Merge Ahead for Better Business

Merge Ahead for Better BusinessThe convergence of ECM and BPM promises better business

Two categories of software have evolved side-by-side over the last two decades: enterprise content management (ECM) and business process management (BPM). Both ECM and BPM can play important roles in helping an enterprise become more efficient. But while ECM and BPM work well independently of each other, together they can effectively address even more complex processes that involve both content and process management tasks.

ECM is generally thought of as the organization and management of a company’s documents and other content assets. BPM, on the other hand, is less focused on content, and instead provides a way to manage the wide range of business processes an organization needs to run its business effectively.

This white paper examines the strengths of each technology, how they complement each other, and discusses the reasons why the integration of BPM and ECM results in an integrated operation with deep and comprehensive business insights.

Contents

A Look at Business Process ManagementBPM TechnologyBPM is Necessary for Digital Transformation

A Look at Enterprise Content ManagementThe Enterprise Content Management SystemECM Integration with Other Business Systems

Bringing ECM and BPM Together: Unifying Process and Content

Content, Process, and PeopleBenefits of Unifying BPM and ECM

The Implication for ECM and BPM Platforms

www.everteam.com+1 (650) 596-1800 | 28 State Street, Boston, MA 02109 – USA

Abdullah Daoud VP, Product ManagementEverteam

A Look at Business Process Management

BPM Technology

At the heart of every organization are business processes: sets of

repeatable tasks or activities that accomplish a business goal. Business

process management is simply the discipline of analyzing, optimizing and

monitoring the performance of business processes.

It doesn’t start with technology. Before there was a category of software

called BPM, management professionals and process engineers were

creating systems centered on defining, documenting, monitoring,

measuring performance, and optimizing the business processes an

organization.

BPM is software that employs technology to achieve those same goals. The official definition

of BPM from Gartner is:

“...the discipline of managing processes (rather than tasks) as the means for improving

business performance outcomes and operational agility. Processes span organizational

boundaries, linking together people, information flows, systems and other assets to

create and deliver value to customers and constituents.”

Most BPM systems include a shared set of core capabilities, such as:

• Identification of processes within the organization and determination of which ones can

be best managed with BPM

• Modeling of business processes (capturing the activities, people, content involved in the

process) using a visual editor

• Identification of rules and workflow followed from the start of the process to its

completion.

• The ability to start and stop processes automatically, based on results created during the

execution of the process.

• Testing of processes to ensure they work as expected.

• Monitoring processes to ensure they are performing as expected, improving them where

necessary.

Not all BPM systems are the same, so it’s important to understand the features and

capabilities you need before you select the BPM system that’s right for you. For example, if

you have a highly mobile workforce, you’ll want to ensure that your BPM system works across

mobile devices. Similarly, if many of your employees are geographically distributed, or work

outside the office, then consider looking for solutions that are cloud-based.

Merge Ahead for Better Business 2

Business process management used to be primarily about cutting costs and being

more efficient. But it’s much more than that in today’s business landscape. Today

it’s very much about competitive advantage: agility in getting new processes in place

quickly to support the business, and customer experience improvements such as

allowing customers to execute self-service activities easily.

BPM can also provide “connective tissue” that connects the various systems in

an organization. In a discussion with Peter Schooff, Managing Editor of BPM.com,

Neil Ward-Dutton, Analyst with MWD Advisors said it was critical to leverage BPM

technology for digital transformation:

“...there is a great opportunity for BPM technology to be used to create what I’ve

heard called a digital thread that can run through an organization from the front

office to the back office, from the customer through to supply chain if you like, to

enable new kinds of experiences and products.”

BPM is Necessary

for Digital

Transformation


BPM Technology (con’t)

While there are many differences in the capabilities of different BPM solutions, there are

several core capabilities included in almost all BPM software products.

1. Process Execution: The process engine is the heart of a BPM system. It’s used to model

and execute business processes, providing the communication and interaction between

different people, data and process sources across the organization.

2. Analytics and Reporting: Analytics and Reporting give managers insights into how

processes are performing, where bottlenecks might be occurring, and where processes can

be automated or improved.

3. Content Management: All business processes involve content of some kind. Many BPM

systems provide some degree of content management capabilities.

4. Collaboration: Typically more than one person performs or manages a business process.

Collaboration tools enable teams to work together more effectively through the use of

features such as chat, workspaces to share documents and processes in development,

messaging, and more.


A Look at Enterprise Content ManagementEnterprise content management has its origins in basic document

management and imaging but has grown significantly in capabilities and

functionality over the last 25 years. The growth of ECM came from the need

to manage all enterprise information - both structured and unstructured

- to address regulatory needs and to improve efficiency and control and

ensuring the right people (and only the right people) had access to the right

information. Enterprise content management helps an organization manage

the entire lifecycle of its information from creation or capture all the way

through to records and disposition (archiving or destruction). But it’s much

more than simply managing content.

AIIM defines enterprise content management as:

“...the systematic collection and organization of information that is to

be used by a designated audience – business executives, customers,

etc. Neither a single technology nor a methodology nor a process, it

is a dynamic combination of strategies, methods, and tools used to

capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver information supporting

key organizational processes through its entire lifecycle.”

Enterprise Content Management Software

Gartner defines ECM as “both a strategic framework and a technical architecture that supports

all types of content (and format) throughout the content life cycle.” (Gartner Magic Quadrant

for ECM, Oct 2015). As such, ECM systems have capabilities that typically include:

• Managing access to content

• Document versioning

• Management of Audit Trails

• Records lifecycle management

• Document sharing and collaboration

• Image capture and processing

• Simple workflow capabilities

As with BPM systems, not all ECM systems are identical. Although most provide the key

capabilities listed above, some provide additional functionality. Content analytics is a good

example of a capability that not all systems provide, but one that many organizations can

benefit from greatly; Content analytics give organizations the opportunity to explore the

content collected into ECM repositories to extract business insights based on patterns.


The ability of an ECM system to integrate tightly with other enterprise systems is also

a key differentiator. This includes integration with case management or business

process management systems, in addition to portal software, CRM, and ERP systems.

A Case Management application or module within an ECM platform is one example

of this kind of integration. Some organizations have complex case management

requirements that don’t fit with an out-of-the-box solution. Dealing with large amounts

of content is a key feature of case management, so some organizations are building

their custom case management solutions on top of their ECM, integrating business

process management capabilities where necessary.

This is an example of integration between ECM and BPM capabilities to create

content-centric applications that support complex, integrated business processes.

Applications built on an ECM system might leverage a business process engine to

manage the routing of content, assigning of activities and tasks related to creating or

using the content (including reviews and approvals), and creating audit trails. And we

see many more exciting applications that can be built at the intersection of ECM and

BPM.

ECM Integration with Other Business Systems

from AIIM Industry Watch: ECM Decisions - strategic options for managing, accessing and preserving content


Bringing ECM and BPM Together: Unifying Processes and ContentSo far, we’ve looked at enterprise content management and business

process management as a standalone systems and how, when lightly

integrated, they provide complementary capabilities that can improve

business processes.

More complete convergence of ECM and BPM is topic worth pursuing in

more detail because solutions based on this unification are poised to bring

even greater business benefit to organizations.

Content, Process, and People

There are three core elements in all organizations: people (employees, partners, customers),

processes, and content. None of these elements stands on its own: people manage processes

which often include content; content is created and needs to follow certain processes for how

it’s managed, which almost always includes intervention by people, and processes connect

both content and people.

It’s effective coordination of these three things -- people, process, and content -- that ensures

an organization’s success. It doesn’t matter how it’s created or by whom, all content is tied

to a process. The process may be to manage that particular piece of content, or it might be

a business process that creates or ingests content as part of its workflow. Without a process,

content does not support the activities of a business, so it makes perfect sense to combine the

capabilities of these two key business systems.

Unifying enterprise content management and business process management

allows us to remove an artificial barrier to building better business solutions.

Building on the strengths of each other, a unified ECM and BPM approach to

managing business activities integrates activities that include processes and

documents in a seamless set of interactions.

Benefits of Integrating

ECM and BPM


Without integration, a user may have to move from one system to another to find and work with the

information they need to complete a process. For example, if an insurance worker needs documents

in a content management or records management system related to a recent insurance claim, they

would have to leave their current environment, go to the other system and search for the information

they need. Then they would have to go back into their case management tool and continue working.

When integrated, the caseworker can find and view what they need from the records management

system as part of an integrated process at the appropriate step. Similarly, an integrated solution can

update a back-end system with information collected in a form as part of a single process.

Another example: Since links can be automatically generated within the BPM pointing to the necessary

content in other systems, an integrated solution simplifies the process of finding and retrieving

information needed for the business process.

Compliance requirements often focus on maintaining records of activities. An integrated ECM and BPM

solution can capture records of not just the documents created and accessed, but also the activities

completed as processes are executed. The result is a more complete record of business activities. In

addition, archiving of documents can be integrated into the execution of processes, ensuring required

records are captured and retained.

Simplifies Integrated

Processes that Connect Content

and Processes

Supports Compliance

As discussed, ECM manages data and document storage and relationships while

BPM manages the data lifecycle, rules enforcement, and acts as an integration layer. An integrated

BPM/ECM system enables support of data-driven processes which leads to the ability to bind data with

processes/rules.

Why are data-driven processes critical? The best way to answer that is with an example. Insurance

claim processing demonstrates the need to transition from managing initiatives to managing activities

and the entire related lifecycle.

For an insurance claim, there’s one main entity (the claim record) that needs an undetermined amount

of documentation support. First, the ECM provides a place to store data and documents. But related to

this single claim record, you could have two bound processes: one to provide the claim processing and

one that could be triggered by a rule if certain values are matched. For example, if a fraud investigation

is initiated around a claim, that trigger lets the ECM relate data to the claim.

An insurance claim may eventually resolve to a payment. The claim process would create that

payment record, and in turn that payment record would have the claim process associated with it.

Many types of transactions could create payments for different reasons, but you have one process to

manage them all.

As the BPM is managing the lifecycle of the data, it also covers integration scenarios. There may be a

policy management system that needs to be updated with the claim resolution and the BPM would

manage that integration.

Enables Data-Driven Processes


Most organizations must comply with specific guidelines related to how information is used and

maintained. Internal compliance policies are put in place by organizations to ensure they are

managing their information in a consistent, uniform way, and ensuring its availability to the right

people.

External compliance regulations are imposed by the industry; some of these include HIPPA, 21 CFR

Part 11 and SOX, among many others. These regulations dictate how information must be stored,

maintained and made available within the organization.

Integrated solutions that combine business and process management ensure that all information

used within business processes also follow these compliance regulations. Without this integration, an

organization would have to manage compliance separately in the BPM system. The biggest concern in

separate systems is a lack of consistently in how regulations are followed and potential errors in how

compliance regulations are applied.

Agility and the ability to quickly make decisions are critical for organizations today. This requires

business processes that run smoothly and return results as quickly as possible, including business

processes that are tightly connected to content.

Consider working on a process or a case and realizing you need information. Where is that information

located? Do you know if you have all the information you need to make the right decision? Do you

have to look in many different repositories to find the required information? Do you have the right

access to it?

Access to accurate, timely, and relevant information from directly within a process speeds the time

to complete that process. This is where the integration of ECM and BPM drives process improvement.

The caseworker no longer has to search in multiple systems for the information they need and in some

cases, the system may automatically point them to information they didn’t realize available.

Supports Compliance

Requirements

Drives Process Improvements

Analytics of content and processes are both critical. Process analytics examines how a process is

performing, including if there are bottlenecks or opportunities to automate certain activities to speed

their completion. Content analytics tell you what content is being created and by whom, and how it is

consumed within the organization.

When combined, they provide a richer picture of how an organization’s processes are performing,

and how content supports those processes. You can understand how different content assets support

business processes. You may see where the unavailability of certain content slows the process, or

where content is regularly missing or incomplete.

If content is a primary element to a business process, then understanding its use within the process

can help you improve how it works.

Enables Better Decisions


Where BPM involves the management of structured, repeatable processes, case management is the

process of managing unstructured processes that don’t follow a strict pattern and are very human and

information intensive. As a result, case management doesn’t fit nicely into the world of BPM.

Although case management does rely greatly on information, it also does not apply perfectly to the

world of ECM. This is because case management still requires some degree of process management to

work.

By integrating ECM and BPM, you can easily bring together the necessary capabilities of each system to

create a case management solution that works for your organization on multiple levels.

In this case, you can leverage the business rules engine to ensure the proper workflow is applied,

automate some repeatable activities, and even take advantage of the BPM’s process modeling

capabilities. From the ECM you can use the content repository and content workflow features,

in addition to the ECM’s collaboration capabilities, document imaging, and capture and record

management capabilities.

Building your case management system on top of both your ECM and BPM ensures you are developing

the system according to your specific needs and enables the continued customization of your case

management functionality as your requirements grow and evolve.

Supports Dynamic Case Management

The Implication for BPM and ECM PlatformsThe worlds of ECM and BPM emerged separately and have evolved

on separate paths. As such, there has been a wall between ECM

and BPM software products. But in the real world our work does

not separate neatly into activities focused on “processes” versus

activities focused on “content”.

That barrier between ECM and BPM is dissolving, driven by the need

for organizations to be able to view and manage their businesses

more holistically, as a group of integrated activities and not just as a

set of transactions. Trying to view, model, and manage a business at

the transactional level limits the ability to optimize processes, each

of which may include many transactions, and support both internal

information workers and external customers.


From basic information handling and simple process paths to complex documentation required for complex decision making, a unified ECM

and BPM system delivers key business elements to the right people at the right time, driving better business decisions.

Everteam acquired Intalio, a leading BPM vendor, in 2015, motivated by our belief that ECM and BPM capabilities need to be available side-

by-side to create integrated processes that reflect core business activities. Our goal in that strategic move was explicitly to bring a world-class

BPM platform under the same roof as Everteam’s award-winning ECM platform.

In Everteam’s iBPMS 8.0 release, we are adding capabilities to the already powerful Intalio product that move it toward an integrated set of

process and content management capabilities. Our vision for the future of our ECM and BPM platforms is a set of unified services available to

applications that address the full range of process and content management functional requirements.

Both ECM and BPM are critical to ensuring a business runs smoothly. Separately these two systems work well, but together they provide a

richer experience that improves the efficiency and effectiveness for your employees and processes. At Everteam, we see the signs of a merger

between ECM and BPM capabilities ahead, and we are steering toward that point of intersection in our product plans today.

Learn MoreEverteam improves how “work” gets done by automating the complex,

interconnected processes, content, and systems that your business relies on

every day. Request a demo to see for yourself how Everteam can:

• Bring paper, digital and other content sources into one comprehensive

content management system.

• Create scalable, repeatable business actions that anticipate your

unstructured processes.

• Manage records retention and access for all record types, regardless

source, format or system.

• Make content accessible and searchable at every stage of the content

lifecycle.

• Create more meaningful and cost-effective customer experiences for both

clients and internal groups.

Request a free demo today to talk with a solutions architect about the best

way to tackle your content management priorities with Everteam. Visit

http://www.everteam.com/en/software-demo/.

[email protected]

About Everteam

Everteam brings over 25 years’ experience and innovation to the field of Enterprise Content

Management. In an ever-increasing legal and compliance environment, Everteam’s range

of products support the improvement of content –driven processes, and enable enterprise

customers to easily monitor and align their content strategies for overall organizational

efficiency and effectiveness.

+33 (0)1 72 71 33 3

336, rue Saint-Honoré,

75001 Paris – France

+1 (650) 596-1800 (voice) / +1 (650) 249-0439 (fax)

28 State Street Boston,

MA 02109, United States

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Merge Ahead for Better Business