My last blog entry argued that a lot of companies are already dealing with Business Processes rather Functional Modules like Financial management Software or Manufacturing Software or Sales Accounting Software - The Coming Boom in Process Oriented Enterprise Software.
In this blog, let me speculate about what these new products might be, what shape they might be in, and how they could be a win-win for customers, software makers and others.
The current approach is to make all these modules Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) friendly and link all of them up so that data flows freely between these modules in support of these business processes. These are all done again and again as individual software development efforts!
This is how all the functional module software products evolved anyway. Initially every company developed software to handle each of the functions with custom developed software. Then they could go out and buy these functional modules off-the shelf from Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP and others, and do the necessary customizations!
However, think about this. This is tremendous duplication of effort in each and every organization that is using these functional modules and integrating them with SOA. A better approach might be to think in terms of Process Overlay Software Products.
In an article I wrote some years ago for DM review - 10 Ways Process Excellence Impacts Corporate Performance Management, I proposed a number of main processes that any company making widgets of any kind uses (Of course, services companies, non-profits, may all have their own different sets of processes):
- Innovation Processes
- Product Development and Manufacturing Processes
- Marketing Processes
- Sales Processes
- Product Delivery and Installation Processes
- Financial Processes
- After-Sales Service and Support Processes
- Compliance Processes
- Human Resource Processes
- Outsourcing Management Processes
These processes could span multiple Functional Modules and could form a set of Process Overlay Software Products. These have knowledge of the above processes and have pre-built SOA adapters for each of the functional modules. For example, if SAP or Oracle are producing these, they would have pre-built adapters for their own functional modules at first and later on, adapters for others' also. For example, many customers of Oracle may be using SAP Manufacturing while buying Oracle CRM from Oracle. This way they can make money by selling additional modules to their customers who are struggling to link all of these systems they bought from Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft (now Oracle) and even others possibly!
Customers who have spent millions of dollars buying functional modules and making them work inside their companies are not going to throw all of these investments out to but new fangled process-aware software. However, they are all struggling with getting a Business Process View of information flow within their companies. They are doing this with SOA integration.
A set of Process Overlay Software Products will be win-win for all concerned. Customers can get better value from their own functional software modules by adding a process layer on top of it by making it easy to integrate software modules , whether they are bought from them or from their competitors.
Software companies can make additional monies by standardizing process view of things and making them happen with their software functional modules and even those of their competitors!
Process Overlay Software products can standardize and make it more efficient, effective and breathe new life into a mature Enterprise Software market. Their customers are struggling with getting a process view of their operations instead of functional views and everybody wins by making this vision happen!
Start out with an ideal and end up with a deal. -- Karl Albrecht
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