Explaining the rise of BPM, Hill said, "Business conditions have
fundamentally changed due to globalisation and the internet,
leading to the commoditisation of products." This is leading many
organisations to look to operational efficiency and process
management to boost competitiveness, she said.
One user of BPM is mobile operator Orange, which has been using
the technology to help it keep on top of the fast-paced world of
mobile communications. Paul Tuffs, programme office manager at
Orange, said, "BPM frees people up to think creatively and gives
them a structure so they can see what is going on and who is
responsible and accountable for different parts of a business
process."
Related article: Buying BPM in a service oriented world
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According to analyst company Gartner, IT directors and CIOs will
take more responsibility for business processes over the next five
years.
Listen to an exclusive podcast interview with
Gartner vice-president Janelle Hill, Orange programme manager Paul
Tuffs, and BEA senior technical evangelist Martin Percival, who
discuss what the future holds for the technology and the practical
issues of implementation.