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Business Process Automation |
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 tekGIANTS and the BPA process:
We are "the" leading provider of business automation in the Orlando area. Our specialty is making sure your systems and processes flow in the most efficient manner. Our extenisive process starts with a fact-finding mission. We spend several days with your staff to see the process and then convert the manual processess with the most economical and efficient technology solution available.
Extension of existing IT systems
As most IT systems are inherently automation engines in themselves, a valid option is to extend their functionality to enable the desired automation, creating customized linkages between the disparate application systems where needed. This approach means that the automation can be tailored specifically to the exact environment of the organization, on the down-side it can be time-consuming to find the necessary skills either internally or in the marketplace.
Purchase of a Business Process Management solution with BPA extensions
From the discussion below, it can be seen that a Business Process Management system is quite a different animal from BPA, however it is possible to build automation on the back of a BPM implementation. The actual tools to achieve this will vary, from writing custom application code to using specialist BPA tools as described above. The advantages and disadvantages of this approach are inextricably linked – the BPM implementation provides an architecture for all processes in the business to be mapped, but this in itself delays the automation of individual processes and so benefits may be lost in the meantime.
Business Process Automation (BPA) vs Business Process Management (BPM)
An area of discussion exists as to whether BPA is a distinct field of activity in its own right or merely a subset of a wider activity known as BPM. Given the similarity in terminology it is not surprising that most casual observers would believe them to be closely related if not identical. However, to experts in these areas they carry very distinct meanings, even if they are ultimately complementary concepts. To explain this further it is necessary to summarize the views of each camp:
The BPM camp asserts that before any process can be automated, it is necessary to define (often at a very strategic level or enterprise-wide) all of the business processes running inside an organization. From this the processes can be re-defined and where necessary optimized, including automation.
The BPA camp state that until a process is automated, there is no real value in analyzing and defining it, and that the cycle of business change is so rapid that there simply isn’t time to define every process before choosing which ones to address with automation, and that delivering immediate benefits creates more value.
There is no consensus amongst which view will prevail, however it can be seen that both perspectives are at least complementary to some extent. Process improvement methodologies such as Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma appear to align well with the BPA view of the world, as they constantly look for incremental opportunities to make processes more efficient and reduce defects, however these methodologies can also be used downstream of a BPM deployment.
Schedule your free BPA Assessment.
(Definition from Wikipedia) |
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