Business Process Management: What BPM Is and Why You Need It

Business process management is about getting the work done. Love it or hate it, processes are the core of a business. They exist in every department and team and are critical to the outcome of operations. Business processes are like a blueprint that defines the pathways and flow of activities that run within and between different business functions, like an employee onboarding process or an invoice approval process.

But moving from point “A” to point “B” along these pathways, and doing it as efficiently as possible, doesn’t come without effort. It takes time, resources, and a bit of good planning to make sure your blueprint is sound and work is running smoothly. That’s where BPM comes into play.

Letters to Santa – Automating Joy to the World at Scale

It’s that time of year again. The time when the world’s largest order fulfillment operation experiences its heaviest load. No, not Amazon – we’re talking about Santa Claus, Inc. – the largest logistics company in the world, with a 24-hour global delivery window at peak load.

This year is different, however. Earlier this year, Saint Nick clicked on an ad on his Facebook feed, one promising a digital nomad lifestyle through automating his business. Sick of the Arctic weather and the stress of traveling, the thought of sitting on a beach in Thailand – while still bringing joy to children around the world – was enticing.

Don’t Confuse Business Process Management with Network Automation

It is not uncommon for enterprises to confuse the role of a Business Process Management (BPM) system with that of a network automation solution. Because there are a lot of similarities between the two, we often see organizations attempt to leverage BPM systems to automate network activities in an effort to leverage their existing investments in these tools. Additionally, the allure of open source BPM options is often mistakenly seen as low-cost alternatives to network automation solutions. While the differences between the two are vast at their core, they are often overlooked or discounted in the planning process due to their common traits and similarities at the surface. Inevitably, their differences always present themselves as major problems during implementation when operators discover they can’t force a network focused automation process into a system not designed with that in mind; it’s just not the right tool for the job and as a result, falls short in automating critical network operations.

When looking at the capabilities of a BPM system as compared to a network automation solution, they both share similar features such as: