This article looks at the benefits for smaller businesses of implementing workflow and business process management (BPM) solutions, along with examples of some of the better solutions available.

1. Benefits of Open Source Workflow &
Business Process Management (BPM)
Solutions for Smaller Businesses
Are process issues holding your business back?
Smaller businesses with fewer than 500 employees are just as likely to suffer with process
issues at some stage in their development as are larger businesses. This is especially true for
smaller businesses who tend to work in more unstructured ways and who unlike larger
businesses don't necessarily employ specialists with the skills to define process issues,
measure process capabilities, analyse where problems are occurring, improve the process and
implement the necessary control processes to ensure any benefits are sustained.
Common causes of business process issues in small
businesses include:
 Lack of training when on boarding new employees
 Lack of any process documentation

2.  Manual process inefficiencies
 Paper based processes
 Lack of any process controls
 Lack of an audit trail
 Lack of any process reporting
 High process costs due to them being manual & labour intensive
 Lack of business process related skills (e.g. Six Sigma etc)
How big an issue are process problems for small
businesses?
Clearly this will vary greatly from business to business however some analysts have reported
that process issues increase operational costs by between 12% and 40%.
Or to put this in to another perspective for every 10 people that you employ to manage your
processes you may be carrying unnecessary costs for an additional 1 to 4 people.
Software Issues
Smaller businesses have historically had two different type of solutions available pre-
packaged commercial software (e.g. accounting software etc) or bespoke software
development which has been designed and developed specifically around your requirements.
There are pro's and con's associated with either option, some of which include:
 One size does not fit all
 Slow development/customisation time
 Process changes are inevitable
 Costs associated with maintaining/supporting code
What if there was a better way that enabled you to:
 Significantly increase efficiency & productivity
 Remove human error
 Give you greater control over your processes
 Provided you with a detailed audit trail of who did what & when
 Enabled you to measure the performance of your processes
 Allowed you to change your processes quickly as and when needed
 Reduce your business costs
Business Process Management (BPM) utilises current workflow & BPM technology to
provide businesses with the ability to map and/or re-engineer their business processes,
implement processes as business applications which can be used on either a standalone basis
or integrated with existing business applications (such as CRM, ERP etc), and provide
business owners with the capabilities to monitor, analyse, control and improve the execution
of those processes in real time.

3. The role of Business Process Management (BPM) in smaller businesses is to improve the
quality of services delivered to customers and drive greater business insights.
Workflow & Business Process Management (BPM) is about automating workflow and
business processes that might already be in place, and alerting different users to activities that
they are responsible for by providing them with timely and relevant information needed to
carry out the designated activity.
In addition many Workflow & Business Process Management (BPM) solutions allow
businesses to monitor and optimise business processes.
Barriers to the Adoption of Workflow & Business Process
Management (BPM) Solutions
 Lack of a cross departmental mind-set amongst senior executives
 Lack of support from senior management
 Lack of clarity on a strategic level
 Lack of IT skills/expertise
 Non-existent/poor knowledge of process orientated approaches
Considerations for Smaller Businesses When Choosing a
Workflow & BPM Solution
There are a number of considerations given to workflow & BPM solution purchases. Many
smaller businesses fall in to the trap of focussing mainly on the actual cost of the solution,
ideally the following areas should be given consideration as a minimum.
 Affordability
 Ease of use
 Flexibility
 Comprehensiveness of solution
 Integration capabilities
What is the best Workflow & BPM solution for a Smaller
Business?
Clearly there are a number of workflow & BPM solutions available that would suit the needs
of smaller businesses. Two of our favourite solutions, based on merit are:
 eBMS (Commercial Software Solution)
 Joget Workflow (Open Source/Commercial Open Source Solution)
This article was originally posted on Anaeko Interactive's blog (http://www.anaeko-
interactive.co.uk/blog/).

4. Anaeko Interactive is a UK based company who specialise in improving and automating
business processes for businesses, not-for-profit organisations and public sector
organisations.
Our core areas of expertise include Open Source Workflow & BPM Solutions, Customer
Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) & Document
Management.