In one corner we have Apple with their IPhone/iPad combination, in the second corner we have the real heavweight Microsoft, with Windows Mobile, in the third corner we have Android and in the fourth corner sits Blackberry. "Seconds OUT, let battle commence or should I say escalate!?!"
Without Nokia having recently dropped its own Symbian technology, in favour of Windows Mobile, my boxing ring analogy would be looking pretty weak.
Conversations (and event polls) we have with clients and prospects alike, would indicate that many organisations are yet to even consider a corporate standard for mobile devices, let alone decide on which mobile technology to adopt.
In addition it is clear that for many organisations the mobile devices used by their employees are, beyond calls, e-mails, calendars and of course games and social networking totally under utilised. They are in short corporate gadgets and 'play things', and organisations do not fully exploit the opportunities available to them by adopting a mobile element to their business systems strategy.
I recently read somewhere that BPM and particularly mobile BPM, is a technology waiting for a problem to solve.
The truth is that those of us deploying this technology are getting on with the job of helping our clients to address their critical process issues, concerns and pains; rather than waiting for the perfect storm (mobile technology, bpm technology and market awareness) which is some way off, and if some commentators are to be believed, may never actually happen!
The key is helping organisations see how Business Process Management principles, solutions and mobile solutions, can solve the problems they face now, rather than trying to convince them that some BPM nirvana is just around the corner!
http://www.profad.co.uk/invite/bpm-whitepaper.htm
When it comes to BPM I hear a lot about SOA, XML, Web 2.0, EAI, BPMN, ECM...and after a while I am sure all one hears is blah, blah, blah, because this is only technology [apologies to the technologists amongst you].
Process may be well conceived, designed and built and the technology may well be great, but the one factor I hear very little mention of in all the BPM ‘chatter’, is the word PEOPLE. I would strongly suggest that the absolute key to a BPM project's success is understanding, appreciating and considering the very people involved in the process.
It is all well and good to say consider the people...but how?
I would suggest there are a number of practical ways to achieve this:
• Understand how each person in the process operates e.g. how does he or she measure their own success as a part of the process and measure the success of the entire process if that is appropriate to them.
• Involve each a person with a direct [and indirect?] interest, involvement, or investment in the process that will therefore be affected by the process change.
• Ensure that the interface for each user or group of users, is appropriate to their circumstances and requirements; MS Outlook, browser, mobile etc. as well as how the process success is to be measured for or by them; reporting and analytics.
As a vendor of BPM and P2P solutions, we have had an application in our portfolio [for many years now] called 3P, which delivers additional workflow capabilities beyond standard industry P2P requirements.
Why 3P I hear you ask...? 3P stands for People, Processes, Products.
The reason PEOPLE comes first in the list, is that it is people beyond everything else that we consider as being critical to any and all BPM projects. In addition when we say PEOPLE, we not only include employees, management, directors and shareholders; but also suppliers, partners, advisors and clients.
We [the team at Professional Advantage] believe that a lot of BPM projects fall short of delivering on their promises, because the implementation project fails to correctly predict the impact of PEOPLE issues...and this is not a mistake we make.
