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BPM Software
In its simplest form, BPM is software that automates, executes, and monitors business processes from beginning to end by connecting people to people, applications to applications, and people to applications.
Back: BPM Definition | Next: Suite 
In its simplest form, BPM is software that automates, executes, and monitors business processes from beginning to end by connecting people to people, applications to applications, and people to applications.
Connecting People
BPM technology goes beyond its predecessors: workflow management and enterprise application integration (EAI). While traditional workflow management connected people by automating inefficient manual processes within a single application, it was limited because it couldn't connect applications without extensive custom coding. EAI technology, on the other hand, connected these applications by routing information between them so that data was automatically synchronized throughout the organization. However, because it couldn't automate long-running or interactive processes (which required someone to take action or make decisions), it failed to connect people.
Connecting people and applications, BPM software brought together — and transcended — these two technologies. At a minimum, the typical pure-play BPM application includes the following components:
This set of tools allows an organization to actively manage its processes from beginning to end, improving them along the way. But despite this extensive functionality, pure-play BPM software has actually turned out to be somewhat limited and tactical in nature. Although it works well for simple, transactional processes within departments, BPM software doesn't provide the functionality or infrastructure needed to support complex, collaborative processes that extend throughout the enterprise as well as across the value chain.
Learn About Appian's BPM Software Suite
- Process Designer— allows a trained user to analyze and model a process, step by step, as well as asssign logic to it
- Process Engine— executes the actual process flow, assigning
manual activities to people and automated activities to
applications as the process unfolds - Rules Engine— manages the flow of information and
activities within a process according to the formulas and
rules assigned to it - Process Analytics— provide continual feedback on the
process itself so that improvements can be made in the future
Back: BPM Definition | Next: Suite
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A process is simply a set of activities and transactions that an organization conducts on a regular basis in order to achieve its objectives. It can be simple (i.e. order fulfillment) or complex (i.e. new product development), short-running (i.e. employee on-boarding) or long-running (i.e. regulatory compliance), function-specific (i.e. proposal management) or industry-specific (i.e. energy procurement). It can exist within a single department (i.e. billing), run throughout the entire enterprise (i.e. strategic sourcing), or extend across the whole value chain (i.e. supply chain management).
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Download the BPM Kit to Learn More
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