IBM is a major player in the corporate business process modeling (BPM) software world. Recently, however, they’ve starting going after smaller organizations.

Over at eChannelLine.com, a story by Mark Cox explains their new offering:

BPM Express is a midmarket version of its Business Process Manager solution…[and] has a limit of 200 users and 4 CPUs.

…

BPM automates routine business process, such as billing, shipping and expense reports. IBM says BPM Express can reduce process cycle time from 30 days to seven days, leading to a reduction of up to 80% of manual work.

That’s a pretty exciting claim to process experts and mid-sized businesses. But perhaps the most astounding message comes from a quote by Ron Kline, director of marketing for IBM’s mid market business:

“Almost 70% of companies are looking at something around BPM in the next year and a half,” Kline said. “BPM Express has the robust capabilities of our full blown tool but is geared and priced for the midmarket, and is very competitively priced.”

The claim that more than two-thirds of businesses are looking at business process modeling in the next eighteen months seems astounding.  In fact, some studies indicate that many people aren’t even aware of process as a discipline.

We did report on IBM’s purchase of Lombardi back in 2009, and the creation of BPM components for SalesForce in 2010. These are great software packages, and if your organization already understands the value of business process we encourage you to consider them. But if you’re still struggling to identify everyday workflow while staying on top of details, software is not the answer. Instead, your organization must become process-centric. Learn more by reaching out to the team at Slaughter Development. We’d love to help you get ready to adopt BPM.

Tags: bpm, bpm express, bpmn, business process modeling, ibm, lombardi, process improvement, salesforce