About 45 per cent of medium-sized and larger companies in Germany are using process management software as of 2015 (source: University of Stuttgart study paper D.2.2, D.2.9, K.6.1). For many companies that deal with process optimisation in the context of digitalisation and process management, the question of which process management software is best suited arises sooner or later.
This raises not only the question of the functional scope of the software, but also cost requirements. One-off costs for the purchase of the software and subsequent maintenance or also costs through the use of cloud software must be compared. Since the use of process management software has an impact on the entire company, it is worth comparing different options and solutions.
We present the best-known process management software and their providers in this article. Of course, we make no claim to completeness, the market is far too diverse for that. But you will get an impression of the range of offerings.
Process management software are tools that support teams in carrying out systematic process management. The scope of services ranges from simple drawing programmes for mapping processes to comprehensive programmes that can simultaneously analyse process flows. These are also able to carry out simulations. However, the effort involved should not be underestimated. This effort refers to both personnel and costs. But process management is much more than just using software to map processes. If you want to know more about the realisation of competitive advantages through the use of process management, you should read this article.
Areas of application for process management software include workflows, end-to-end processes, strategic process management and much more. Mostly, these tools are used by internal project teams, the own I.T. department or own in-house consultants. The following is an overview of the best-known providers and the functional scope of process management software. First the pure tools for mapping then workflow engines up to the process mining system:
One of the best-known tools for depicting processes and workflows is a tool from Microsoft. Microsoft Visio. It is a tool to depict flowcharts easily and quickly. The visualisation of processes from simple structures to templates for BPMN methods is possible. The software is integrated into the Microsoft 365 world. Through the integration into the 365 world of Microsoft, Visio can also be used in Microsoft Teams and can therefore also be used in teams. Use within a cloud solution on mobile devices is just as possible as installation on desktop devices.
For many years, the IGrafx software has been successful on the market with solutions for mapping business processes and in process management. IGrafx has the approach that in companies the process is in the centre and thus has a high significance for the economic success of the company. The process management software IGrafx sees itself as a business suite that enables those involved in BPM initiatives to obtain an overall picture of the process landscape. The goal is to provide a tool that helps to discover hidden and inefficient processes and to transform them into efficient processes.
The Camunda software goes one step further than the two tools presented so far. Camunda is a tool that can be used to document processes, but also actively realises workflows. Camunda focuses more on the orchestration and realisation of workflows within an existing environment. As a developer tool, it was built very lean and uses more and more popular API's for the interfaces. Automation of manual processes is one of the focus points of Camunda.
Aristaflow's process management software makes it possible to map processes graphically. These can be modelled and digitised. Workflows can be designed and also controlled within the framework of process engines. This process management software is strongly integrated into the Microsoft landscape and enables integration into existing ERP systems as part of the suite offered. Business processes can thus be designed, verified and activated with the help of the suite.
With the software developed by Lana, Lana belongs to the class of process mining tools. This is not about the manual mapping of processes, but rather process mining aims to evaluate and present data on the basis of existing ERP processes and thus identify potentials. Based on the evaluations, decisions can be made that can even lead to the redesign of process flows. Lana itself talks about the use of machine learning tools that help to identify process deviations. Key figures are automatically generated from the process analysis. Lana himself says that machine learning meets process management and that it is one of the most powerful and smartest analysis technologies.
The company Celonis has developed a business suite of which it says it is the market leader in the field of process mining. The software technology developed forms the core of the solution for the analysis of business processes around an execution management system. The Celonis solution is also based on the analysis of data and transactions from existing systems. In most cases, these are also ERP systems, which provide information as a data basis. The evaluation enables a representation up to task management and enables the analysis of individual processes.
The complexity of process mining software should not be underestimated. Unfortunately, it is still far from being possible to display results at the push of a button. These result presentations are preceded by lengthy preparations to collect the data. This is time-consuming and still requires specialists. This is also the reason why this technology is currently worthwhile where extremely large amounts of data accumulate and the processes have undergone a certain standardisation.
The large selection of process management software is initially daunting for many project managers, IT managers and managing directors who are in the process of making a decision. However, a suitable process management software as a tool for process mapping is an important success factor. Therefore, it is first important to determine whether you only want to document, generate a workflow or even use process mining. It is all the more important to invest enough time, compare and then make a decision Which process management methods can be used so that the software can fulfil its task is described in the overview of process management.