The basic premise of computing is that systems need to talk to each other to transfer real-time information. However, once the information is moving around, the question is: what do businesses do with it?
This question, says Ram Menon, executive vice-president of worldwide marketing and product strategy at Tibco, has fuelled the growth of the business process management (BPM) industry. BPM not only automates the information process but allows the process to change and adapt according to new information.
The crux of BPM lies in improving the organisation's agility, notes Menon. “It is not enough to take a manual process that was in place and was designed for a manual intervention and automate it,” he warns. Instead, organisations need to develop their BPM strategy around the 'as is process' and the 'to be process'.
“To this end, Tibco's Business Studio allows analysts to model the 'to be process', run it, do simulations on it, change it, figure out processing efficiencies achieved and get the organisation to agree on that,” Menon explains. “You are then able to take the process and directly input it into the BPM tool, which will automate across the organisation,” he adds.
Menon states that BPM technology is both available and sophisticated, and has the ability to scale, extract information, and send alerts. However, he notes, automation brings up the following HR points: Are you going to retain people? And, are you going to re-use people in different responsibilities?
Furthermore, he advises companies to consider what part of the process cannot be automated, and whether manual intervention is required - not because it is the most efficient, but because regulatory authorities demand it.
It is important for companies to firstly establish what it is they want to automate, explains Menon. Thereafter, companies should obtain organisational alignment. They should then model the process, model it again, and model it a third time, he suggests.
Only then should companies look to implementing their BPM strategy, he concludes.
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