BPaaS (Business Process as a Service) Business platform as service

Clouds plus job specialization

Logic of emergence of the scheme BPaaS – on a surface.

Cloud computing which development is caused by the ever-increasing needs for software products including for increase in business performance are the cornerstone. Transition to software, the platforms and infrastructure provided in service quality is dictated by economic feasibility. Among advantages of cloud solutions – both fast deployment, and the predicted rather low cost, and reduction of internal costs on service^[1].

Besides, the principles of job specialization work. Why to buy the software administered by the regular specialist who should be trained, retrained, kept in the company and so on? It is possible to purchase software as service, having received at the same time also high-quality administration with guarantees. Especially, when SaaS provider offers services in system maintenance to hundreds of clients, his administrators should have high qualification.

BPaaS is a logical step forward as the scheme removes already not only IT questions, but also closes questions of data domain. Why to employ the human resources manager even if and working in a cloud HRM system? It is possible to use services of BPaaS-provider who will undertake the solution of personnel problems and at the same time will provide access to a cloud system when, for example, from the head it is required to consider the curriculum vitae of the interesting candidate for a position of the middle-manager above. The volume of the competences transferred to BPaaS-provider is defined by the client and can change if necessary. Partial loss of control over process will become costs of transfer, it is necessary to rely on SLA, accepting errors.

At large volumes of work if process is not key for the company, the sense in BPaaS is. And reasons of transfer of business process can be different: rather small company can select BPaaS to reduce process charges, and the large corporation can be discharged thus of non-core activity, focus on strategic tasks.

As a result, narrow-purpose specialists intensively work in the areas, without being distracted by adjacent – administrators monitor operability of a system, HR-y are engaged in personnel recruitment, and employees of the customer of BPaaS are involved only in primary activity of the company.

Schematic circuit of BPaaS

Clients work directly with BPaaS-provider who in turn:

• or orders the cloud software constructed by SaaS vendor on the purchased or own cloud platform and infrastructure;
• or itself develops the cloud software based on third-party PaaS-or even IaaS-solutions.

Roles of providers in the scheme can integrate, but it does not concern the consumer of the BPaaS-solution. To it essentially the nobility who delivers program providing, the platform and infrastructure for the solution of its tasks if it is going to leave in the future from the scheme BPaaS and independently to order solution SaaS or even to go down even below on scheme steps.

Technologies are secondary in relation to the solution of a business challenge. Generally the client removes all cares from the shoulders, shifting them to BPaaS-and other providers, paying value added. Ideally the consumer has financial guarantees of quality of rendering services, and before it in the answer there is a BPaaS-provider.

Economic party of BPaaS

Appearance of BPaaS-providers should be caused by demand, and demand, in turn, – benefit of work on the new scheme. Different participants: SaaS vendor, the BPaaS-provider and end customers – receive the benefits.

Payback from the point of view of the client

To service standard business process, it is necessary to have one-three managers. The average salary of the manager in Russia is 21,000 rubles. Total the solution of a business challenge costs the company in 21,000-63,000 rubles a month. Therefore, if the BPaaS-solution costs less than 500,000 in a year it on average profitable is already blank in terms of economy on wage fund of managers. Besides, the BPaaS-option assumes economy on administration of a corporate system (the salary of the system administrator in Russia also averages 21,000 rubles).

Is present here and "secondary" economy – is not present need to purchase or even to develop own corporate system in a cloud or at own capacities (and construction of own data center is already costs at the level of hundreds of thousands of dollars).

Backlash of earnings of BPaaS-provider

The BPaaS-provider creates the value added in which, naturally, net profit is put. He saves as buys not on-premise, but solution SaaS, and, as a rule, does not even think of lease of a cloud platform and deployment, customization of a system.

At the same time profitability of business of provider depends on the cost of a cloud system, on the one hand, and on the price to which the final customer agrees, on the other hand. And both restrictions external, provider cannot influence them.

As a result he agrees to some profitability of the business and can earn from volumes, purchasing the increasing capacities for bigger number of requests of clients. The scheme of licensing with the redemption of software, the scalability of solution SaaS and architecture allowing to use one database for service of a great number of clients are critical for BPaaS-provider. Under these conditions there is an opportunity to increase specific profit, increasing volumes.

Possibilities of economy of SaaS vendor

It would seem, the vendor of a cloud system can contact the end consumer with the product, and here presence of BPaaS-providers even creates the additional competition. In practice cooperation with the big customer buying licenses and capacities in the wholesale mode is profitable to SaaS vendor.

It is possible to focus on product development, but not on questions of marketing, sales and the other, connected with search clients. The BPaaS-provider gives stability, relationship with it simpler and is more transparent and including in terms of administration of a system.

Economy arises also on wage fund of the specialists servicing primary activity – development and providing software as services. Here again the mentioned principle of job specialization works.

BPaaS in the near future

Forbes in the article "Gartner Predicts Infrastructure Services Will Accelerate Cloud Computing Growth" of February 19, 2013 shared forecasts of analysts of Gartner concerning the future of cloud computing and, in particular, BPaaS.

According to the forecast the annual average gain of the BPaaS market till 2016 will make 10.7%. The total volume of the market will reach 47.9 billion US dollars. It for 15 billion dollars or is 46% more, than should make the size of the market of SaaS same 2016. Relying on the forecast of Gartner it is possible to tell that in the future wrapping of BPaaS-providers concerning their costs for the purchased cloud software will significantly exceed 50%.

Nevertheless, rates of a gain of the BPaaS market on the general background of cloud computing do not look high. It is possible to assume, it is caused by the fact that all participants of the scheme need to make considerable organizational efforts for establishing work, to change the usual principles of work. And all should move to each other, expand interaction that takes a lot of time. Therefore is still more perspective the position of SaaS vendors, working directly with clients looks.

In Russia according to forecasts of analysts of Parallels company the market of cloud services for the companies of small and medium business by 2016 will reach 55.6 billion rubles. When preserving the current proportion of the SaaS market to all market of clouds, the size of the market of SaaS can be about 20.4 billion rubles. Respectively, if the BPaaS-scheme in Russia begins to be used also actively as well as in the developed countries, it is possible to prepolozhit that the amount about 29.8 billion rubles will be a ceiling of size of the market of BPaaS in our country by 2016. Possibly, actual volume will be lower.

Notes