bpm: not just workflow anymore · bpm (business process management): a software-based solution that...
TRANSCRIPT
Industry Watch
BPM: Not Just Workflow Anymore
AIIM Industry Watch SurveyPrepared by:
John F. Mancini, President, AIIMCarl Frappaolo, Vice President, AIIM Market Intelligence ®
© 2007AIIM - The ECM Association
1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-587-8202www.aiim.org
About AIIMAIIM—www.aiim.org
AIIM is the international authority on Enterprise Content Management (ECM), the technologies used to capture, manage,
store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM tools and technologies
provide solutions to help users with the four C’s of business: Continuity, Collaboration, Compliance, and Costs.
For over 60 years, AIIM has been the leading non-profit organization focused on helping users to understand the
challenges associated with managing documents, content, records, and business processes. Today, AIIM is international
in scope, independent, implementation-focused, and, as the representative of the entire ECM industry - including users,
suppliers, and the channel - the industry’s intermediary.
As a neutral and unbiased source of information, AIIM serves the needs of its members and the industry by providing
educational opportunities, professional development, reference and knowledge resources, networking events, and
industry advocacy.
Information about AIIM can be found at www.aiim.org.
AIIM provides:
• Market Education - AIIM provides unbiased information through its ECM Solutions Seminar (held throughout the U.S.
and Canada); the Managing Information and Documents Road Show (held throughout the UK); InfoIreland (held in
Dublin); AIIM Webinars; AIIM E-DOC Magazine and our online Solution Centers for financial services, healthcare,
manufacturing, and state & local government.
• Professional Development – AIIM’s industry education road map offers business and government professionals a
variety of training opportunities. Our ECM & ERM Certificate Programs provide instruction on the Why?, What?, and
How? of Enterprise Content Management and Electronic Records Management via Web-based and/or classroom
courses (see www.aiim.org/training for details). In September, AIIM will launch two additional major tracks, one
focused on Information Organization and Access and the other focused on Business Process Management.
• Peer Networking - Through chapters, networking groups, programs, partnerships, and the Web, AIIM creates
opportunities that allow users, suppliers, consultants, and the channel to engage and connect with one another.
• Industry Advocacy - As an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) accredited standards development
organization, AIIM acts as the voice of the ECM industry in key standards organizations, with the media, and with
government decision-makers. Our Industry Watch research reports provide intelligent information about user trends
and perceptions.
2
About AIIM’s Survey Programwww.aiim.org/industrywatch
Over the past 12 months, AIIM has sponsored a wide variety of Industry Watch surveys (see next page). In addition, AIIM
President John Mancini regularly comments on issues and trends raised by the Industry Watch surveys via his blog. Free
e-mail updates are available at www.aiim.typepad.com.
AIIM Market Intelligence
The AIIM Industry Watch program is in the process of being “rechristened” under the name AIIM Market Intelligence
Quarterly, or AIIM Market IQ. Noted industry analysts Carl Frappaolo and Dan Keldsen have joined AIIM to head this
initiative. This report was written by Carl Frappaolo.
The first major survey effort for the new Market Intelligence team will be focused on Secure Content.
The issue of content security is increasingly a challenge for end user organizations. New models for creating and sharing
content have revolutionized business. But these same opportunities potentially represent enormous threats. Content is
clearly a major organization asset. But it can also represent a major liability if not properly managed. Advances in
authoring, sharing and manipulating content have far outpaced the ability to secure that content. Recent rulings by
international courts and governments are mandating that enterprises establish clear and concise approaches to legal
discovery of online content. Government regulations are mandating that content be handled with discretion. Court rulings
have set the precedent that "all content" is admissible. And, "smart" executives are realizing that without state-of-the-art
controls over their most valuable asset (which traditional accounting techniques still do not address), that asset can be
used to destroy credibility and competitiveness. For these reasons, best practices to securing content in the enterprise
will continue to receive unprecedented levels of scrutiny.
3
State of the ECM Industry 2007This survey of over 1,100 end users (conducted in March 2007) from around the world focuses on the key business
drivers for document, records, and content technologies. The survey also investigates buying intentions of ECM end
users and potential end users, as well as the obstacles that end users face in deploying these technologies.
Scanning and Capture Technologies 2007: Process Integration and ROI
EnhancementThis survey of over 1,000 industry professionals (conducted in January 2007) found that scanning and capture
technologies are stable and in widespread use. However, the survey also suggests that scanning and capture are by no
means “mature” industries and that enormous opportunities still exist for those solution providers that can help end users
extend their use of capture into more sophisticated applications.
State of the Document Management Service Provider IndustryThis survey was conducted in October 2006. A total of 232 company executives in the document “channel” participated
in the survey. This is the fourth year that AIIM has conducted this survey. During the first two years, the survey focused
exclusively on service company executives. In 2005 and 2006, we broadened participation to include VARs, systems
integrators, and consultants. This reflects the convergence we have seen among the channels for delivering document
management systems.
Electronic Records Management: For Most, It’s Still “Waiting for Godot”This study found that in general, end users believe they have done a reasonable job of putting in place formal programs
to manage paper-based information. When it comes to electronic information, organizations report far less structure and
accountability.
E-mail Management: An Oxymoron?This study of 1,043 end users found that for most organizations, "e-mail management" is usually something of an
oxymoron, and at best more a wish than a business reality. Most organizations make heavy use of e-mail -- it is the
central means by which most business decisions are documented -- yet most organizations continue to have a very
casual attitude toward its management. E-mail started its life in most organizations as a proxy for conversation, and
organizations largely continue to manage it in an ad hoc and casual way.
Compliance: It's Real, It's Relevant, and It's More Than Just RecordsThe study of over 700+ end users found that organizations DO believe that compliance concerns related to information
management are here to stay and that they are not just a passing fad. However, awareness of what constitutes
"compliance" is extremely narrow.
For all AIIM surveys, see www.aiim.org/industrywatch for details.
4
IntroductionThe automation and real time monitoring of business processes
is not a new concept. Indeed, AIIM first began following what
was then known as workflow technology in the mid 90s. While
workflow succeeded in providing a facilitated means of
connecting people, tasks and content, it still required laborious
and extensive application development to connect applications.
In a complementary fashion, EAI (or Enterprise Application
Integration) promised to streamline process automation by
providing a facilitated approach to integrating multiple
standalone, yet related processes. But EAI offered little in the
ability to route work among and between people, to monitor
personal work queues, or support interactive people-based
tasks and decisions.
Enter BPM (Business Process Management) technologies and
solutions. BPM promises to simplify process automation. With
BPM, process automation becomes more modular and easier
to create as a series of calls to internal and external processes
and applications. BPM also provides a means to involve the
user as well, providing interactive work queues, task monitoring
and process insight--real time monitoring.
BPM is not without its own challenges. BPM installations create
a need for extensive process analysis and process modeling
methodologies (BPL and BPMN), the migration to new
architectures (Service Oriented Architecture or SOA) and
adoption of web-based models and XML (Web Services). They
also require management support, user education,
development of an effective user interface, integration with
content, and development of new business models that may
require realignment from internal and external partners.
What kind of benefits are end users deriving from BPM? How
deeply has BPM penetrated the market? In this AIIM Industry
Watch we take a snapshot of the market's perception and
experience with BPM. We examine the awareness level of
individuals with regards to BPM and related topics, the take up
and breadth of BPM in organizations, and the business drivers
behind BPM installations. We also look at targeted
applications, planned and realized benefits, impediments and
obstacles to implementation and provide insight into lessons
learned.
5
A BPM Lexicon
BPM (Business Process Management): A software-
based solution that enables the design, analysis, opti-
mization and automation of business processes. BPM
separates process logic and rules from the execution
engines, manages relationships between individuals
and applications, and monitors process performance.
EAI (Enterprise Application Integration): A set of meth-
ods and technologies used to create middleware infra-
structure, along with adapters that allow different
back-end applications to plug into a common protocol
of some sort and exchange data with each other.
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol): An XML-
based protocol for exchanging information in a decen-
tralized, distributed environment. SOAP is a key stan-
dard for delivering Web services.
UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integra-
tion): An XML-based registry for businesses on the
Internet. UDDI facilitates online transactions by ena-
bling companies to locate one another on the Web and
make systems interoperable for e-commerce. UDDI
enables BPM to extend beyond an organization's
boundaries.
Web Services: An XML-based object comprised of
content, application code and/or process logic. Web
services can be used as building blocks or compo-
nents to a BPM installation, providing "packaged"
processes/steps that can be accessed, used and re-
used in a heterogeneous computing environment.
Workflow: A proactive toolset for the analysis, man-
agement and automation of business processes.
WSDL (Web Services Description Language): An XML
format for describing network services as a set of end-
points operating on messages containing either
document-oriented or procedure-oriented information.
XML (Extensible Markup Language): A form of self-
describing data that creates common information for-
mats in order to share both the format and the data
across the Internet, intranets, and other networks.
Methodology Used and Survey DemographicsSurvey Respondents Represent a Wide Range of Company Sizes and
Vertical Industries, With a Focus on the U.S. Market
This survey was conducted in May 2007 using an on-line survey
instrument. A total of 812 end users participated in the survey.
These end users were drawn from, but not limited to, names in
AIIM’s extended database. The participants were not all AIIM
members, but rather part of the Association’s extended 70,000
name database.
Survey respondents represented organizations of all sizes. As
illustrated in Figure 1, half of the survey population was comprised
of large organizations (>1000 employees). The remaining 50%
was virtually evenly split between medium (101 – 1,000
employees) and small organizations (1 – 100 employees.)
The survey population was also spread across multiple vertical
industries. The largest sample came from state and local
government (14%) , followed by banking and finance (12%). This
is perhaps reflective of the fact that the these industries have
been and continue to be a major proponent and user of both
workflow and BPM technologies, and are thus more
inclined to participate in market studies of this sort. A
significant percentage of the survey participants also
represented end users from such industries as
insurance; utilities, oil and gas; the federal government;
and manufacturing.
Many other industries were also represented, but
individually did not represent more than 5% of the overall
populat ion. These inc luded Chemicals/
Pharmaceuticals, Construction & Building, Education,
Healthcare, Legal, Retail, Service Bureaus/Companies,
Telecommunications & Media, and Transportation &
Distribution.
The survey population, and thus survey findings are
weighted towards a U.S.-based perspective. 65% of
6
How many employees are there in your
organization?50%
26%
24%
1-100 101-1,000 >1,000
Figure 1:
How many employees are in your organization?
State and local govt
Consultants
Banking and finance
Insurance
Utilities, oil and gas
Federal govt
Manufacturing 6
6
7
7
12
13
14
Figure 2:
Major vertical industries in survey (%)
the survey population resides in the U.S., with 5% and 3% residing in the U.K. and Canada respectively. Literally scores
of other countries were included in the population, but none of them represented more than 2% of the overall survey
population.
Survey Respondents Represent Rich and Varied Experience Base
Individual survey participants also represented variety of
professional roles within their organizations. While a majority
percentage came from IT, Document Management and
Records Management disciplines, there was good
representation from executives and process owners, providing
a full spectrum of perspectives into BPM in the organization.
The survey participants represented a wide range of
involvement with and understanding of ECM issues. We asked
survey respondents to identify or rank their organization's level
of involvement with Document and Records Management, and
their personal level of understanding of several popular industry
acronyms associated with BPM.
The survey population represented all levels of understanding
or exposure to issues surrounding document and records
management. It is AIIM's belief that attitudes and
understanding of BPM can be tied to an organization's ability to
manage content electronically and appreciate the issues that
this entails. The survey population is a good cross section of levels of involvement with document and records
management. 78% have some involvement with ECM systems,
with a solid 31% managing content at an enterprise level. On
the other hand, survey findings were also influenced by the 23%
of respondents who reported having no significant exposure to
managing electronic content.
As a way to gauge the level of sophistication of our audience
even further we asked the respondents to rank their level of
understanding of several industry acronyms related to BPM. The
response indicated a group mostly familiar with terms such as
BPM, ECM and Workflow, but only somewhat familiar with terms
such as BPA, EAI, BPR and DPO. The acronyms were spelled
out in the survey in order to eliminate the chance that
respondents were unfamiliar with the acronym rather than the
concept. These were: BPM (Business Process Management),
ECM (Enterprise Content Management), BPA (Business Process
Analytics), EAI (Enterprise Application Integration), BPR
(Business Process Reengineering), and DPO (Document Process
Outsourcing).
7
19%
23%
18%
23%
9%8%
Line of Business ExecutiveRM DMIT Other
Figure 3:
What is your role in the organization?
31%
18% 29%
16%
7%
NoneNext 6 monthsDepartmental onlyIntegrating across deptsEnterprise strategy
Figure 4:
What is your org’s experience with RM and DM?
This provided some insight not only into the survey
population, but also commentary on the state of the
market overall. Among this group the most recognized
term is workflow, a term that has been used longer than
any other. Clearly the market is not fully educated on
issues such as BPA and DPO. Characteristic of a
marketplace still in its growth stage, education is
required.
Lastly, we established a measure of the level of
experience with BPM, and found that the survey
population represented a wide sample of BPM
experiences ranging from none to enterprise-wide
deployment. This measure is also a reflection in the
degree of BPM installation in the market in general, with
distribution along a slightly lopsided bell curve.
Over 32% of responding organizations have departmental level
experience with BPM. Another 22% are in the throes of
enterprise wide deployment/integration, while 45% have little
to no experience at all. 20% of the respondents indicated that
there are currently no plans to invest in BPM solutions,
providing a balanced mix of perspectives from those that have
implemented (at various stages of implementation) to those in
an evaluation stage to those with no serious plans at this time.
8
BPM
ECM
Workflow
Bus Process analytics
Enterprise application integration
Business process re-engineering
Document process outsourcing 38
62
41
39
88
77
61
Figure 4: What is your understanding of the following
terms?
11%
11%
32%25%
20%
NoneNext 6 monthsDepartmental onlyIntegrating across deptsEnterprise strategy
Figure 5:
What is your org’s experience with BPM?
Not Just Workflow AnymoreThe core of the survey delved into the approaches to implementing and managing BPM solutions and the realities of
those experiences. We looked at the ownership of BPM solutions, the current need for awareness building, targeted
business applications, the levels of success organizations are currently having with BPM, and the obstacles encountered.
A Solution Without a Clear Owner
Among the surveyed organizations, there is no industry best practice or standard with regards to ownership of BPM
initiatives. 68% of the organizations surveyed stated that no specific group is responsible for BPM. Furthermore, there is
a distinct lack of clarity in terms of the optimal reporting relationship for BPM within an organization. Fundamental issues
still seem to plague the BPM market, such as "Is BPM a business issue or a technology issue?" and "Is BPM strategically
or tactically positioned in the organization?"
When asked to identify the department to whom the BPM team reports, survey responses were divided among technical
and business roles. Surprisingly, BPM is not currently tightly aligned to compliance/legal/quality teams, in spite of the
promise of BPM to deliver process quality and consistency.
Success is Not Guaranteed
The success rates reported highlight the status of the BPM market as an emerging market in which success is still
sometimes elusive. Even after we factor out the percentage of respondents that have not yet undertaken even a single
BPM initiative, we find that there is a fair degree of difficulty in initially rolling out a BPM initiative. As previously stated,
BPM requires many steps. Processes must first be de-engineered and then re-engineered. Management and workers
alike must be acclimated to the new platform and approach to work. IT must learn a new toolset and perhaps undergo
9
68%
32%
YES NO
Figure 6: Do you have a specific group in your
org responsible for BPM?
16%
2%5%
8%
14%15%
19%
21%
IT CIO PresidentCOO CFO Compliance or legalQuality Other
Figure 7: To whom does the BPM group report?
major platform and architecture changes. Given the list of
prerequisites it is perhaps not surprising that 16% of respondents
indicated that their initial BPM endeavor experienced significant
difficulty. 12% stated they had an enterprise initiative, yet only 6%
indicated very successful deployment at the enterprise level.
While 32% of respondents reported departmental-level BPM
initiatives (See Figure 5), only 25% characterize their initiative as
“successful” at the enterprise level. Clearly there is ample need
for additional experience, best practices and education in the
BPM market, which is further substantiated later in this report.
Which Comes First? Process or
Content?
Given the roots of workflow in the document management
industry, it comes as no great surprise that there is often
significant overlap--and often confusion--between BPM
and ECM initiatives within an organizations.
The 2007 AIIM State of the ECM Industry Survey
highlighted some of this confusion. End users were divided in terms of whether their ECM initiative was a subset of their
BPM initiative or vice versa. In addition, nearly 40% saw no real relationship between the two. In some ways, this is a
function of the group being sampled; the participants were drawn from an AIIM sample in a survey focused on ECM.
One thing is clear, though: As end users become more
aggressive and sophisticated in their ECM approach, they are
simultaneously much more likely to explore extending their
ECM investment into BPM initiatives.
For example, 26% of those who characterize themselves as
having an enterprise approach to ECM also indicate that they
have an enterprise approach to BPM. If you look only at
those with a departmental approach to ECM, only 4% of this
group would claim an enterprise approach to BPM.
So the net-net is twofold. First, in general organizations are
not as far down the “enterprise” curve for their BPM initiatives
as they are for their content initiatives. Second, organizations
that have pushed the envelope for content and documents
are likely to be in the process of doing similarly in the BPM
arena.
10
6%
16%
25%
16%
36%
Little to no successInitially difficult; now some successDept success; no enterprise success yetLeveraged early success into repeatable improvementsVery successful at enterprise level
Figure 8: What is the success of your organiza-
tion’s BPM initiative?
7%
38%
26%
30%
BPM a subset of ECMECM a subset of BPMTwo separate initiatives; some intersectionNot related
Figure 9: In terms of technology, what relationship do
you see between ECM and BPM? (From 2007 State
of ECM Industry Survey)
The top application candidates for a BPM initiative are: 1) customer service; 2) back office operations; 3) compliance
documentation; 4) IT services; and 5) human resources. This list comes as no great surprise given that a major value
proposition of BPM, like its predecessor workflow, is in automating and streamlining the transaction base within
organizations. Customer service, back office operations, and HR are thus likely candidates for a BPM initiative.
Customer Service stands out as the only top-ranked outwardly facing application. It is likely that organizations are
targeting not the custom hands-on customer assistance, but the high volume customer service associated with call
centers. This is a process highly susceptible to off-shoring of late, and thus easily viewed as a repeatable, rule-based,
process.
Another potentially puzzling anomaly is the high ranking of compliance documentation. As illustrated in Figure 7, few
BPM efforts report to or are associated with Legal and Compliance officers. The targeting of compliance documentation
on this list might be viewed as an optimistic hope among organizations that the bane of e-discovery, records control and
compliance might be automated and commoditized.
Overall, the gaps between the percentages reporting that they MIGHT consider a BPM solution and those that have
actually DONE SO highlight market opportunities. For example, 34 percentage points separate the MIGHT results for
compliance documentation from the 17% that have actually implemented an initiative in this area.
Understandably, organizations are reticent to BPM-enable processes that are ripe with human thought, dynamic decision
making and innovation, showing a clear understanding of the strengths and shortcomings of BPM. These processes
Back Office and Customer Service Head the List of Targeted Business
Applications for BPM Initiatives
11
Cust service
Back office operations
Order entry and billing
Compliance management
Compliance documentation
Manuf and fulfillment
Supply chain or logistics
IT services
Sales and marketing
HR
General admin
Risk management
R&D
Customer communications
Vendor communications 1714
811
2225
1425
1211
171820
3127
Figure 11: In which business applications have you AL-
READY implemented a BPM solution?
Cust service
Back office operations
Order entry and billing
Compliance management
Compliance documentation
Manuf and fulfillment
Supply chain or logistics
IT services
Sales and marketing
HR
General admin
Risk management
R&D
Customer communications
Vendor communications 4035
1527
4750
2851
2214
5144
375253
Figure 10: In which business applications MIGHT your
organization implement a BPM solution?
Lessons Learned: Plan and Get Educated
Survey respondents were asked to identify the single most important obstacle or problem they needed to overcome (or
did not overcome) in undertaking a BPM initiative. As is often the case with applications that directly impact business as
well as technology, the overriding issues are associated with the business side of the equation. By far, the number one
obstacle cited was "Underestimated Process and Organizational Issues,” with the number two response being "Internal
Politics.” Clearly, any BPM initiative needs to be preceded with a careful analysis of the existing business process,
acclimation of users and managers to a "new" approach to the business process and sensitivity to group dynamics. In
addition, the results point to the need for great care in setting up the governance structure for a BPM initiative, already
noted as a weakness within many organizations. All too often BPM teams believe they understand an existing process
because they have "read the manual" or "asked a manger,” when the day-to-day realties of that process lie with many
include R&D, Sales/Marketing, Customer Communication and Risk Management. Two anomalies are the lack of focus on
Supply Chain and Manufacturing/Fulfillment, both business processes typically positioned as transactional and rule-
based and thus associated with BPM. Perhaps this is related to the vertical industry breakout of the survey population.
The majority of the survey participants are from the Banking & Finance, Consulting, Insurance and Government
industries. These are industries that do not have a "traditional/hard goods" supply chain and manufacturing component
associated with them, and thus would not rank these processes as targets for BPM automation.
There is great alignment between Figure 11 (BPM already implemented) and Figure 10 (BPM MIGHT be a possibility).
Though not a perfect match, the similarity is strong enough to indicate that planned implementations lead to actual
implementations.
12
Budget overrun
Excessive “scope creep”
Internal politics
Underest process and org issues
Low user acceptance; poor design
Uneven usage; poor enforcement
Failed to prioritize high-value content
Failed to address taxon and metadata
Poorly defined business case
Underest content migration issues
Failed to define benefits beyond unit
Lack of training internal staff
Lack of training external suppliers 313
446
41
54
2014
128
Figure 12: What is THE MOST IMPORTANT obstacle or
problem to overcome in your organization with regards to
BPM?
4%
33%
32%
19%
11%
Figure 13: What is the level of need in your organization for
vendor independent training on BPM?
None Some ModerateSignificant Urgent
BPM Requires Justification, But No Single Best Approach Exists
Given the relatively nascent nature of the BPM market and the overall business climate with regards to justifying IT spend,
it is reasonable to expect that most organizations will go through some type of justification before implementing a BPM
initiative. Survey respondents clearly supported this premise.
Despite the promise and need for the benefits of BPM (e.g., increased efficiency, process agility, streamlining of efforts
and costs), management is asking for justification. Only 12%
of the organizations surveyed felt that justification was not
important with regards to BPM initiatives (or did not know).
Among the 88% that felt it was important, 39% felt it was
very important. It is in this justification stage that BPM
mangers should begin to address the issues of education,
acclimation, change management and internal politics. In
the absence of industry best practices, standards and
preferred/tested justification models, this is no small task.
Among survey respondents three approaches to
justification (ROI, TCO, and Payback Periods/Break Even
Points), were popular. [Note: The acronyms were spelled
out in the survey questioner in order to eliminate the chance
that respondents were unfamiliar with the acronym rather
than the concept. These were: TCO (Total Cost of
Ownership), NPV (Net Present Value), ROI (Return on
Investment) and IRR (Internal Rate of Return).]
An additional 18% of those surveyed did not know which
approach was used in their organization, further illustrating
the need for tighter communication amongst these BPM
teams. Recall that underestimating issues and lack of
knowledge among staff were earlier cited as major obstacles
to BPM implementation. The benefits associated with BPM
are potentially vast. If benefits are not clearly defined and measured in a way that resonates with the organization,
justification will be difficult at best. A solid 65% of survey respondents indicated that was or is expected to be achieved
in 3 years or less.
individual "actors" involved in the process, and with the exceptions and not the rules. Very few organizations can get
away with redefining a process from scratch, but must be intimate with current realities, workarounds and exceptions.
Managers and users must be given a clear understanding of the efforts that are involved, the costs that will be incurred,
and the changes that will result.
Education is a necessary initial step for nearly everyone in the organization (not just the technician) where BPM is
concerned. Indeed, when asked the level of need for vendor independent BPM training and education in their
organization, respondents most powerfully agreed on a dire need. A full 70% identified a moderate or greater need, with
4% indicating the need was urgent. Again, AIIM will be responding to this need with a comprehensive vendor-neutral
curriculum that will be launched in September.
13
39%
36%
12%
4%8%
Don’t knowNot important at allSomewhat unimportantSomewhat importantVery important
Figure 14: How important is it in your organization to
justify BPM investments?
BPM Has a Wide Reach
Business processes by their very nature involve a plethora
of participants, from both inside and outside the
organization. Therefore it follows that BPM solutions must address both internally and externally focused tasks. Survey
respondents reinforced this premise. When asked how likely they would be to consider a BPM solution that would
manage both outbound and inbound process segments, only 25% did not think it was likely. Of the 75% that felt it was
likely, 23% felt it was very likely, again reflecting a basic tendency of business processes to go outside the firewall.
Indeed, there does not appear to be a subset, or specialized set
of processes that exhibit this requirement, but rather "all"
processes.
BPM Not a Turnkey Implementation –
Held Close to Home
Despite the survey respondents' agreement that BPM will go
beyond the walls of the organization with regards to reach, there
is great reluctance to physically deploy BPM outside the firewall.
Survey respondents who reported having at least a single
instance of BPM in-house were asked to identify the
implementation model used. Nearly half (47%), identified
integrating a BPM system with other systems. Another 38%
customized a BPM package for their needs. Business processes
are not islands, nor are they a commodity. With the exception of
routine non-core processes (e.g., sales force automation –
Salesforce.com), processes are a reflection of what makes an
organization unique. Therefore, it is not surprising that most BPM
implementations require integration with other modules and
14
21%
14%
50%
15%
< one year 1-3 years4-5 years Not calculated
Figure 16: What is the expected payback time for
your BPM initiative?
Total cost of ownership
Net present value
ROI
Internal rate of return
Payback period 32
19
73
16
41
Figure 15: Which approach to justification is used in your
organization with regards to BPM investments? (Can
check more than 1; only those reporting at least one)
23%
25% 26%
21%
4%
Don’t understand the questionNot likelySomewhat likelyLikelyVery likely
Figure 17: How Likely Would Your Organization be to
Use a BPM Solution that Manages Both Outbound
and Inbound Segments of a Business Process?
customization. Survey respondents shied away from hosted and
outsourced approaches to BPM.
When specifically asked if their organization would consider BPM
provided in a SaaS (Software as a Service) model, nearly half
responded "not likely.” Again, it is likely that survey respondents
were focusing on critical and core processes (and not
commodity processes) in answering this question.
When asked what the major concerns were with adopting BPM
as a SaaS solution, security and lack of control were the most
popular responses. There is clearly a reluctance to take the
lifeblood of the organization (its core processes) and move them
outside the organization. Internal cultural issues (e.g. resistance
from internal teams and IT) were cited as major obstacles to
BPM overall, but these paled compared such concerns as
security and lack of control and flexibility. It is likely that as SaaS
models become more ingrained in business strategies and
security issues are more aggressively addressed, the reluctance
to deploy BPM at least partially as a SaaS will wane.
15
5%5%5%
38%
47%
Integrate BPM with Other SystemsCustomized Packaged SolutionHosted/SaaSOutsourced/Not SaaSOther
Figure 19: Which Best Describes Your Organiza-
tion's Approach to Implementation of BPM Solu-
tions?
10%
12%
25%
47%
6%
Don’t know; don’t understand Not likelySomewhat likely LikelyVery likely
Figure 20: How Likely Would Your Organization Ever Consider a
"Software as a Service" to Meet its BPM Needs?
Cust service
Back office operations
Order entry and billing
Compliance management
Compliance documentation
Manuf and fulfillment
Supply chain or logistics
IT services
Sales and marketing
HR
General admin
Risk management
R&D
Customer communications
Vendor communications 3432
815
3636
2632
139
362430
4042
Figure 18: Which Processes are Candidates for a
BPM Solution that Would Include Both Outbound
and Inbound Capabilities?
About the Survey SponsorXerox Global Services
Today unstructured documents, security requirements and continued pressure to reduce cost can challenge any
business process. Xerox Global Services (NYSE: XRX) can help with a wide range of imaging and document
management services. Leading companies around the world trust Xerox to streamline, automate and integrate their
document-driven processes to optimize their workflow with the added control and security of a proven global provider.
No other company has more comprehensive experience delivering total document management for results you can see
and measure. Find out more at www.xerox.com/globalservices.
16