Johannesburg, 10 Nov 2004
Most industry leaders agree that there is nothing really new about the concept of business process management (BPM).
They also agree that it can be the Holy Grail of technology enabling business but it can be no easy task if the business does not first adopt a process-centric culture.
BPM has long been practised in business in various forms, but requires a level of process maturity to help businesses derive the value from investments in BPM technology.
Michael Barnard, executive business developer at Business Connexion`s Business Integration Competency, believes BPM can only be effective in business if there is process-ownership throughout the enterprise, uniting people, processes and technology.
"To this extent," he says, "the enterprise needs to take on a mind shift towards a culture that embraces a process-centric approach to business. This will lead to management structures that are more fluid and have the agility to adapt to changing business environments as and when needed."
The aim of an effective BPM system, Barnard says, is to shift the locus of automation from the affairs of ICT to the affairs of business management.
"This means that BPM does not only encompass either process re-engineering or technology. It is the synthesis and extension of existing processes into a unified whole that benefits the entire system," Barnard says.
"This will form the foundation for enterprise management and help put the enterprise more in tune with its technology. Aligning this technology with business and building it around processes will help deliver value according to the business`s needs," he adds.
The mind shift to making the business more process-centric will demand significant change, which will require serious commitment from a management level. Whether this involves appointing a chief process officer (CPO), in addition to a CIO, or making it the responsibility of top management to initiate the change, the process should be driven down from the value chain supporting the business strategy.
However, there are pitfalls in BPM that could make or break the business. Apart from making sense of a market that is saturated with vendors all offering various forms of BPM, Barnard says having the right tools is not nearly enough to effectively deploy BPM.
Barnard also mentions that BPM requires a certain level of business process maturity to be effectively deployed in a business. "Once this level of maturity (ie accepting a process-centric approach to business) is achieved," he comments, "BPM will begin to benefit the business. The BPM technology will then come into its own and realise measurable and sustainable returns."
"An important part of effective BPM is gaining an understanding of the business objectives and aligning processes to meet their needs," says Barnard.
"Only once the business has the required process maturity and a clear idea of its objectives and strategies, can it begin to evaluate the BPM offerings and identify the best suited technology for its needs," he concludes.
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