Business process automation

Business process automation, or BPA, is the process a business uses to contain costs. It consists of integrating applications, cutting labor wherever possible, and using software applications throughout the organization.

Delivery

There are four main techniques for delivering automation of a process.

Extension of existing IT systems

As most IT systems are inherently automation engines in themselves, a valid option is to extend their functionality to enable the desired automation, creating customised linkages between the disparate application systems where needed. This approach means that the automation can be tailored specifically to the exact environment of the organisation, on the down-side it can be time-consuming to find the necessary skills either internally or in the marketplace.

Purchase of a specialist BPA tool

Specialist companies are now bringing toolsets to market which are purpose-built for the function of BPA. These companies tend to focus on different industry sectors but their underlying approach tends to be similar in that they will attempt to provide the shortest route to automation by exploiting the user interface layer rather than going deeply into the application code or databases sitting behind them. They also simplify their own interface to the extent that these tools can be used directly by non-technically qualified staff. The main advantage of these toolsets is therefore their speed of deployment, the drawback is that it brings yet another IT supplier to the organisation.

Purchase of a Business Process Management solution with BPA extensions

From the discussion below, it can be seen that a Business Process Management system is quite a different animal from BPA, however it is possible to build automation on the back of a BPM implementation. The actual tools to achieve this will vary, from writing custom application code to using specialist BPA tools as described above. The advantages and disadvantages of this approach are inextricably linked – the BPM implementation provides an architecture for all processes in the business to be mapped, but this in itself delays the automation of individual processes and so benefits may be lost in the meantime.

Purchase of a Middleware solution

"Middleware" is a generic IT term which describes infrastructural solutions for tying disparate application systems together. It can provide a method of automating the replication and synchronisation of separate databases and so provide a robust solution which will be invisible to end users. Its main drawback is that it is a highly technical approach and therefore dependent upon specialist skills, both for the initial implementation and to effect changes later.

Business Process Automation (BPA) vs Business Process Management (BPM)

An area of discussion exists as to whether BPA is a distinct field of activity in its own right or merely a subset of a wider activity known as BPM. Given the similarity in terminology it is not surprising that most casual observers would believe them to be closely related if not identical. However, to experts in these areas they carry very distinct meanings, even if they are ultimately complementary concepts. To explain this further it is necessary to summarise the views of each camp:

The BPM camp asserts that before any process can be automated, it is necessary to define (often at a very strategic level or enterprise-wide) all of the business processes running inside an organisation. From this the processes can be re-defined and where necessary optimised, including automation.

The BPA camp state that until a process is automated, there is no real value in analysing and defining it, and that the cycle of business change is so rapid that there simply isn’t time to define every process before choosing which ones to address with automation, and that delivering immediate benefits creates more value.

There is no consensus amongst which view will prevail, however it can be seen that both perspectives are at least complementary to some extent. Process improvement methodologies such as Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma appear to align well with the BPA view of the world, as they constantly look for incremental opportunities to make processes more efficient and reduce defects, however these methodologies can also be used downstream of a BPM deployment.

The role of service-oriented architecture (SOA) with respect to BPA

Although not widely available today, service-oriented architectures are an umbrella term for a move in IT systems towards providing greater access and exchange of functionality between systems. The idea is that both previous and future IT systems will be re-engineered to provide standard interfaces, thus allowing themselves to be linked more easily and flexibly. SOA could thus be viewed as an enabler of automation between disparate systems, although that is by no means the only driver behind SOA. However as these standard interfaces can only be delivered relatively slowly, it will be some time before SOA can be viewed as an immediate option for delivery of process automation.

Business Process Automation Product List

Vitria Technology
Cronacle (software)
[[Springcm] (SaaS software)] - Getting Started on the Paperless Office, Springcm Paperless Whitepaper, Chicago, IL USA, 2007.