IBM Research Report Sample

BPM (Business Process Management) is a convergence of workflow and EAI. However, BPM is more than just the automation of processes and simplification of application integration. BPM is a business management practice that encompasses process automation, process modeling and simulation, process modularization and service orientation, process monitoring, and process optimization. It is based on principles and methodologies such as process-centricity, process excellence, core competencies, and strategic approaches to outsourcing and modularization, including SaaS and SOA.

BPM’s combined, greater capability is the focus of this Market IQ. The report’s definition and positioning of BPM is not based simply on the opinions of AIIM’s thought leadership, but is reinforced and validated by the survey audience, which defined BPM neither as the re-branding of workflow (only 2% of those surveyed defined BPM in this manner), nor the re-branding of EAI (only 1% of those surveyed defined BPM in this way).

The great majority of those surveyed, 67%, identified these strategic and comprehensive definitions: “Methods, policies, metrics, management practices and software tools to manage and continuously optimize an organization’s activities and processes” (50%) and “A management practice that provides for governance of a business process environment toward the goal of improving agility and operational performance” (17%).