Why to Make Business Process Management Your Valentine This Valentine's Day

Ah, Valentine's Day. It's that time of year again, when lovers exchange chocolate, flowers, jewelry, candles, gifts and pieces of parchment full of sweet nothings to declare their love for one another. But for Valentine's Day this year, I want to encourage you to make business process management (BPM) your Valentine. And if you're still considering your loved one, I have five arguments for you to make the switch to BPM:

Reason No. 1: When you spend money on BPM, it will pay you back. Plus interest!

No matter what you buy your better half, the most you'll get in return is a night of passion. A recent AIIM survey of 450 BPM users found that half of them receive a full payback in less than 18 months. In fact, over 50 percent of the nominations to the 2009 Gartner BPM Awards received a full payback in less than a year. BPM can help your company's accounting, operations, supply chain, customer service and claims processing—and provide better, faster service. How many Valentines can do that?

Reason No. 2: BPM always works!

When the census bureau polled marriages in the United States, they found that nearly 50 percent of them will end in divorce. When Gartner polled BPM projects late last year, they found that 95 percent of them were a success. Need we say more?

Reason No. 3: BPM is never moody!

If BPM was a person, it would impose best practices wherever it went, including eating habits, social grace, good humor and an astute taste in good wines. Not only is BPM consistently successful, but its very nature is one of consistency. Standardizing on global, industry-wide best practice processes is like bringing out the best in people and boosting productivity wherever you go!

Reason No. 4: BPM never gets jealous!

Chinese Zodiac signs say that people are only compatible with certain other types of people. But no matter what your loved one's sign says, BPM shares and collaborates with everyone! BPM will share you with business intelligence, supply chain management (SCM), CRM, ERP, and Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC). In fact, BPM will even let you share your love and Valentine’s Day with a human being of your choice!

Reason No. 5: BPM is fun!

If you don't think so, you're just hanging out with the wrong crowd. The folks on the ARIS community have made process models for making coffee (an end-to-end process we all run every morning first thing after arriving in the office), winning the complete first level of the classic Super Mario Brothers game and how to become a genius.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Joerg Heistermann is CEO of IDS Scheer in the Americas. Joerg leads IDS Scheer's growth, product direction and marketing for the United States, Canada and Latin America. Joerg has extensive experience in senior IT leadership roles in German retail, Internet and financial services companies including Deutsche Bank, Mannesmann, the Neckermann Group and Arcandor. Joerg studied Computer Science and Business Administration at the University of Paderborn in Germany. He holds a PhD from the University of Bonn in Germany. He can be reached at Joerg.Heistermann@ids-scheer.com.