As the number of corporations that turn to Business Process Management (BPM) solutions continues to burgeon, PNMSoft, a BPM software company, has taken the time to deconstruct some of the myths surrounding one of the fastest growing software markets.
While BPM software offers solutions for streamlining business process, increasing efficiencies and promoting cost savings, there is sometimes confusion surrounding the process, according to PNMSoft, a company dedicated to providing BPM software solutions to help customers meet management challenges.
The number one myth about BPM software is that “BPM is workflow.”
According to PNMSoft, although BPM started out as a workflow engine for running business processes, it is now a “full life-cycle” that includes process monitoring and reporting, process optimization, modeling, process execution and process simulation. Every BPM software model today must offer features such as modeling, execution, monitoring and optimization capabilities.
Another falsehood, according to PNMSoft, is that BPM software can only be used for the most complex of processes.
Conversely, simple and quick processes such as credit or document approval can benefit from BPM software as the process enables managers to make better informed and quicker decisions.
“BPM enables business stakeholders to have more visibility over their business processes and foresee future problems using trend analysis, improve organisational efficiency, minimize risks, enforce organisational policies and reduce internal process complexity,” PNMSoft wrote in a recent article.
Moreover, BPM is not just for programmers or the IT department as any professional can use the software to create workflows based on business needs.
Another misconception surrounding BPM software is that it is cost prohibitive. But, according to the article, BPM no longer requires large investments in infrastructure as all users need is a Windows 2003 server and a SQL server 2005 database installed.
BPM software can also be "rented” so that managers can save money on maintenance and IT staff.
“BPM enables organisations to cut costs and reduce the number of employees (or enable them to work more efficiently) by automating their business processes,” according to the company.
The final myth that PNMSoft hopes to refute with its article is that BPM projects are long term projects.
According to the company, most BPM projects go live in less than 45 days as a result of using Web based and wizard-driven workflow designers.
In other BPM software news, Cordys – a leader of BPM software whose mission is to improve customers' business operations with world-class, process oriented software – has been spreading the word that company offers cloud services in addition to helping enterprises with integration, BPM and composite application development.
“Organizations come to Cordys for a technology platform to improve business processes,” Matt Davies, director of product marketing, told TMCnet in a recent interview. “They are looking to move from traditional IT deployments to cloud computing, and Cordys can help.”
“Cordys provides companies with the ability to change very quickly regardless of whether they want to do it in a traditional way, installing it on premise or it in the cloud; that’s what having one platform gives you,” Davies added.
Carrie Schmelkin is a Web Editor for TMCnet. Previously, she worked as Assistant Editor at the New Canaan Advertiser, a 102-year-old weekly newspaper, covering news and enhancing the publication's social media initiatives. Carrie holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in English from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Janice McDuffee