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BPM Software Report: Savvion BusinessManager
By Lou DiToro Gartner has counted 150 products that could be described as belonging to the category of business process management (BPM) software. How do you wade through the myriad offerings to find those companies and tools that are relevant for your organization's work? This column can help. We examine the companies and products that have a strong leadership position in the BPM space to help you understand what sets each apart. This report examines Savvion and its BPM software, BusinessManager. Savvion BusinessManagerSavvion BusinessManager version 6.8 is Savvion's latest version of its integrated J2EE-based business process management (BPM) suite. Released in June 2006, the newest edition provides the tools you need to design, simulate, analyze and optimize business processes in an interative fashion. It delivers support for human workflow, application integration, business rules and performance monitoring/reporting, as well as Excel-like simulation configuration. Wizards have been added to augment manual processes. The program supports common standards for modeling (BPMN) and management (eTOM, SCOR and Balanced Scorecard) frameworks. According to a recent Gartner report, BusinessManager's strengths lie in "event recognition and management." An asset management component offers a version-controlled model repository with search capabilities, enabling re-use of design ideas across the organization. "We've tested Savvion BusinessManager 6.8 and are happy with the enhancements we have seen in the product," said Harald Villemoes, project manager for the Danish-based telecom operator TDC, "The enhancements in version 6.8 will speed up development and decrease the probability for faults during development." Application and IndustriesDesigned for human-centric processes, BusinessManager is well suited for such applications as:
Supply chain management solution firm I2 embeds Savvion's process engine for workflow management. The suite is also suitable for transactional integration-centric processes and lifecycle and case management work. BusinessManager boasts users in a broad range of industries:
Its base of 230 customers includes:
Most of Savvion's customers have expanded use of BusinessManager after their initial purchase to automate multiple processes and extend them to customers and trading partners. Key Suite ComponentsBusinessManager's components include:
Available as a free download, Process Modeler is an analytical modeling and simulation tool for business users. It features a drag-and-drop, code-free interface, allowing users to create a visual representation of business processes with process flow diagrams. Users can test process models against defined loads (for example, what happens when 1,000 people are hitting the process vs. 100?) to uncover bottlenecks and contention points. It includes simulation reports that provide cost and resource utilization metrics to assist in optimizing processes. In addition, during modeling and simulation, Process Modeler generates documentation with details about the process design. Process Asset Manager extends the Process Modeler's core capabilities. It enables cross-functional teams to share and "socialize" process-modeling projects by allowing users to search a model repository and apply best practices to their efforts. When combined with Process Modeler, Process Asset Manager lets users archive current policies and procedures, collaborate on improvement ideas across boundaries and leverage work done in other parts of the company. BPM Studio, a visual development environment, is a tool for application developers built on open standards, including Java, XML and Eclipse. Encompassing all of Process Modeler's functionality, BPM Studio provides integrated design tools for developing all aspects of a BPM solution. It allows users to import and enhance models and develop tasks and user interfaces without code using a native forms designer. A version control feature handles check-in/check-out and release management for the source and components. BPM Studio supports electronic forms created in third-party applications, including Microsoft Infopath and Adobe Acrobat.
BPM Server is the foundation for BusinessManager 6.8. It includes:
The process engine executes processes and facilitates Web-based workflow. It also distributes electronic alerts and records transactions. The business rules and event management engine handles procedures, policies, events and exceptions, allowing users to update business rules. The integration engine provides a standards-based interface and a library of 200 adapters to connect the processes to data and other systems in the organization. BPM Portal, through which users perform tasks, manage processes and conduct system administration, offers operation, management, and administration portals. BPM Portal's management module provides a variety of performance management functions including:
The Management Dashboard displays a graphic overview of the status of multiple business processes on a single Web page. Predefined reports fall into three categories:
The suite also supports any database-compatible reporting engine, like Jasper Reports or Crystal Reports. Integration and Business RulesSavvion provides several methods of integrating external resources. Outbound integration methods include Web services and JMS, SOAP, and MQ Series message flows via a message broker. The suite's managed adapters connect BusinessManager to external information sources (SQL, FTP, email, Web services, iWay and QuickRules) or components such as a database or ERP systems. Inbound integration supports JMS and SOAP messages received by the process engine, event correlation engine or message broker. Web services can publish a business process as a Web service or invoke a Web service operation. The Business Rules engine integrates the QuickRules technology from Yasu Technologies. Rules are represented either as a collection of if-then statements or decision tables or FlowRuleSets, complex rule logic combining rules and actions in a graphical process diagram. BusinessManager has a QuickRules Builder tool and a QuickRules Web Editor, which allow business users to create and modify rule parameters on the fly at runtime. Commonly used event rules are configured using wizards while custom rules are defined through dialogs. BusinessManager processes performance management data using event rules and infopads -- tables of business measures and dimensions. Infopads generate alarms and provide real-time reports that managers can access online. The Monitoring Event Rule wizard helps users define and manipulate infopads, while the Report Measures page provides three types of counters -- Occurrence, Value, and Time -- that can be used to monitor a process or selected workstep. Since high-volume-driven processes are important to the business process outsourcing (BPO) market, BusinessManager supports binary documents and lets users view or attach files in task user interfaces. In addition, BusinessManager integrates with EMC Documentum, Oracle iFS, and FileNet enterprise content management repositories. It also supports case management, including runtime selection and dynamic invocation of subprocesses and content events. The CompanySavvion is a private company with sales, support, and development offices in Tokyo, Rome, Mumbai and throughout the US. Key industries include:
One of the industry's first pure-play BPM firms, Savvion offers worldwide consulting, training and technical support services. Pricing for Savvion BusinessManager starts at $100,000, according to the company. Useful DetailsSavvion, Inc. Informative resources Gartner Report: "Magic Quandrant for Business Process Management Suites, 2006" Forrester Wave Vendor Summary Link to download free process modeling software (registration required) Submit Your Company for ConsiderationDo you have a company you'd like to have evaluated in this column? Contact editor (at) bpmenterprise.com with details. About the Author: Lou DiToro is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about business processes and competitive strategy. He welcomes feedback on his articles for BPMEnterprise.com. Contact Lou DiToro at louditoro (at) hotmail.com.Reproduction Without Permission Is Strictly Prohibited – Request Permission Publish an Article: Do you have a process management tip, learning or case study? Share it with the largest community of Business Process Management professionals, and be recognized by your peers. It's a great way to promote your expertise and/or build your resume. Read more about submitting an article.
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