Business process management (BPM) is consolidating, and organisations are seeing a change in the global business arena, with expectations of tomorrow being different from what they are today.
This is according to John Flynn, head of Solutions Engineering at DST International, who presented a look at the history of BPM technologies and a view into the future, at the annual BMP Congress at Gallagher Estate, in Midrand.
"From lessons learned, we are seeing an increase in successful BPM and SOA implementations delivering real value to organisations across a variety of business sectors. We are also noticing a shift away from the traditional BPM toolset mentality to a total solution stack approach."
Flynn adds: "Serious investment is also being made in new user interface technologies, as can be seen with the prevalence of AJAX and the emergence of mash-up style UI deployment."
Despite the advances in technology, he says a key aspect that businesses need to deliver effective BPM programmes is high-level sponsorship. "Without the empowerment to focus both business and IT on the needs of the organisation, many projects will not deliver against their stated aims. Additionally, to deliver effective BPM, organisations must not underestimate the level of investment and choose the right stakeholders, technologies and external partners to ensure success."
Flynn is optimistic about South African software: "Local software is as innovative and functional as equivalent overseas offerings. SA's heritage in its self-sufficiency has helped local software developers to deliver quality applications."
If there is a downside, it seems to stem from a preference to build rather than buy. This traditional approach may hinder local business when it comes to benefiting from emerging software as a service applications. A more impartial view may help to get value from the applications of the future, he concludes.
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