There's a revolution under way in BPM. There's turmoil and confusion - not least among the commentariat, where debates rage on on every street corner about the re-definition of BPM . But, amidst all this, it's becoming possible to see much more clearly where we are heading.
On the one hand, the shocking truth is that many of the Fortune 2000 are still flying blind when it comes to their business processes. They have incomplete, out-of-date and conflicting views of their business processes, held in a variety of formats in different places, and with only the loosest governance.
One of many recent data points to confirm this: Pramod Bhasin, President and CEO at Genpact, who has visibility of the business processes of many of the world's largest companies, in a recent interview - my italics:
"Most companies can’t tell you how good or bad their business processes are. And yet, their health depends upon it. How much money they make depends on it. How they make their money depends on it. This is an astonishing statement in a world where companies have existed for centuries with business schools and everything else..."
On the other hand, there is a definite awakening under way. Case studies from the Nimbus conference last week demonstrate that there is a re-positioning of BPM under way among industry leaders.
In many of the world's largest companies, BPM is being re-defined as strategic and worthy of serious executive attention, for two reasons:
- Coherence and Integrity. Business processes provide the framework that enables collaboration across organizational silos. So there can be a coherent and enterprise-wide approach to risk and compliance, quality and business continuity, enterprise architecture, Lean and Six Sigma, the management of outsourcing and shared services, training and task support.
- Adoption. Process can be the language of change. It can engage people across the enterprise in continuous improvement.
Amongst these leaders, BPM is rapidly becoming seen as the enterprise platform underpinning integration and transformation. It is way beyond the world of tools for process mapping, more of a strategic application for the enterprise. In the words of one Nimbus client recently, it is about the enterprise 'learning to see'.
How long will it take for this way of thinking to become the new normal? Don't know - but hopefully not long because the benefits will surely be evident soon, for all to see.
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