What happens when you move away from automated approval processes and into comprehensive, flexible, enterprise change management?  You achieve real time Business Process Management (BPM) that remains agile.

Over the years BPM has taken many forms and arguments.  The leading experts seem to have come to an agreement that automation of approval processes is one small piece of BPM, and that true BPM lies in the final word - management.  When workflows are rigid and do not allow for evolution as new efficiencies in processes are discovered or new regulations added, BPM is lost.

To use the example on www.cio.com:

BPM gives an organization the ability to define, execute, manage and refine processes that:

• involve human interaction, such as placing orders
• work with multiple applications
• handle dynamic process rules and changes, not just simple, static flows, (think tasks with multiple choices and contingencies)

What's more, in the graphic at the right, we see that BPM should not only be web-enabled and allow for process modelers and workflow rules, it should also support digital signatures and federated authentication.

Not long ago, Xerox, a $22 billion corporation with 130,000 employees in 160 countries, set out to find a way to achieve Enterprise Business Process Management on a world-wide scale.  Starting with their solid ink unit, an exploration into options and solutions began.

Using Aras, Xerox has transformed their worldwide product development process for office products, incorporating a comprehensive, flexible approach to business process management.  Watch the video below to benefit from years of Xerox research and advantages gained on Aras. 

BPM graphic courtesy of: nih.gov [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons