What is the State of the Cloud? – An Overview

There are various views in the market regarding the adoption of Cloud computing  and as I have experienced with BPM, many folks are still struggling with trying to figure out what it is,where the value proposition is and how to quantify it. Some of the more common comments supporting the Cloud computing argument include:

• Cloud computing is expected to grow in adoption within the next five years.
• Drivers for adoption will include the need for higher levels of service at lower costs.
• Benefits of cloud computing include faster development speed and better payment structure.
• SMEs may be more interested in cloud computing in the next three years, particularly when they need to build or expand their data centers.
• <add your own here….>

As a snapshot on the ‘State of the Cloud’ I have included a presentation from Interop 09 Enterprise Cloud Summit late 2009. It gives some introductory thoughts on clouds, how we got here and where it’s going. I would be interested to hear about your plans and experiences regarding BPM and Cloud adoption.

For further reading, have a look at this post that states Ovum Research firm has chosen Cordys as the the best fit for SaaS enabled BPM platform.

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AIIM BPM Industry Watch 2009 Report – Released

AIIM have released their annual report on the state of the BPM industry which is based on the experiences of over 450 BPM users within the AIIM community, this report details how long the payback period might be and the likely return on investment (ROI) across a number of potential process types.

The study also covers the biggest project issues and critical factors for success. Users told us where they prefer to buy their BPM tools and what features and functions they have found to be most useful.

It also goes on to reiterrate the point that most practitioners of BPM and Enterprise Architecture have known for many years and I have seen with most customers I have worked with over the years.

Business Process Management (BPM) is not widely recognized as a single software product or even as a suite of related software tools. It is, more accurately, a business management practice which might utilize a number of dedicated software mechanisms.

…BPM takes on both broader and deeper aspects. Broader in the sense of integrating with other enterprise applications, taking in electronic forms and edocuments, populating transactional databases and providing a single point of interface for users. Deeper features include process modelling and simulation, reusable process modules, and process monitoring and optimization.

By its nature, BPM is an intrusive technology. It has an excellent track record of investment return largely achieved by changing and re-shaping business processes for higher performance. As an agent of such change, the implementation of BPM presents many challenges, particularly when a process crosses departmental boundaries, or when the proponents of the BPM project are not from within the Line of Business affected.

Key findings from this BPM report include: