2017 is an important year for business process management – more and more organizations are recognizing its importance and adopting all the new digital tools that are being made available. While it’s impossible to predict what, exactly, will be the game-changer in 2017, there are some business process management trends that are hard to miss.
Before, way back in the 1911s, the Principles of Scientific Management was published by Frederick Winslow Taylor. Since then, the most significant business process management trends were improving on the methodology behind it.
Over the last ten years, however, technology has been the biggest driver of change – and that doesn’t seem to be slowing down one bit. The software that was used before might seem archaic compared to what’s available today. Today, they offer a lot more simplicity & features than ever before, with each BPM software solution having a different type of edge.
So, it’s essential to stay on top of the business process management trends today to make sure you have the very best for your business.
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These are the key trends we’ve identified for the rest of 2017, based on what has happened so far this year.
A Continued Rise In BPM Adoption
More and more businesses are recognizing the importance of business process management – and how could they not. The promise of getting rid of bottlenecks, reducing expenses and improving efficiency is hard to pass on. Even the businesses that are already using some form of BPM or another are expanding their usage of it across the board, integrating it even more closely into how they operate.
While BPM may have been around for many decades, its appeal is still universal.
For that reason, plus the continued improvements in the software solutions available, Business Process Management trends will see plenty of new businesses implement some part of the methodology into their processes, most likely for process analysis, monitoring and analytics, with sectors including financial services, IT and manufacturing the most common adapters.
And as the software solutions get ever more advanced and inclusive, we believe we will see more and more businesses take a holistic approach to BPM, incorporating it in more of their processes. Why? Because it works.
More Real Time Analytics Usage
As noted above, one of the key aspects of BPM is the ability to monitor processes through analytics. So, it shouldn’t be too surprising that a major trend for 2017 will be the rise of real-time analytics. Being able to analyze and optimize your processes on-the-go is hard to pass on.
It’s a function that has been available in various software (including Google Analytics) for some time now, but as technology continues to improve and become more accessible, the ability to track and monitor in real time means that problems can be spotted even earlier and addressed before they can have too much negative impact.
It isn’t just real-time analytics that will grow in popularity – business analytics, as a whole, have the potential to be used much more scientifically than how they’re currently being utilized.
This is most likely to take the form of predicting trends within their processes and outputs that can be identified and either minimized or maximized, depending if they are issues or opportunities. The most important thing is that they can be identified using the data generated by BPM and that the processes are agile enough to respond quickly.
Greater Collaboration Is Possible
A recent development that might not have been expected back in the early days of BPM is the rise of remote working for office staff. More and more businesses are employing staff that is rarely, if ever, visiting an office – they might even be located on the other side of the world!
Even in a very traditional office with on-site staff, it can be extremely hard to collaborate, ensuring that every employee knows their to-dos and responsibilities. Accordingly, one of the major Business Process Management trends for 2017 will be the way that technology helps improve workflows with easier collaboration possible through shared software tools.
We may live in an age where remote working is increasingly popular, but it’s critical that companies take advantage of these tools to ensure that this flexibility for staff doesn’t impact on efficiency or the end result for customers. Giving them the same access to real-time interfaces and tools means that no matter where an employee may be, the business processes continue to run as smoothly as possible and that collaboration is unaffected.
Increase In The Importance Of The Internet Of Things
The Internet Of Things has been talked about for many years now, but 2017 seems to be the year when it finally breaks through as a part of most people’s day to day lives at home and even at work. Devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home are turning homes into smart homes, thus increasing the amount of customer data that is flowing back to businesses and enterprises.
This, however, means that the software needs to be agile and responsive enough to deliver the data in real time in a way that can be analyzed and acted upon. And, of course, the processes themselves need to be monitored and adjusted to meet these new requirements and this brave new world.
Integrating BPM within IoT works for the benefit of both, with the flow of data to a centralized location helping with customer service and improving the way those products work on a daily basis. Business Process Management can never stand still, otherwise, the rise of the Internet Of Things will be stalled by the failure to deliver the required experience for customers.
Conclusion
2017 has already proved to be a year of big changes in the way businesses operate and the Business Process Management trends that endure will be the ones that ensure that processes are being managed to be the most efficient they can be. The technology is there now to offer the data in real time and businesses need to adapt to the ever-changing landscape and customer demand, as there’s no excuse not to use BPM to achieve the best results possible.
Since the world of process management is always changing, we’ll be constantly updating this article with any new trends or practices that pop up.
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