Introduction

Business process management has been steadily entering the mainstream as enterprises realize that business processes are the ultimate differentiators. In the volatile business circumstances that are set to dominate in 2010, enterprises in many industries are realizing that process efficiency and agility is a necessity when dealing with pressures of a protracted economic recovery.

Scope

*Explains how BPM will help to address the related issues of resource constraints, price volatility and margin pressure.

*Describes why organisations need to focus on process efficiency and agility supported by BPM solutions.

*Provides advice for both enterprise and vendor clients.

*Covers all industry sectors and geographies.

Highlights

In 2010 process management initiatives will be driven by the need to streamline business processes, optimize the execution of these processes and support unprecedented level of adaptability in order to react to the changing conditions in the market.

Ovum emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive closed-loop optimization strategy based on the exact requirements of each process identified for improvement. Although many enterprises will have previous experiences of process improvement methodologies, an inclusive approach to the continuing challenge of business process optimization is vital.

Prevailing conditions will call for a greater emphasis on process portfolio management and IT services management in order to match each business process with the optimal execution environment and optimization methodology: Business process management frameworks will also have to integrate other adjacent disciplines like enterprise architecture.

Reasons to Purchase

*Identify market trends to help evaluate opportunities for business process improvement in your industry sector.

*Understand the BPM landscape, including drivers, technology evolution, and vendor approaches.

*Understand the long term implications of BPM on business agility and performance optimisation.

"Overview 2
CATALYST 2
SUMMARY 2
OVUM VIEW 2
analysis 3
RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS, PRICE VOLATILITY AND PRESSURE ON MARGINS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO CONTINUED ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY 4
Resource strain: volatility in prices of commodities 4
Price volatility: rapidly alternating episodes of deflation and inflation 5
Pressure on margins: capitalising on the expansion opportunities while retaining tight control over margins 5
Business model challenges: long-term demographic shifts and technology disruption 5
DEPLOY SUPERIOR PROCESS MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES 5
Process-centricity creates efficiencies and allows for adaptation to changing circumstances 6
Efficiency and agility are the imperatives common to many industry verticals 6
FOCUS ON PROCESS EFFICIENCY AND PROCESS AGILITY 7
New circumstances call for running changes and an inclusive approach to business process efficiency 7
In 2010, business should approach process efficiency through closed-loop process lifecycle 7
PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT HELPS IDENTIFY PRIORITY TARGETS FOR BUSINES PROCESSES IMPROVEMENTS 8
Portfolio management offers an efficient way to allocate resources to processes that merit them the most 8
BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSIS SUPPORTS THE STREAMLINING OF KEY BUSINESS PROCESSES 9
Enterprise architecture modelling is a good starting point for process analysis and optimisation initiatives 9
BPA is becoming increasingly inclusive as organisations realise that processes are 'good to think with' 9
2010 will be a breakthrough year of collaboration modelling platforms 9
Innovative synchronous collaboration platforms could become BPA platforms of the future 10
Collaborative modelling will not render specialist modelling standards obsolete 10
BPMN 2.0, set to be finalised in 2010, represents an important milestone in process modelling 10
BUSINESS PROCESS EXECUTION OPTIMISATION MATCHES EACH BUSINESS PROCESS TO THE OPTIMAL DEPLOYMENT PLATFORM 11
2010 will bring an increased focus on improving basic, stable and non-differentiating business processes 11
Commercial off-the-shelf applications can be an effective option for non-differentiating processes 12
Packaged processes-driven applications offer greater combination of configurability and stability 12
A dedicated process execution layer remains the best way to ensure both optimisation and agility 12
In 2010, emphasis will shift from process integration and automation to exception handling 12
Convergence between business rules and BPMS will continue to drive process agility in 2010 13
Handling complex process exceptions is the challenge for the business process execution market in 2010 13
Optimising IT operations will play an important part in process efficiency agenda in 2010 15
IT service management frameworks based on business transactions will be in demand during 2010 15
PROCESS PERFORMANCE MONITORING SENSES CHANGES IN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS AND ADAPTS PROCESS FOR IMPROVED EFFICIENCY 15
Process performance monitoring will continue to be an important factor in driving process agility 16
ACTIONS 16
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORGANISATIONS 16
Think about business processes in a holistic fashion 16
Do not ignore the IT infrastructure underpinning business process execution 16
Conduct process triage 17
Adopt a collaborative, bottom-up approach to process management 17
Be ambitious in process approach 17
Consider a process-driven approach as a conduit to business process transformation 17
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROVIDERS OF TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES 18
Prepare for project -based spending patterns 18
Offer both packaged applications and process platforms 18
Support a collaborative approach to process analysis and optimisation 18
Further the cause of process agility through concerted efforts on multiple fronts 18
Embed analytics in order to enable agile, responsive and adaptive business processes 19
Create IT management frameworks in which business transaction is the basic unit of change 19
APPENDIX 20
DEFINITIONS 20
Business activity monitoring (BAM) 20
Business process management (BPM) 20
Business process analysis (BPA) 20
Business process modelling notation (BPMN) 20
Cloud computing 20
Event processing 20
IT systems management (ITSM) 20
IT service management (ITSM) 20
Open source 21
Project portfolio management (PPM) 21
Software as a Service (SaaS) 21
METHODOLOGY 21
FURTHER READING 21
LEAD AUTHOR 21
OVUM CONSULTING 21
DISCLAIMER 22
List of Figures
Figure 1: Closed-loop process lifecycle will be instrumental in responding to business challenges for 2010 8
Figure 2: Optimal business process execution platforms depend on process differentiation and dynamism 11