The A-Z of Business Process Management (BPM)

Introduction:
Business Process Management (BPM) is the new watchword in corporate offices the world over.
Gartner Research estimates that by 2009, 20 per cent of the business processes of Global 2000
companies will be supported on BPM. What this means is a global market worth $4 billion. What
makes BPM such an attractive proposition that makes over 140 companies the world over seek a
piece of it? To answer this one must understand the concept of BPM and how it differs from
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
What it means:
The term Business Process Management has two definitional aspects; one with a business focus
and the second with a technology focus. On the business side, BPM represents a discipline that
views all business processes as organisational building blocks and uses a structured approach to
create, deploy, and optimise these processes.
On the technology side, BPM represents a set of tools called Business Process Management
Systems (BPMS) that provide IT functionality to achieve the business aims of BPM.
Same Difference?
It may appear that BPM has some features that ERP, workflow, and EAI solutions have been
offering for several years now. So what makes BPM different?
The early 1990s saw an onslaught of ERP solutions striving to provide best market practices as
pre-integrated platforms. However, these solutions required long implementation cycles and
companies were stuck with standardised ERP platforms that could not deliver on their promises.
IT managers also tried working with a mix of packaged solutions (such as ERP, CRM and SCM),
along with customised, proprietary products developed internally. However, these produced a
complex systems environment.
It became clear that the way forward was finding a cost-effective way to deliver flexible IT
solutions that would accommodate constant business process change. BPM was the answer.
As BPM introduces tools to detail, manage and manipulate processes quickly, the IT department
reinvented itself from being "spenders" to "cost controllers." It gained a level of control and
flexibility to help reduce costs and improve response to service demands.
Road to a rewarding future
BPM leads the way towards the commoditisation and automation of business processes. According
to a Forrester Industry report the BPM market is hot and getting hotter with the worldwide
market growing at a projected compounded annual growth rate of more than 20 per cent till
2009.
This is great news for those looking for a rewarding career in the BPM sector. The BPM sector
offers a software professional the chance to learn all about business and supporting IT systems
and keep abreast of technology. This is perhaps why attrition is low among professionals working
on BPM projects and consequently job satisfaction is quite high!
Sridhar Chandrasekar, is Director (Marketing) at Virtusa Corporation