Business process management models enable more efficient operations in the company by simplifying processes and generally bringing a breath of innovation. When considering a scenario in which a company has a desire to address the digital transformation of its business by introducing ad hoc solutions to improve the speed and effectiveness of work, it is important to keep in mind the enablers of innovation.
Among the many aspects included here, we delve into three particular business levers that are impossible to ignore if you aim for the development and competitiveness of your business: process automation, data-driven governance, and attention to cyber security.
Business process management, the benefits of process automation
A redefinition of operating models implemented by implementing the principles of business process management allows activities to be innovated through the use of technology. In this way, activities that used to be carried out in a traditional way, for example with the sole operational effort of human staff, can be redesigned by taking advantage of tools such as management software, solutions based on artificial intelligence, IoT - Internet of things and Big data. In particular, process automation enables rapid:
- An increase in the speed of execution of operations;
- Less risk of making mistakes, especially human ones;
- Ability to monitor the entire progress of the process;
- Simplification of work for staff;
- Reduction of management and organizational costs.
The direct consequence is an increase in the overall efficiency of the company, with improvements in performance and speed in service delivery or industrial production depending on the industry.
Data driven governance: how business process management enables data analysis
The introduction of technological solutions based on the principles of business process management, declined on a practical level in business process automation or business process optimization, also enables virtuous data management. Companies deal with a significant amount of data every day, often unstructured and from different sources, not always usable by human operators. Process innovation makes it possible to collect and analyze the data at hand and turn it into useful information for top management. In fact, thanks to the reports produced by available technological tools such as management platforms, people will be able to make use of the data to understand the overall performance of their processes and identify, for example:
- improvements over previous performance and, consequently, any deterioration;
- Alignment with pre-determined KPIs and achievement of SLAs (Service Level Agreements), the service levels established with customers at the contract stage;
- the strengths of the company, on which to invest to become more competitive;
- expense items, analyzed with greater transparency to understand where cost savings can be implemented;
- unprofitable processes that need to be redefined.
These are all aspects that make it possible to strategically direct business choices, allocating budgets wisely and aiming for the development of one's business in the market.
Business process management, cyber security is a priority
Digital transformation of processes in the enterprise brings with it many benefits; however, the risks should not be forgotten. Considering cyber security from the very early stages of process design, on a "by design" basis to cite the principle of the European GDPR data protection regulation, offers competitive benefits to innovate securely. Providing adequate security measures, particularly to protect personal data and, on the technical side, business systems, is the solution to:
- prevent incidents, such as data breaches, that can cause substantial economic damage to the enterprise;
- Avoid the authorities' sanctions provided for incidents such as data stealing;
- not stop production, but instead ensure business continuity: attacks such as ransomware can bring industrial processes to a halt, with serious consequences for the company and its stakeholders;
- Carry out their operations in peace of mind and do not fear vulnerabilities.
This also includes training to employees, which is essential to avoid incidents caused by human error, such as in the case of phishing attacks.
