Everyone is talking about digital transformation, but where is the right place to start? And what role can process automation platforms play in meeting digital business goals?
In the Magic Quadrant for iBPMS, Gartner evaluated the landscape of intelligent business process management suites (iBPMS). This essential industry research provides important insights for business and technology leaders.
Download your complimentary copy of the research courtesy of Bizagi.
Drawing on the latest industry insights, along with experience from our enterprise projects around the globe, we’ve gathered some top tips on how iBPMS can help provide a competitive edge in the race towards digital transformation.
Every company runs on processes, and enterprises depend on processes the most in order deliver operations at scale. These processes form the foundation of everyday business, and they are often built upon legacy enterprise systems that are no longer up to the task, and certainly not ready for the future.
Digital transformation is all about delivering the orchestration of people, systems and devices at a level that could not be achieved by traditional means. Most business leaders already know that doing this requires the re-engineering of processes.
From its inception, process management software provided ways to re-model business processes, imagining new and better ways of performing operations. But in the beginning this was limited to structured work processes. Now the leading platforms are able to handle more complex, unstructured knowledge-led work requiring deep case visibility.
These iBPMS platforms have evolved their capabilites, and some are now know as process automation platforms. They enable you to digitize and automate any type of work process. For example, businesses use Bizagi for everything from the simplest of structured processes right up to complex IoT operations. Tatweer Petroleum uses Bizagi to monitor and automate the output of oil wells across a large oil field in Bahrain. They use sensors to send signals to Bizagi via IoT protocols and automatically switch wells on or off in order to maintain the output required.
Digital transformation is not just a technology problem. Technology is only important because it enables the success of your people and your processes.
When it comes to people, one of the most common barriers to success in the enterprise is a lack of collaboration between teams. Bizagi’s research identified that 43% of enterprises report this lack of collaboration. The use of a process automation platform, or an iBPMS is one way to overcome this issue, by creating a neutral zone for co-creation, where both groups can work towards a common goal in a way that works for everyone.
But co-creation must inherently be a joint venture. Organizations should be wary of citizen developer solutions that promote shadow IT or quick prototyping so IT can then create the real solution. Both sides are requried for the project and both need to understand what is going on in their specific level of depth. Leading iBPMS solutions provide the visibility of the workflow, data and integrations that both teams need to produce the right result.
An important driver behind digital transformation is facilitating scalability in the enterprise, preparing the business to receive and manage huge volumes of work. iBPMS solutions or process automation platforms are enterprise engines where leaders have proven cases of supporting very high volumes of operation. Bizagi has carried out one the biggest implementations with a Colombian government organization, which serves 6.5 million users. Operations at this kind of scale are where businesses can see the greatest benefit from going digital – and using a process automation platform.
The key benefit of a process automation platform is the power to wrap around legacy IT environments to deliver digital agility on top of rigid systems. These rigid legacy systems are known to be the biggest barrier to digital business, so creating a layer of flexibility around them really is the key to digital transformation.
Importantly, this kind of digital change should not be seen as a single project with a finite timescale. To see the full potential of process transformation, organizations must commit to continuous iteration and improvement. Many of Bizagi’s customers have created a Center of Excellence, with the sole purpose of continuously improving digital operations. This is an important step in getting the most possible value from an process automation platform.
The challenge of digital transformation is made more approachable by the right technologies that underpin process and cultural change across the enterprise.
Imagine the potential of an iBPMS in your business by considering the broken processes and slow operations that hold you back, and looking at how you could automate and digitize those processes for the benefit of the business.
Which iBPSM is right for your business? Download your complimentary copy of the 2019 Magic Quadrant for iBPMS
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