I pointed out in the recent ebizQ BPM VIEWPOINT, "So What Does BPM Mean?," that many different types of software products can be thought of as enabling the business process management (BPM) value proposition (see illustration in article).
I am a big-tent proponent when thinking about how to implement BPM and I do not limit the BPM category to just ECM/workflow or EAI/STP or to the so-called BPM pure plays. (If you want me to comment on why I say "so-called," drop me an email.)
I was pleased to see that the Object Management Group (OMG) apparently agrees based on its web page titled "BPM Vendor Directory Listing." In fact, based on my 40 years of researching the software market, I like to play "stump the band" and see if someone can mention a software company I have never researched or at least heard of well enough to describe. I was surprised to see that a few such companies made the OMG BPM listing. These include Abstracted, Ackinas, Agilium, Alfagroup, Ashan, bRisk, Cryo, Cyrberconn, e-Serve, Evidant, ICMG, InUbit, Kanbay, Liantis, Method Maker, Monosys, Polymita, Risk Reward, Silverroad, Web and Flo (nice!) and Zero (ooooh?)
I didn't link through to each web site but I think based on the Ltd.'s, Gmbh's and SA's on the ends of their names, I do not know them because they are based outside the U.S. and probably do not do business on this side of the big ponds. I also think many on the list are probably more BPM consultancies than BPM product providers, which is where--only out of habit--I spend most of my time. Because I did a lot of international marketing in my time (including being based in Paris) I try to think globally. But if you do not email me, I'll most likely not know you.
Also I had not associated some of the companies listed with BPM but knew them as OMG members. That's goodness; when it comes to understanding BPM; the more the merrier.
(Also note that there are more new-to-me BPM companies earlier in the alphabet. This is because Marketing 101 says name your company something that will get listed first in directories because directories are almost always alphabetized and almost everyone reads them in sequence. As a piece of unrelated advice to IT users, turn that around when you read a product directory and do not ignore the companies whose names begin with T, U, V, W, etc. Just because they didn't take Marketing 101 or are contrarians doesn't mean the product is bad.)
-- Dennis Byron
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