Industry Watch

BPM: Not Just Workflow Anymore

AIIM Industry Watch SurveyPrepared by:

John F. Mancini, President, AIIMCarl Frappaolo, Vice President, AIIM Market Intelligence ®

© 2007AIIM - The ECM Association

1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100Silver Spring, MD 20910

301-587-8202www.aiim.org

About AIIMAIIM—www.aiim.org

AIIM is the international authority on Enterprise Content Management (ECM), the technologies used to capture, manage,

store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM tools and technologies

provide solutions to help users with the four C’s of business: Continuity, Collaboration, Compliance, and Costs.

For over 60 years, AIIM has been the leading non-profit organization focused on helping users to understand the

challenges associated with managing documents, content, records, and business processes. Today, AIIM is international

in scope, independent, implementation-focused, and, as the representative of the entire ECM industry - including users,

suppliers, and the channel - the industry’s intermediary.

As a neutral and unbiased source of information, AIIM serves the needs of its members and the industry by providing

educational opportunities, professional development, reference and knowledge resources, networking events, and

industry advocacy.

Information about AIIM can be found at www.aiim.org.

AIIM provides:

• Market Education - AIIM provides unbiased information through its ECM Solutions Seminar (held throughout the U.S.

and Canada); the Managing Information and Documents Road Show (held throughout the UK); InfoIreland (held in

Dublin); AIIM Webinars; AIIM E-DOC Magazine and our online Solution Centers for financial services, healthcare,

manufacturing, and state & local government.

• Professional Development – AIIM’s industry education road map offers business and government professionals a

variety of training opportunities. Our ECM & ERM Certificate Programs provide instruction on the Why?, What?, and

How? of Enterprise Content Management and Electronic Records Management via Web-based and/or classroom

courses (see www.aiim.org/training for details). In September, AIIM will launch two additional major tracks, one

focused on Information Organization and Access and the other focused on Business Process Management.

• Peer Networking - Through chapters, networking groups, programs, partnerships, and the Web, AIIM creates

opportunities that allow users, suppliers, consultants, and the channel to engage and connect with one another.

• Industry Advocacy - As an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) accredited standards development

organization, AIIM acts as the voice of the ECM industry in key standards organizations, with the media, and with

government decision-makers. Our Industry Watch research reports provide intelligent information about user trends

and perceptions.

2

About AIIM’s Survey Programwww.aiim.org/industrywatch

Over the past 12 months, AIIM has sponsored a wide variety of Industry Watch surveys (see next page). In addition, AIIM

President John Mancini regularly comments on issues and trends raised by the Industry Watch surveys via his blog. Free

e-mail updates are available at www.aiim.typepad.com.

AIIM Market Intelligence

The AIIM Industry Watch program is in the process of being “rechristened” under the name AIIM Market Intelligence

Quarterly, or AIIM Market IQ. Noted industry analysts Carl Frappaolo and Dan Keldsen have joined AIIM to head this

initiative. This report was written by Carl Frappaolo.

The first major survey effort for the new Market Intelligence team will be focused on Secure Content.

The issue of content security is increasingly a challenge for end user organizations. New models for creating and sharing

content have revolutionized business. But these same opportunities potentially represent enormous threats. Content is

clearly a major organization asset. But it can also represent a major liability if not properly managed. Advances in

authoring, sharing and manipulating content have far outpaced the ability to secure that content. Recent rulings by

international courts and governments are mandating that enterprises establish clear and concise approaches to legal

discovery of online content. Government regulations are mandating that content be handled with discretion. Court rulings

have set the precedent that "all content" is admissible. And, "smart" executives are realizing that without state-of-the-art

controls over their most valuable asset (which traditional accounting techniques still do not address), that asset can be

used to destroy credibility and competitiveness. For these reasons, best practices to securing content in the enterprise

will continue to receive unprecedented levels of scrutiny.

3

State of the ECM Industry 2007This survey of over 1,100 end users (conducted in March 2007) from around the world focuses on the key business

drivers for document, records, and content technologies. The survey also investigates buying intentions of ECM end

users and potential end users, as well as the obstacles that end users face in deploying these technologies.

Scanning and Capture Technologies 2007: Process Integration and ROI

EnhancementThis survey of over 1,000 industry professionals (conducted in January 2007) found that scanning and capture

technologies are stable and in widespread use. However, the survey also suggests that scanning and capture are by no

means “mature” industries and that enormous opportunities still exist for those solution providers that can help end users

extend their use of capture into more sophisticated applications.

State of the Document Management Service Provider IndustryThis survey was conducted in October 2006. A total of 232 company executives in the document “channel” participated

in the survey. This is the fourth year that AIIM has conducted this survey. During the first two years, the survey focused

exclusively on service company executives. In 2005 and 2006, we broadened participation to include VARs, systems

integrators, and consultants. This reflects the convergence we have seen among the channels for delivering document

management systems.

Electronic Records Management: For Most, It’s Still “Waiting for Godot”This study found that in general, end users believe they have done a reasonable job of putting in place formal programs

to manage paper-based information. When it comes to electronic information, organizations report far less structure and

accountability.

E-mail Management: An Oxymoron?This study of 1,043 end users found that for most organizations, "e-mail management" is usually something of an

oxymoron, and at best more a wish than a business reality. Most organizations make heavy use of e-mail -- it is the

central means by which most business decisions are documented -- yet most organizations continue to have a very

casual attitude toward its management. E-mail started its life in most organizations as a proxy for conversation, and

organizations largely continue to manage it in an ad hoc and casual way.

Compliance: It's Real, It's Relevant, and It's More Than Just RecordsThe study of over 700+ end users found that organizations DO believe that compliance concerns related to information

management are here to stay and that they are not just a passing fad. However, awareness of what constitutes

"compliance" is extremely narrow.

For all AIIM surveys, see www.aiim.org/industrywatch for details.

4

IntroductionThe automation and real time monitoring of business processes

is not a new concept. Indeed, AIIM first began following what

was then known as workflow technology in the mid 90s. While

workflow succeeded in providing a facilitated means of

connecting people, tasks and content, it still required laborious

and extensive application development to connect applications.

In a complementary fashion, EAI (or Enterprise Application

Integration) promised to streamline process automation by

providing a facilitated approach to integrating multiple

standalone, yet related processes. But EAI offered little in the

ability to route work among and between people, to monitor

personal work queues, or support interactive people-based

tasks and decisions.

Enter BPM (Business Process Management) technologies and

solutions. BPM promises to simplify process automation. With

BPM, process automation becomes more modular and easier

to create as a series of calls to internal and external processes

and applications. BPM also provides a means to involve the

user as well, providing interactive work queues, task monitoring

and process insight--real time monitoring.

BPM is not without its own challenges. BPM installations create

a need for extensive process analysis and process modeling

methodologies (BPL and BPMN), the migration to new

architectures (Service Oriented Architecture or SOA) and

adoption of web-based models and XML (Web Services). They

also require management support, user education,

development of an effective user interface, integration with

content, and development of new business models that may

require realignment from internal and external partners.

What kind of benefits are end users deriving from BPM? How

deeply has BPM penetrated the market? In this AIIM Industry

Watch we take a snapshot of the market's perception and

experience with BPM. We examine the awareness level of

individuals with regards to BPM and related topics, the take up

and breadth of BPM in organizations, and the business drivers

behind BPM installations. We also look at targeted

applications, planned and realized benefits, impediments and

obstacles to implementation and provide insight into lessons

learned.

5

A BPM Lexicon

BPM (Business Process Management): A software-

based solution that enables the design, analysis, opti-

mization and automation of business processes. BPM

separates process logic and rules from the execution

engines, manages relationships between individuals

and applications, and monitors process performance.

EAI (Enterprise Application Integration): A set of meth-

ods and technologies used to create middleware infra-

structure, along with adapters that allow different

back-end applications to plug into a common protocol

of some sort and exchange data with each other.

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol): An XML-

based protocol for exchanging information in a decen-

tralized, distributed environment. SOAP is a key stan-

dard for delivering Web services.

UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integra-

tion): An XML-based registry for businesses on the

Internet. UDDI facilitates online transactions by ena-

bling companies to locate one another on the Web and

make systems interoperable for e-commerce. UDDI

enables BPM to extend beyond an organization's

boundaries.

Web Services: An XML-based object comprised of

content, application code and/or process logic. Web

services can be used as building blocks or compo-

nents to a BPM installation, providing "packaged"

processes/steps that can be accessed, used and re-

used in a heterogeneous computing environment.

Workflow: A proactive toolset for the analysis, man-

agement and automation of business processes.

WSDL (Web Services Description Language): An XML

format for describing network services as a set of end-

points operating on messages containing either

document-oriented or procedure-oriented information.

XML (Extensible Markup Language): A form of self-

describing data that creates common information for-

mats in order to share both the format and the data

across the Internet, intranets, and other networks.

Methodology Used and Survey DemographicsSurvey Respondents Represent a Wide Range of Company Sizes and

Vertical Industries, With a Focus on the U.S. Market

This survey was conducted in May 2007 using an on-line survey

instrument. A total of 812 end users participated in the survey.

These end users were drawn from, but not limited to, names in

AIIM’s extended database. The participants were not all AIIM

members, but rather part of the Association’s extended 70,000

name database.

Survey respondents represented organizations of all sizes. As

illustrated in Figure 1, half of the survey population was comprised

of large organizations (>1000 employees). The remaining 50%

was virtually evenly split between medium (101 – 1,000

employees) and small organizations (1 – 100 employees.)

The survey population was also spread across multiple vertical

industries. The largest sample came from state and local

government (14%) , followed by banking and finance (12%). This

is perhaps reflective of the fact that the these industries have

been and continue to be a major proponent and user of both

workflow and BPM technologies, and are thus more

inclined to participate in market studies of this sort. A

significant percentage of the survey participants also

represented end users from such industries as

insurance; utilities, oil and gas; the federal government;

and manufacturing.

Many other industries were also represented, but

individually did not represent more than 5% of the overall

populat ion. These inc luded Chemicals/

Pharmaceuticals, Construction & Building, Education,

Healthcare, Legal, Retail, Service Bureaus/Companies,

Telecommunications & Media, and Transportation &

Distribution.

The survey population, and thus survey findings are

weighted towards a U.S.-based perspective. 65% of

6

How many employees are there in your

organization?50%

26%

24%

1-100 101-1,000 >1,000

Figure 1:

How many employees are in your organization?

State and local govt

Consultants

Banking and finance

Insurance

Utilities, oil and gas

Federal govt

Manufacturing 6

6

7

7

12

13

14

Figure 2:

Major vertical industries in survey (%)

the survey population resides in the U.S., with 5% and 3% residing in the U.K. and Canada respectively. Literally scores

of other countries were included in the population, but none of them represented more than 2% of the overall survey

population.

Survey Respondents Represent Rich and Varied Experience Base

Individual survey participants also represented variety of

professional roles within their organizations. While a majority

percentage came from IT, Document Management and

Records Management disciplines, there was good

representation from executives and process owners, providing

a full spectrum of perspectives into BPM in the organization.

The survey participants represented a wide range of

involvement with and understanding of ECM issues. We asked

survey respondents to identify or rank their organization's level

of involvement with Document and Records Management, and

their personal level of understanding of several popular industry

acronyms associated with BPM.

The survey population represented all levels of understanding

or exposure to issues surrounding document and records

management. It is AIIM's belief that attitudes and

understanding of BPM can be tied to an organization's ability to

manage content electronically and appreciate the issues that

this entails. The survey population is a good cross section of levels of involvement with document and records

management. 78% have some involvement with ECM systems,

with a solid 31% managing content at an enterprise level. On

the other hand, survey findings were also influenced by the 23%

of respondents who reported having no significant exposure to

managing electronic content.

As a way to gauge the level of sophistication of our audience

even further we asked the respondents to rank their level of

understanding of several industry acronyms related to BPM. The

response indicated a group mostly familiar with terms such as

BPM, ECM and Workflow, but only somewhat familiar with terms

such as BPA, EAI, BPR and DPO. The acronyms were spelled

out in the survey in order to eliminate the chance that

respondents were unfamiliar with the acronym rather than the

concept. These were: BPM (Business Process Management),

ECM (Enterprise Content Management), BPA (Business Process

Analytics), EAI (Enterprise Application Integration), BPR

(Business Process Reengineering), and DPO (Document Process

Outsourcing).

7

19%

23%

18%

23%

9%8%

Line of Business ExecutiveRM DMIT Other

Figure 3:

What is your role in the organization?

31%

18% 29%

16%

7%

NoneNext 6 monthsDepartmental onlyIntegrating across deptsEnterprise strategy

Figure 4:

What is your org’s experience with RM and DM?

This provided some insight not only into the survey

population, but also commentary on the state of the

market overall. Among this group the most recognized

term is workflow, a term that has been used longer than

any other. Clearly the market is not fully educated on

issues such as BPA and DPO. Characteristic of a

marketplace still in its growth stage, education is

required.

Lastly, we established a measure of the level of

experience with BPM, and found that the survey

population represented a wide sample of BPM

experiences ranging from none to enterprise-wide

deployment. This measure is also a reflection in the

degree of BPM installation in the market in general, with

distribution along a slightly lopsided bell curve.

Over 32% of responding organizations have departmental level

experience with BPM. Another 22% are in the throes of

enterprise wide deployment/integration, while 45% have little

to no experience at all. 20% of the respondents indicated that

there are currently no plans to invest in BPM solutions,

providing a balanced mix of perspectives from those that have

implemented (at various stages of implementation) to those in

an evaluation stage to those with no serious plans at this time.

8

BPM

ECM

Workflow

Bus Process analytics

Enterprise application integration

Business process re-engineering

Document process outsourcing 38

62

41

39

88

77

61

Figure 4: What is your understanding of the following

terms?

11%

11%

32%25%

20%

NoneNext 6 monthsDepartmental onlyIntegrating across deptsEnterprise strategy

Figure 5:

What is your org’s experience with BPM?

Not Just Workflow AnymoreThe core of the survey delved into the approaches to implementing and managing BPM solutions and the realities of

those experiences. We looked at the ownership of BPM solutions, the current need for awareness building, targeted

business applications, the levels of success organizations are currently having with BPM, and the obstacles encountered.

A Solution Without a Clear Owner

Among the surveyed organizations, there is no industry best practice or standard with regards to ownership of BPM

initiatives. 68% of the organizations surveyed stated that no specific group is responsible for BPM. Furthermore, there is

a distinct lack of clarity in terms of the optimal reporting relationship for BPM within an organization. Fundamental issues

still seem to plague the BPM market, such as "Is BPM a business issue or a technology issue?" and "Is BPM strategically

or tactically positioned in the organization?"

When asked to identify the department to whom the BPM team reports, survey responses were divided among technical

and business roles. Surprisingly, BPM is not currently tightly aligned to compliance/legal/quality teams, in spite of the

promise of BPM to deliver process quality and consistency.

Success is Not Guaranteed

The success rates reported highlight the status of the BPM market as an emerging market in which success is still

sometimes elusive. Even after we factor out the percentage of respondents that have not yet undertaken even a single

BPM initiative, we find that there is a fair degree of difficulty in initially rolling out a BPM initiative. As previously stated,

BPM requires many steps. Processes must first be de-engineered and then re-engineered. Management and workers

alike must be acclimated to the new platform and approach to work. IT must learn a new toolset and perhaps undergo

9

68%

32%

YES NO

Figure 6: Do you have a specific group in your

org responsible for BPM?

16%

2%5%

8%

14%15%

19%

21%

IT CIO PresidentCOO CFO Compliance or legalQuality Other

Figure 7: To whom does the BPM group report?

major platform and architecture changes. Given the list of

prerequisites it is perhaps not surprising that 16% of respondents

indicated that their initial BPM endeavor experienced significant

difficulty. 12% stated they had an enterprise initiative, yet only 6%

indicated very successful deployment at the enterprise level.

While 32% of respondents reported departmental-level BPM

initiatives (See Figure 5), only 25% characterize their initiative as

“successful” at the enterprise level. Clearly there is ample need

for additional experience, best practices and education in the

BPM market, which is further substantiated later in this report.

Which Comes First? Process or

Content?

Given the roots of workflow in the document management

industry, it comes as no great surprise that there is often

significant overlap--and often confusion--between BPM

and ECM initiatives within an organizations.

The 2007 AIIM State of the ECM Industry Survey

highlighted some of this confusion. End users were divided in terms of whether their ECM initiative was a subset of their

BPM initiative or vice versa. In addition, nearly 40% saw no real relationship between the two. In some ways, this is a

function of the group being sampled; the participants were drawn from an AIIM sample in a survey focused on ECM.

One thing is clear, though: As end users become more

aggressive and sophisticated in their ECM approach, they are

simultaneously much more likely to explore extending their

ECM investment into BPM initiatives.

For example, 26% of those who characterize themselves as

having an enterprise approach to ECM also indicate that they

have an enterprise approach to BPM. If you look only at

those with a departmental approach to ECM, only 4% of this

group would claim an enterprise approach to BPM.

So the net-net is twofold. First, in general organizations are

not as far down the “enterprise” curve for their BPM initiatives

as they are for their content initiatives. Second, organizations

that have pushed the envelope for content and documents

are likely to be in the process of doing similarly in the BPM

arena.

10

6%

16%

25%

16%

36%

Little to no successInitially difficult; now some successDept success; no enterprise success yetLeveraged early success into repeatable improvementsVery successful at enterprise level

Figure 8: What is the success of your organiza-

tion’s BPM initiative?

7%

38%

26%

30%

BPM a subset of ECMECM a subset of BPMTwo separate initiatives; some intersectionNot related

Figure 9: In terms of technology, what relationship do

you see between ECM and BPM? (From 2007 State

of ECM Industry Survey)

The top application candidates for a BPM initiative are: 1) customer service; 2) back office operations; 3) compliance

documentation; 4) IT services; and 5) human resources. This list comes as no great surprise given that a major value

proposition of BPM, like its predecessor workflow, is in automating and streamlining the transaction base within

organizations. Customer service, back office operations, and HR are thus likely candidates for a BPM initiative.

Customer Service stands out as the only top-ranked outwardly facing application. It is likely that organizations are

targeting not the custom hands-on customer assistance, but the high volume customer service associated with call

centers. This is a process highly susceptible to off-shoring of late, and thus easily viewed as a repeatable, rule-based,

process.

Another potentially puzzling anomaly is the high ranking of compliance documentation. As illustrated in Figure 7, few

BPM efforts report to or are associated with Legal and Compliance officers. The targeting of compliance documentation

on this list might be viewed as an optimistic hope among organizations that the bane of e-discovery, records control and

compliance might be automated and commoditized.

Overall, the gaps between the percentages reporting that they MIGHT consider a BPM solution and those that have

actually DONE SO highlight market opportunities. For example, 34 percentage points separate the MIGHT results for

compliance documentation from the 17% that have actually implemented an initiative in this area.

Understandably, organizations are reticent to BPM-enable processes that are ripe with human thought, dynamic decision

making and innovation, showing a clear understanding of the strengths and shortcomings of BPM. These processes

Back Office and Customer Service Head the List of Targeted Business

Applications for BPM Initiatives

11

Cust service

Back office operations

Order entry and billing

Compliance management

Compliance documentation

Manuf and fulfillment

Supply chain or logistics

IT services

Sales and marketing

HR

General admin

Risk management

R&D

Customer communications

Vendor communications 1714

811

2225

1425

1211

171820

3127

Figure 11: In which business applications have you AL-

READY implemented a BPM solution?

Cust service

Back office operations

Order entry and billing

Compliance management

Compliance documentation

Manuf and fulfillment

Supply chain or logistics

IT services

Sales and marketing

HR

General admin

Risk management

R&D

Customer communications

Vendor communications 4035

1527

4750

2851

2214

5144

375253

Figure 10: In which business applications MIGHT your

organization implement a BPM solution?

Lessons Learned: Plan and Get Educated

Survey respondents were asked to identify the single most important obstacle or problem they needed to overcome (or

did not overcome) in undertaking a BPM initiative. As is often the case with applications that directly impact business as

well as technology, the overriding issues are associated with the business side of the equation. By far, the number one

obstacle cited was "Underestimated Process and Organizational Issues,” with the number two response being "Internal

Politics.” Clearly, any BPM initiative needs to be preceded with a careful analysis of the existing business process,

acclimation of users and managers to a "new" approach to the business process and sensitivity to group dynamics. In

addition, the results point to the need for great care in setting up the governance structure for a BPM initiative, already

noted as a weakness within many organizations. All too often BPM teams believe they understand an existing process

because they have "read the manual" or "asked a manger,” when the day-to-day realties of that process lie with many

include R&D, Sales/Marketing, Customer Communication and Risk Management. Two anomalies are the lack of focus on

Supply Chain and Manufacturing/Fulfillment, both business processes typically positioned as transactional and rule-

based and thus associated with BPM. Perhaps this is related to the vertical industry breakout of the survey population.

The majority of the survey participants are from the Banking & Finance, Consulting, Insurance and Government

industries. These are industries that do not have a "traditional/hard goods" supply chain and manufacturing component

associated with them, and thus would not rank these processes as targets for BPM automation.

There is great alignment between Figure 11 (BPM already implemented) and Figure 10 (BPM MIGHT be a possibility).

Though not a perfect match, the similarity is strong enough to indicate that planned implementations lead to actual

implementations.

12

Budget overrun

Excessive “scope creep”

Internal politics

Underest process and org issues

Low user acceptance; poor design

Uneven usage; poor enforcement

Failed to prioritize high-value content

Failed to address taxon and metadata

Poorly defined business case

Underest content migration issues

Failed to define benefits beyond unit

Lack of training internal staff

Lack of training external suppliers 313

446

41

54

2014

128

Figure 12: What is THE MOST IMPORTANT obstacle or

problem to overcome in your organization with regards to

BPM?

4%

33%

32%

19%

11%

Figure 13: What is the level of need in your organization for

vendor independent training on BPM?

None Some ModerateSignificant Urgent

BPM Requires Justification, But No Single Best Approach Exists

Given the relatively nascent nature of the BPM market and the overall business climate with regards to justifying IT spend,

it is reasonable to expect that most organizations will go through some type of justification before implementing a BPM

initiative. Survey respondents clearly supported this premise.

Despite the promise and need for the benefits of BPM (e.g., increased efficiency, process agility, streamlining of efforts

and costs), management is asking for justification. Only 12%

of the organizations surveyed felt that justification was not

important with regards to BPM initiatives (or did not know).

Among the 88% that felt it was important, 39% felt it was

very important. It is in this justification stage that BPM

mangers should begin to address the issues of education,

acclimation, change management and internal politics. In

the absence of industry best practices, standards and

preferred/tested justification models, this is no small task.

Among survey respondents three approaches to

justification (ROI, TCO, and Payback Periods/Break Even

Points), were popular. [Note: The acronyms were spelled

out in the survey questioner in order to eliminate the chance

that respondents were unfamiliar with the acronym rather

than the concept. These were: TCO (Total Cost of

Ownership), NPV (Net Present Value), ROI (Return on

Investment) and IRR (Internal Rate of Return).]

An additional 18% of those surveyed did not know which

approach was used in their organization, further illustrating

the need for tighter communication amongst these BPM

teams. Recall that underestimating issues and lack of

knowledge among staff were earlier cited as major obstacles

to BPM implementation. The benefits associated with BPM

are potentially vast. If benefits are not clearly defined and measured in a way that resonates with the organization,

justification will be difficult at best. A solid 65% of survey respondents indicated that was or is expected to be achieved

in 3 years or less.

individual "actors" involved in the process, and with the exceptions and not the rules. Very few organizations can get

away with redefining a process from scratch, but must be intimate with current realities, workarounds and exceptions.

Managers and users must be given a clear understanding of the efforts that are involved, the costs that will be incurred,

and the changes that will result.

Education is a necessary initial step for nearly everyone in the organization (not just the technician) where BPM is

concerned. Indeed, when asked the level of need for vendor independent BPM training and education in their

organization, respondents most powerfully agreed on a dire need. A full 70% identified a moderate or greater need, with

4% indicating the need was urgent. Again, AIIM will be responding to this need with a comprehensive vendor-neutral

curriculum that will be launched in September.

13

39%

36%

12%

4%8%

Don’t knowNot important at allSomewhat unimportantSomewhat importantVery important

Figure 14: How important is it in your organization to

justify BPM investments?

BPM Has a Wide Reach

Business processes by their very nature involve a plethora

of participants, from both inside and outside the

organization. Therefore it follows that BPM solutions must address both internally and externally focused tasks. Survey

respondents reinforced this premise. When asked how likely they would be to consider a BPM solution that would

manage both outbound and inbound process segments, only 25% did not think it was likely. Of the 75% that felt it was

likely, 23% felt it was very likely, again reflecting a basic tendency of business processes to go outside the firewall.

Indeed, there does not appear to be a subset, or specialized set

of processes that exhibit this requirement, but rather "all"

processes.

BPM Not a Turnkey Implementation –

Held Close to Home

Despite the survey respondents' agreement that BPM will go

beyond the walls of the organization with regards to reach, there

is great reluctance to physically deploy BPM outside the firewall.

Survey respondents who reported having at least a single

instance of BPM in-house were asked to identify the

implementation model used. Nearly half (47%), identified

integrating a BPM system with other systems. Another 38%

customized a BPM package for their needs. Business processes

are not islands, nor are they a commodity. With the exception of

routine non-core processes (e.g., sales force automation –

Salesforce.com), processes are a reflection of what makes an

organization unique. Therefore, it is not surprising that most BPM

implementations require integration with other modules and

14

21%

14%

50%

15%

< one year 1-3 years4-5 years Not calculated

Figure 16: What is the expected payback time for

your BPM initiative?

Total cost of ownership

Net present value

ROI

Internal rate of return

Payback period 32

19

73

16

41

Figure 15: Which approach to justification is used in your

organization with regards to BPM investments? (Can

check more than 1; only those reporting at least one)

23%

25% 26%

21%

4%

Don’t understand the questionNot likelySomewhat likelyLikelyVery likely

Figure 17: How Likely Would Your Organization be to

Use a BPM Solution that Manages Both Outbound

and Inbound Segments of a Business Process?

customization. Survey respondents shied away from hosted and

outsourced approaches to BPM.

When specifically asked if their organization would consider BPM

provided in a SaaS (Software as a Service) model, nearly half

responded "not likely.” Again, it is likely that survey respondents

were focusing on critical and core processes (and not

commodity processes) in answering this question.

When asked what the major concerns were with adopting BPM

as a SaaS solution, security and lack of control were the most

popular responses. There is clearly a reluctance to take the

lifeblood of the organization (its core processes) and move them

outside the organization. Internal cultural issues (e.g. resistance

from internal teams and IT) were cited as major obstacles to

BPM overall, but these paled compared such concerns as

security and lack of control and flexibility. It is likely that as SaaS

models become more ingrained in business strategies and

security issues are more aggressively addressed, the reluctance

to deploy BPM at least partially as a SaaS will wane.

15

5%5%5%

38%

47%

Integrate BPM with Other SystemsCustomized Packaged SolutionHosted/SaaSOutsourced/Not SaaSOther

Figure 19: Which Best Describes Your Organiza-

tion's Approach to Implementation of BPM Solu-

tions?

10%

12%

25%

47%

6%

Don’t know; don’t understand Not likelySomewhat likely LikelyVery likely

Figure 20: How Likely Would Your Organization Ever Consider a

"Software as a Service" to Meet its BPM Needs?

Cust service

Back office operations

Order entry and billing

Compliance management

Compliance documentation

Manuf and fulfillment

Supply chain or logistics

IT services

Sales and marketing

HR

General admin

Risk management

R&D

Customer communications

Vendor communications 3432

815

3636

2632

139

362430

4042

Figure 18: Which Processes are Candidates for a

BPM Solution that Would Include Both Outbound

and Inbound Capabilities?

About the Survey SponsorXerox Global Services

Today unstructured documents, security requirements and continued pressure to reduce cost can challenge any

business process. Xerox Global Services (NYSE: XRX) can help with a wide range of imaging and document

management services. Leading companies around the world trust Xerox to streamline, automate and integrate their

document-driven processes to optimize their workflow with the added control and security of a proven global provider.

No other company has more comprehensive experience delivering total document management for results you can see

and measure. Find out more at www.xerox.com/globalservices.

16