Alexey Budin, ELMA: BPM systems become platforms of the technologies bringing fast effect to business

Alexey Budin: A BPM system — the product requiring serious temporary and human investments into development therefore the market was and remains rather narrow. The Russian vendors it is possible to count on fingers of one hand, and it is even less foreign players provided at us. On number of implementation projects of ELMA — the leader in Russia and the CIS. Therefore what is done by us — from solution development for RPA (Robotic Process Automation) on the ELMA platform before release of the cloud version of a BPM system for small business is in many respects and there is market development.

We feel that the need for IT instruments of increase in efficiency becomes ripe more and stronger. We should explain less, than a BPM system helps business — even more often we work already with accurately formulated customer requirements to this class of products. At the same time the number of projects are much more opportunities of all vendors combined around. Yes, we compete with each other, but work on this huge untilled field will be enough for all.

Alexey Budin: Many solutions are actively developed. Those functions and technologies which give rather fast effect for business get accustomed. In particular, robotization of processes (RPA) and business rule. And, on the contrary, the hype around technologies like a blockchain and Big Data gradually comes to naught.

The list of that what should be a modern system, appeared from experience of communication and work with customers and our vision of development of BPMS. To us sees that a task of vendor to provide:

1. Simplicity and system availability for non-management employees, as principal users of BPMS.
2. an Opportunity to quickly make changes to business process and if it is necessary, also quickly to be rolled away to the previous version.
3. the Possibility of measurement of efficiency of the made changes in regime of Real-time on the process course.
4. Convenience of the interface. Consists not only in intuitive clearness of a system, but also in providing to each employee that data set and such environment for work which will provide its maximum productivity.
5. Ease of integration with the existing IT solutions. It is first of all convenient API and also modern RPA technologies. Robotic automation — a "cheap" integration tool, including with the outdated systems on the party of the customer.

Alexey Budin: Financial institutions in general more mature. It is explained by the nature of the banking market in which goods always one — money. Banks compete services. And good service is always automation in information systems. If you are brake from the point of view of IT — you will be to nobody the necessary bank "from the day before yesterday". If only you not really large bank. Though now even large players are in competitive conditions and invest in IT much. Nobody is violently attached besides to Sberbank, and pay attention how many they do on the Niva of IT to be ahead of other players of the market.

Insurance companies and business which renders services in the highly competitive market catch up with banking sector on maturity level. In general, the lower the competition at the level of services, the is weaker penetration of process management.

Alexey Budin: Not only the large companies incline to processes. Startups and small business think of business processes. At the same time we understand that appetites at these companies rather different. Our flagship product is aimed by ELMA BPM at a segment of the large companies and can be a little bulky for small business. The small companies need easy solutions. Less adaptive, more available. And bright in terms of deployment. Therefore we released a cloud solution of ELMA 365.

Alexey Budin: Criterion of success two. It is economic feasibility when, figuratively speaking, benefits and the spent efforts yield good result at division. The advantage of basic processes is easily measured. Because process automation, connected with primary activity of the company is profit maximization. If to speak absolutely simply: the basic process is cheaper, the income is more.

At service processes and management processes other role. Automation of service processes is about cost reduction. Therefore here it is more difficult to count direct profitability. With management processes it is still more difficult, but in large quantities nobody measures them and automates.

The second criterion. Let's say we implemented BPM, the company uses a BPM system, economically everything turns out cool. But at the same time on the party of the customer the command which will support the solution is not created. It is all the same not really successful implementation. If there are no involved people ready to develop processes in a system — means product will become outdated soon and will disturb. Because in reality processes of the company will change, and in a BPM system — no.

Результаты внедрения BPM в Kapital Bank (the largest banking network in Azerbaijan). Average time on transaction in all bank branches since the moment as the client "sat down in a chair" before the end of transaction — filling of documents and introduction of data is counted

Alexey Budin: Process Mining is an interesting toy for any methodologist of process management. But for most the organizations is just the waste of time. And considering the cost of the solution — also big money.

This technology is tightly applicable and brings real benefit only in limited number of cases when the company has no automated end-to-end end-to-end of process, but all actions in different corporate IT solutions are well logged. Most often as a result of data collection so tangled picture of process is formed of logs that all is simpler to throw and to draw model again manually in BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation is the international standard for creation of graphic business process models).

Alexey Budin: In BPM systems there has to be as little as possible code. Because the main consumer of BPMS is not programmers, nevertheless normal office employees to whom a system is necessary for accomplishment of their direct duties (in a different way they are called still business users). For this reason, for example, in the first iteration of our new product ELMA 365 we refused the code. Business users can perform the main part of operations.

If to refuse the code absolutely (No-Code), then at the exit we will receive either quite low-power system, or the overloaded interface with a heap of settings and operators with whom all the same ordinary users will not deal — the same programming, only will turn out visual. Therefore in ELMA BPM at the level of architecture separation is put: the programmer works with the code, and the analyst — with business logic. It is also Low-Code — the concept which we profess. And No-Code is a utopia.

Alexey Budin: We move in two directions. We developed the new cloud ELMA 365 BPM system for the companies, small and average by the sizes.

For the large companies we seriously develop and we unload a line of ELMA BPM. Our flagship product acquires new tools for faster modeling and process optimization. The serious interface updating ground on adaptation and the fastest creation of processes prepares. Including performed by robots (RPA). Here our priorities — increase in industrial speed of development of processes and robotization.