Aiim Whitepaper Business Process Automation Designing An Intelligent Workplace

Business Process
Automation: Designing
an Intelligent Workplace
In partnership with:
www.aiim.org
Introduction Think about your own personal experiences where you interact with an online
In our earlier report, “Business Process Automation: Designing an Intelligent
Workplace,” we reported that many business leaders understand the service, bank or retail outlet. Based on your profile, you are presented with
importance and benefits of process improvement and automation. Many are personalized options to enhance your customer experience. In this way,
leading the way, attempting to move their organizations forward. analytics and BPM help to enhance and drive customer experience.
In this new report, we’ve extracted several highlights from the original. We’ve
also included the full report to provide a complete picture. Our focus is to
showcase key areas of importance and present best practices as seen Benefits Gained
firsthand from our underwriter’s experience in working with various clients
around the globe. When looking at the benefits of process improvement and automation, forty-
five percent indicate the greatest benefit is the elimination of manually routing
information between individuals. Additionally, for forty-two percent of
respondents, improved compliance is where the greatest benefit is realized.
AP/AR Lead the Way in Automation
From a value perspective, fifty-six percent cite that the greatest value gained is
When it comes to process improvement and automation, eighty-one percent of the ability to process critical activities faster with forty-seven percent reporting
our respondents report that they have a process owner: the individual(s) a reduction in errors and exceptions.
responsible for how things happen within their department. In fact twenty-eight
percent have positioned themselves as Trailblazers regarding their AP/AR
processes, indicating that they are ahead of their peers when it comes to
automating the processing of invoices and billing.
Conclusion
Automating business processes should be a primary consideration for every
Of course, some of the benefits of this include faster processing times, better
business. Do not simply look to automate the steps of a process. Instead, take
cash flow, increased accessibility, improved client engagement and improved
a more holistic approach designing the process, incorporating analytics and
visibility into AP/AR processes.
utilizing decision-making capabilities as needed. There should be integrations
between systems and workflows. There should be dashboards and reporting
Focusing on the Customer mechanisms that provide insights into how operations function and enable
greater responsiveness. Ideally, the technology will be more useable, requiring
less customization while centering around the worker—not the content.
Experience
Thirty-four percent of our respondents feel Business Process Management
(BPM) is imperative for the success of their business, with more than half
focusing their projects on the customer experience. This indicates that while
internally AP/AR are delivering benefits, they also recognize benefits to be
gained by improving customer interactions through automation.
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Where should we begin our process

Best Practices Insights – From automation journey?
Our Underwriter Start small and focus on quick wins. Find a current process bogged down
in information silos, delays and errors. Document the process as best you
can. Identity all the steps, people and work involved from start to finish.
Every organization has similar yet unique Invest time in truly listening to those most involved with the process; dig
processes and ways they transact business. deep to discover their most pressing issues with the current process and
what they need to do their job more effectively. It is also important to
gather metrics on the current process for comparison and ROI
calculations. Sharing these key numbers with stakeholders will show how
The most effective approach to process automation is to take a transformative process automation can be for practically any process.
holistic view across the entire end-to-end process.
What do you recommend when What should we consider in a reporting

considering integration with other dashboard?
systems?
Dashboards are an incredibly impactful way to not only assess the health
First, identity the “system of record” for the content and data involved in of a process, but also to find areas of improvement to take process
a process. What system consistently contains the most accurate automation and efficiency further. A reporting dashboard should be
information needed to drive the process forward? This will determine the highly visual and intuitive to use. Better visibility into process data leads
system that will require integration with the BPA product. The next step to better business decisions based on that data. Users should be able to
will require determining the level of integration needed. Will it be enough quickly drill down into certain sub-sets of real-time process and business
to simply scrape data from one system to another, or will the process data to uncover trends and create their own personalized views of that
require bi-directional sharing of data between the two (or more) systems data that work best for their job role. A dashboard tool should also be
to ensure that they are all accurate and in-sync? Answering these highly customizable and provide a point-and-click interface to quickly
questions will help shape your integration strategy and identify how this create charts, graphs, gauges, maps and more, without the need to
data can be leveraged throughout an automated process. engage IT resources.
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What does it mean to place the worker at When will our process automation
the center rather than the content? journey end?
Process automation does not need to equal the elimination of all workers Even after transforming every process in your organization, with proper
from a process. In many instances, workers must use their knowledge and metrics and reporting tools, your process automation journey will
expertise, and determine the proper next step in a process. In this case, it continue far into the future, reaping additional benefits, value and ROI.
is the job of process automation to present that user with all the Reporting dashboards can compare current process metrics against
supporting content they need to make the best decision possible. organizational and industry benchmarks and show areas of potential
Coupling process automation with a sound digital transformation strategy improvement. New processes will benefit from being “digital first,” but
ensures that the content that user requires to push the process forward is that does not mean they will be perfect at implementation. Continue to
made available to them immediately, without any effort. The content monitor the health of your processes, and don’t forget to check in with
finds them. This eliminates inefficiencies and errors associated with users as well to fully embrace the mantra of continuous improvement.
content stored in multiple silos across multiple departments.
For more tips and resources, visit www.onbase.com.
Is it really possible for a BPA product to

be configurable and not always require
customization?
The best BPA products provide a point-and-click configurable toolkit that
allows any user to build automated processes. Users should be able to
create processes and the business logic that drives those processes using
plain language and without the need to perform any coding. Custom
coding drives up complexity, cost and delays when implementing process
automation. That being said, sometimes customization is unavoidable,
and should be reserved for those processes that truly require it.
Customization should be an exception, rather than the rule, when it
comes to process automation.
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About Our Underwriter
About Hyland
Written by:
Hyland is a leader in providing software solutions for managing content,
processes and cases for organizations across the globe. For over 25 years, Bob Larrivee, Vice President and
Hyland has enabled more than 19,000 organizations to digitalize their Chief Analyst of AIIM Market
workplaces and fundamentally transform their operations. Named one of Intelligence.
Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For® since 2014, Hyland is widely known
as both a great company to work for and a great company to do business with.
For more information, please visit www.Hyland.com
AIIM (www.aiim.org) AIIM is the global community of information professionals. We provide the education, research and certification that information professionals need to manage and share
information assets in an era of mobile, social, cloud and big data.
© 2018
AIIM AIIM Europe
1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100 Office One, Broomhall Business Centre, Broomhall Lane,
Silver Spring, MD 20910 Worcester, WR5 2NT, UK
+12018
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+44 (0)1905 research through AIIM. Learn about industry trends, benchmark your
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www.aiim.org organization's progress, and understand important next steps to move your organization forward .
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Industry Watch
Delivering the priorities and opinions of AIIM’s 193,000 community
BUSINESS PROCESS
AUTOMATION IN 2017:
Designing an Intelligent
Workplace
In Partnership with
© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 1

ABOUT THE RESEARCH
About the Research
As the non-profit association dedicated to nurturing, growing and supporting the information management community, AIIM is proud to provide this research at no
charge to our members. In this way, the entire community can leverage the education, thought leadership and direction provided by our work. We would like these
research findings to be as widely distributed as possible. Feel free to use individual elements of this research in presentations and publications with the attribution –
“© AIIM 2017, www.aiim.org”. Permission is not given for other aggregators to host this report on their own website.
Rather than redistribute a copy of this report to your colleagues or clients, we would prefer that you direct them to www.aiim.org/research for a download of their own.
Our ability to deliver such high-quality research is partially made possible by underwriters, without whom we would have to use a paid subscription model. For that, we
hope you will join us in thanking our underwriters, who are:
Hyland
28500 Clemens Road
Westlake, Ohio, 44145
q +1-888-495-2638
E ContactUs@hyland.com
H www.hyland.com

Industry Watch
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ABOUT THE RESEARCH.....................................................................2

PROCESS USED AND SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS.................................4
ABOUT THE AUTHOR................................................................................................................ 4
ABOUT AIIM............................................................................................................................. 4
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................5
KEY FINDINGS......................................................................................................................... 5
PERCEPTIONS OF BPM.....................................................................8
OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................... 8
DRIVERS FOR CHANGE....................................................................13
INFRASTRUCTURE.............................................................................16
BENEFITS.........................................................................................20
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS.............................................................22
OPINIONS AND SPEND.....................................................................25
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................28
RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................. 28
APPENDIX 1: SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS.............................................30

ORGANIZATIONAL SIZE............................................................................................................ 30
GEOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................... 30
INDUSTRY SECTOR................................................................................................................... 31
DEPARTMENTS......................................................................................................................... 31
JOB ROLES.............................................................................................................................. 31
APPENDIX 2: OPEN-ENDED COMMENTS...........................................32

DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:...................................................33
Hyland.................................................................................................................................... 33
3 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

Process Used and Survey Demographics
Process Used and About AIIM
Survey Demographics
While we appreciate the support of these sponsors, we also greatly value
our objectivity and independence as a non-profit industry association. The AIIM has been an advocate and supporter of information professionals for over
results of the survey and the market commentary made in this report are 70 years. The association mission is to ensure that information professionals
independent of any bias from the vendor community. understand the current and future challenges of managing information assets
The survey was taken using a web-based tool collecting responses from 686 in an era of social, mobile, cloud and big data. AIIM builds on a strong heritage
individual members of the AIIM community during the month of January of research and member service. Today, AIIM is a global, non-profit organization
of 2017. Invitations to take the survey were sent via e-mail to a selection of that provides independent research, education and certification programs to
the 195,000+ AIIM community members and through various social media information professionals. AIIM represents the entire information management
outlets. Survey demographics can be found in Appendix 1. community: practitioners, technology suppliers, integrators and consultants.
About the author

Bob Larrivee
Vice President and Chief Analyst
of Market Intelligence, AIIM
Bob Larrivee is Vice President and Chief Analyst of AIIM Market

Intelligence. Internationally recognized as a subject matter expert
and thought leader with over thirty years of experience in the fields of
information and process management, Bob is an avid techie with a
focus on process improvement, and applying advanced technologies
to solve business problems, improve business processes, and
automate business operations.
© 2017
AIIM
1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
+1 301 587-8202
www.aiim.org

Introduction & KEY Findings
Introduction Key Findings
The phrase “work smarter not harder” truly applies when it comes to increasing In General
operational efficiencies. In fact the phrase quickly turns to “work more intelligently.”
In order to do this, businesses need to identify opportunities to improve and n Ninety-six percent of respondents agree that BPM is a systematic
automate their manual processes and further improve those that are automated. approach to improving business processes. Sixty-three percent say
In many cases, there are opportunities to incorporate business intelligence and change management is an essential part of BPM.
analytics technologies to provide greater insight into operational activities, enabling
businesses to improve their processes in ways that not only improve internal n AP/AR lead the way in automating their business processes with twenty-
operations, but also enhance client engagement and the overall customer eight percent of respondents claiming a Trailblazer position. Falling
experience. What this also means is that business organizations of all sizes must behind in the Outlanders segment are Research and Development (41%)
consider designing their operational processes rather than letting them happen and Manufacturing and Warehousing (39%).
through serendipitous need and accepting the result as the way to do business. n Finance is ahead of the rest of business organizations with eighty-one
Research shows that many business leaders understand the importance and percent reporting they have a process owner. Thirty-three percent of R&D
benefit of process improvement and automation, and are leading the way, and Distribution departments have no process owners.
attempting to move their organizations forward. It is also apparent the challenge
is still the human factor – user adoption. While many are not directly opposed n Seventy-nine percent of respondents indicate that BPM is significant (45%)
to change, indirectly, their actions or lack of acceptance indicates the need for or imperative (34%) for the success of their business – up from a total of
education, training and communication as part of a more holistic approach to fifty-five percent in 2016. Only one percent sees no importance at all.
process automation. n Outlander is the label forty-one percent of respondents placed upon
In this study we look at which processes are key targets for automation, how BI themselves in relation to routing to an archive or other systems.
and Analytics are providing insight into business operations, the impact process Nineteen percent call themselves Trailblazers in reference to the same, as
automation is having on workplace productivity, and how businesses are enhancing do seventeen percent in relation to automated parallel workflows.
Case Management and improving customer engagement with process
automation. Additionally, we take a look ahead at the next five years to understand
where businesses are focusing their efforts and funding.
Some of the terms used in this report include: Business Drivers
IM: Information Management IG: Information Governance n Top-down mandates and departmental initiatives are the norm for
ECM: Enterprise Content Management DM: Document Management seventy-seven percent of respondents. Fifty-seven percent indicate the
ERM: Electronic Records Management CA: Content Analytics mandates for process improvement and automation come from their
DAM: Digital Asset Management DT: Digital Transformation corporate executives.
BI: Business Intelligence BPI: Business Process Improvement
BPM: Business Process Management n When asked about operational processes, twenty-two percent of our
respondents position themselves as Trailblazers when dealing with
Personas used include: compliance errors. Likewise, nineteen percent see themselves as the
n Trailblazer – Exceptional capabilities; ahead of the pack in respective market same with process failure rates and fifteen percent with stuck-in-process
space or among peer groups delays.
n Citizen – Average capabilities; on an equal level compared to competition
and peer groups n Process improvement and automation project focus for fifty-seven
n Outlander – Below average capabilities; behind the times, typically waiting percent of respondents is on the customer experience. This turns to
until the last minute to implement change Implement change. process transformation using analytics and re-engineering techniques for
forty percent.

KEY Findings
Infrastructure Opinions and Spend
n When considering use of business intelligence and analytics for n Forty-nine percent agree that alerts and notifications are a
operational insights, fifty-seven percent of respondents feel it mandatory requirement for any solution they choose. Forty-seven
improves customer insight and engagement. Forty-five percent see percent say configurability over custom coding is mandatory.
gains in performance monitoring and management with forty-four n It is the line-of-business manager conducting solutions evaluations
percent citing improved collaboration. for thirty percent of our respondents. In sixty-two percent of
n Viewing people as part of the infrastructure, change management organizations, it is the C-Level executive making the purchase
is a vital part of process automation with fifty-seven percent decision.
of respondents saying they’re focusing on education and
training to support change. Fifty-four percent are improving their
communications about reasons for change and sharing the vision
and expected benefits (50%).
n Not everyone is sold on the idea of using AI and machine learning
in relation to automation, with only six percent positioning
themselves as Trailblazers in this area while seventy-three percent
are Outlanders. When it comes to managing multi-channel inbound
content, only sixteen percent see themselves as Trailblazers, leaving
plenty of room for improvement by the rest.
Benefits
n When looking at the benefits of process improvement and

automation, forty-five percent indicate the greatest benefit is
from routing to and between individuals while forty-two percent
say it is increased organizational agility. For thirty-four percent of
respondents improved compliance is where the greatest benefit is
seen.
n Turning our attention to value, fifty-six percent cite their greatest
value from process improvement and automation as the ability to
process critical activities faster with forty-seven percent reporting
a reduction in errors and exceptions. Forty-five percent say their
greatest value comes from increased visibility into their operations.

Industry Watch
Perceptions of
B PM

Perceptions of BPM
Perceptions of BPM
Overview
When asked to describe or define Business Process Management (BPM),
In 2017, our research finds that finance departments are ahead of the feedback we received is wide ranging. For some, “BPM is a term for
the rest when it comes to process improvement and automation technology practitioners; it’s not a term for the business. For the business the
with eighty-one percent of our respondents reporting that they have term is process, used to produce the service or product being delivered, be it
a process owner: the individual(s) responsible for how things happen internal or external to the business.”
within their department. In fact twenty-eight percent have positioned For others, “BPM should be used to assist the company to handle repetitive
themselves as Trailblazers in relation to their AP/AR processes, indicating tasks simply and effectively. It should automate or digitize tasks using workflow
that they are ahead of their peers when it comes to automating to allow for productivity, increase efficiencies, and establish standardization.”
processing of invoices and billing. Of course some of the benefits
Ninety-six percent of our respondents see BPM as a more holistic, systematic
in this are faster processing times, better cash flow, increased
approach to improving their business processes with seventy-three percent
accessibility, improved client engagement and improved visibility
seeing BPM as the automation of manual tasks. For eighty-four percent, BPM is
into AP/AR processes. This is supported by the fifty-six percent of our viewed as pure technology, which stands to reason after so many decades of
respondents who cite their greatest value from process improvement being taught and trained that way. (Figure 1)
and automation as the ability to process critical activities faster.
Forty-seven percent report a reduction in errors and exceptions as the The reality of it all is that BPM is all of these things and much more. It is the
greatest value, while forty-five percent say their greatest value comes combination of people, process, governance, information, technology,
from increased visibility into their operations. on-going improvement methodologies, and a commitment by the business
as a whole to change the ways in which we work. This is not just a one-time
We also see that forty-five percent of respondents indicate that BPM initiative but an ongoing practice to constantly improve the way they operate,
is significant and thirty-four percent feel it is imperative for the success improve their effectiveness, and enhance their customers’ experiences. As
of their business, with greater than half focusing their projects on the one respondent stated, “BPM can take many forms, but it’s all about driving
customer experience. The indications here are that while internally business efficiency in whatever form it takes.”
AP/AR are delivering benefits, there is also recognized benefit to be Figure 1: In my view, BPM is:
gained in improving customer interactions through automation. Think 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
about your own personal experiences where you interact with an online
Soware for building integrated,
service, bank or retail outlet. Based on your profile, you are presented process based applicaons
with options that the system predicts you will like and that you might A systemac approach to improving
business processes
possibly be interested in purchasing or at least reviewing. In this sense,
your customer experience has been personalized and enhanced to The automaon of manual tasks
make it pleasurable and memorable. In this way, analytics and BPM Case Management
help to enhance and drive customer experience.
Re-engineering
As you read through this report, take time to reflect on how this
information applies to you in both your personal and business life. Try Automate business decisions
to position yourself in terms of where you fit within these statistics and Change Management
among your peers. Six Sigma/Lean/TQM (Total Quality
Management)
Workflow or BPM technology
It is just another “Buzz” word
Agree Disagree Not Sure

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
business processes Sales proposals and contracts
Perceptions of BPM
The automaon of manual tasks
Case Management
Re-engineering
Case Management
Supplier contracts and procurement
Automate business decisions Research and development
Change Management Manufacturing and warehousing

So where are the opportunities for process improvement in today’s placing themselves in the Outlander segment. When looking at R&D,
Six Sigma/Lean/TQM (Total Quality
businesses? ManyManagement)of our respondents told us that they are looking at 41% feel
Internal HR they are(Applicants,
processes Outlanders in automating business processes and
labor-intensive processes and tasks in an effort to reduce labor costs. surprisingly, 39% mesheets, etc.)
in manufacturing and warehousing feel the same.
Workflow or BPM technology
When we asked for specific examples, ninety-one percent agreed Finance (Accounts payables and
The reason the latter is surprising is that businesses have been
receivables)
that review and
It is just approval
another processes are the most likely candidates
“Buzz” word
automating the manufacturing operations and warehouses for many
followed by records managementAgree (86%) and internal
DisagreeHR processes like
Not Sure Facilies management
years, yet when and it
maintenance
comes to the “business” processes, they become
applicant tracking and timesheets (81%). (Figure 2) laggards. This is definitely an area where they can leverage what
Logiscs (Deliveries, manifests, etc.)
Figure 2: Which common business processes do you feel are the most likely they’ve learned from automating the factory, and apply it to the
candidates for improvement in your organization? business side of their operations. (Figure 3) Disagree
Agree Not Sure
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Figure 3: In your opinion overall, how much progress is your organization
making in relation to automating the following business processes?
Records and document management 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Internal processes like reviews and
approvals, etc. Records and document management
Customer correspondence, help desk Internal processes like reviews and

approvals, etc.
Sales proposals and contracts Customer correspondence, helpdesk
Case Management Sales proposals and contracts
Supplier contracts and procurement Case Management
Research and development Supplier contracts and

procurement
Manufacturing and warehousing Research and development
Internal HR processes (Applicants, Manufacturing and warehousing

mesheets, etc.)
Finance (Accounts payables and Internal HR processes (Applicants,
receivables) mesheets, etc.)
Finance (Accounts payables and
Facilies management and maintenance receivables)
Facilies management and
Logiscs (Deliveries, manifests, etc.) maintenance
Logiscs (Deliveries,
Agree Disagree Not Sure manifests, etc.)
Trailblazer - Above Average Cizen - Average Outlander - Below Average

Turning attention to how much progress is being made within
our respondents’ businesses,0% we asked
20%for their40%
feedback and to 80%
60% 100%
position themselves as Trailblazers, Citizens, or Outlanders in different So who is responsible for process in a business organization? Is there
operational areas management
Records and document like records and document management, research a group tasked with process
Notoversight
Sure and BPM initiatives? When
and development, manufacturing and warehousing, accounts we asked this question of our10%
respondents, forty percent of them
Internal processes like reviews and
payable (AP), andapprovals,
accountsetc. receivable (AR). Twenty-eight percent indicated that yes, they do in fact have a specific group responsible
of our respondents feel that they are Trailblazers in AP/AR, with 18%
Customer correspondence, helpdesk
Yes
Sales proposals and contracts 40%
Case Management
Perceptions of BPM
Manufacturing and warehousing
Internal HR processes (Applicants,

mesheets, etc.)
Finance (Accounts payables and
receivables)
Facilies management and
maintenance
for BPM initiatives
Logiscs while fifty percent say they do not. (Figure 4) Even
(Deliveries, Figure 5: To the best of your knowledge, do the following departments in your
though the number
manifests, etc.) of organizations without group oversight is still high, organization have a process owner?
a few years ago, this would have been significantly more. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Trailblazer - Above Average Cizen - Average Outlander - Below Average
Figure 4: Does your organization have a specific group responsible IT and IT Services
for BPM Initiatives?
Research and Development
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Not Sure
IT and IT Services Sales
10%
Research and DevelopmentMarkeng
Finance
Sales
Yes Human Resources
Markeng
40%
Manufacturing
Finance
HumanCustomer
ResourcesService
Customer Support
Manufacturing
Customer Service Legal
Distribuon
Customer Services
Support
Records/Informaon Management
Legal
Distribuon Services Yes No Not Sure
No Records/Informaon Management
50%
So, we see that there are groups
Yes responsible
No for BPM
Notand
Sureindividuals assigned
as process owners, indicating some level of importance is placed on process
improvement and automation. But really, how important is process automation
overall? For thirty-four percent of our respondents, process automation is seen
as imperative with an additional forty-five percent citing it as significant to their
business’ success. Only two percent report it as being minimal. (Figure 6)
“A growing number of organizations do in fact have Figure 6: In your opinion, howMinimal, Not automation
important is process at all, to your
2%
organization’s business 1%
goals and success?
specific groups responsible for their BPM initiatives.” Average,
19%
Minimal, Not at all,
2% 1% Imperave,
Average, 34%
So, while a growing number of organizations say they do have a 19%
group responsible for BPM initiatives, do they have someone at the Imperave,
departmental level that is responsible for process? This is dependent 34%
upon the department, according to our respondents. Feedback we
received shows that for some, “Customer service has multiple owners,
each group is responsible for their own,” and “As a governmental entity,
some functions don’t exist.” Eighty-one percent of our respondents
said their finance department has a process owner as do twenty-eight Significant,
percent of IT and IT services. Over a third in R&D and Distribution say they 45%
do not have a process owner. (Figure 5)
Significant,
45%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Minimal, Not at all,
Perceptions of BPM Average,

19%
2% 1%
Imperave,
34%
Automated workflows with
parallel processing
Rules-based workflows
Trailblazer – Above average Cizen- average Outlander – below average

Given that there are groups in place, people responsible, and a focus on Figure 8: How would you position your organization’s focus on process
process automation as imperative, one would think that automation would automation capabilities for the following, within your organization?
be much more in play than it currently is in business. Forty-one percent of 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
respondents indicate they are Outlanders when it comes to automated
routing to archives and other systems, while thirty-seven percent see Records and document management
themselves the same in relation to the use of automated parallel workflows. Internal processes like reviews and
Significant, we received indicates the reasons as
(Figure 7) Some of the feedback approvals, etc.
45%
being “We are currently behind the curve on process automation, largely Customer correspondence, helpdesk
due to a poor technology choice several years ago. We are moving Sales proposals and contracts
to technology that is a better fit for our organization.” For others, “All the
processes are still at an evolving stage, not fully perfected.” Case Management
Figure 7: How would you position process automation for the following, within Supplier contracts and procurement
your organization?
Research and development
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Manufacturing and warehousing
Roung to and between mesheets, etc.)
individuals Finance (Accounts payables and
receivables)
Roung to and between Facilies management and
processes maintenance
Logiscs (Deliveries, manifests, etc.)
Roung to archive or other
systems
Projects in process Planned Not on our scope
Reviews and approvals
Putting The Pieces Together
Adhoc processes
It is clear that there is some movement, though not as much as one might
Automated workflows with like to see, when it comes to improving and automating business processes.
parallel processing
Still today, as it was decades ago, the emphasis for some businesses is the
automation of their manufacturing operations rather than their information
Rules-based workflows
processes. For others, the focus and approach is still siloed rather than holistic,
across the entire end-to-end process.
Trailblazer – Above average Cizen- average Outlander – below average
The bright side is that there is forward motion with more organizations realizing
the importance and benefit of process improvement and automation as well
All hope is not lost, even after decades of trying to move businesses
as the correlation between process and information. Where once we heard
forward. There are projects 0% in progress
20% for
40%the majority
60% of AP/AR
80% and100%
RM
that business as usual was acceptable, we now hear that business must be
departments to enhance their automation capabilities. Where we find
more flexible, responsive, and move at the speed of consumer demand.
things
Records fallingmanagement
and document behind is in manufacturing (67%) where the emphasis is
typically
Internal processeson
likethe production
reviews and of product not automation of information We are seeing in our survey that BPM is imperative to success, which means
services, and approvals,
in R&D etc.(58%) where both entities indicate process automation change is inevitable, and processes must be more agile. We are also seeing
is not
Customer even on their
correspondence, scopes. (Figure 8) This aligns with the mantra of
helpdesk that individuals and groups are now taking responsibility for process at the
businesses today where
Sales proposals and contracts the emphasis is on customer engagement as corporate and departmental levels, a sign that process improvement and
echoed in this feedback: “Our focus is on the projects associated with automation has become an embedded part of the corporate culture. So
customer Case Management
service and customer data (CRM) in process.” what is really driving businesses to think in this way?
Supplier contracts and procurement
Research and development
11 pageManufacturing
© and warehousing
AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch
Industry Watch
Drivers
for
Change
Finance
Drivers for change Sales

Center of Excellence
Human Resources
Customer Service
Markeng
Customer Support
source.” According to seventy-seven percent of our respondents, process
Drivers for Change automation is actually Legal

initiatives. At the same
driven from top-down mandates and departmental
time, seventy-one percent feel it is driven from
Manufacturing
It is important to know why a business is moving to automate but just as meeting regulatory
Distribuonrequirements,
Services reflecting an objective to avoid non-
important to know where this is coming from and who is behind it. When compliance and finesOther rather than from a proactive approach and one of
we asked which department is driving process automation projects, IT and cultural embrace. (Figure 10)
IT services topped the list at sixty-four percent with corporate Executives Figure 10: In your opinion, process improvement and automation projects in your
following second at fifty-seven percent. Interestingly, records and organization are primarily driven by:
information management fell in third place at twenty-five percent. Given 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
the importance placed on compliance, consistency, and defensibility, one
might think this number would have been much higher. (Figure 9) Top down management mandates
It is likely that IT and the Executive segment have taken a more holistic Boom-up recommendaons from
perspective in addressing process automation across the enterprise and the user community
are looking to build and extend their information ecosystems and digital Departmental iniaves
processes in ways to support the needs of the various departments within
their business organizations. This could be the reason we see such low Regulatory compliance
responses from the individual departments. If this were true, one would requirements or iniaves
hope that the vision is being communicated and shared in ways that Compeve Advantage/customer
engagement or responsiveness
enable the organization as a whole to embrace the pending changes.
Figure 9: In your opinion, which department is driving your organization’s Regional compliance requirements
process automation projects?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Industry compliance requirements
IT and IT Services
Agree Disagree N/A
Corporate/Execuves
Records/Informaon
Management
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Finance
“Corporate mandates and departmental initiatives are
Sales
Center of Excellence
the primary drivers for process improvement and
Process failure rates
Human Resources
automation projects.”
Sub-opmum roung
Customer Service
Markeng If corporate mandates and departmental drivers are behind the scenes
Compliance errors
Customer Support in moving businesses forward, how are things progressing? Less than
Research and Development one quarter
Processsee themselves
compleon mes as Trailblazers when dealing with resolving
Legal process-related are extensive
compliance errors. In fact, eighteen percent see
Manufacturing themselves asin-process
Stuck Outlandersdelays in this area. When looking at stuck-in-process
Distribuon Services issues, only fifteen percent are Trailblazers with twenty-eight percent
Other positioning themselves as Outlanders. (Figure 11)
Irregularies
IT and the Executive team are the departments driving projects, but The point is, even with the mandate from on high, many organizations
Response
are still struggling outliers forward and have a great deal of opportunity
to move
where is the direction coming from? Feedback we received shows
“Process improvement is being driven by multiple agents. Opportunities to improve, especially when it comes to the areas of process
completion times Trailblazer - Above average
and meeting Cizen requirements.
compliance - Average Outlander - Below average
for improvement are 0%examined
20%and delivered
40% on regardless
60% 80%of the100%
Top down management mandates
Boom-up recommendaons
13 page from
© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
the user community
Compeve Advantage/customer
Drivers for change

engagement or responsiveness
Response outliers
Regional compliance requirements
Trailblazer - Above average Cizen - Average Outlander - Below average
Industry compliance requirements
Agree
Figure 11: In relation to your operational Disagree how would
processes, N/A you position Figure 12: In your opinion, what do your organization’s process improvement
your organization in the resolving the following business process issues? and automation projects focus on?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Process failure rates Improved customer experience

Informaon accessibility and delivery
including mobile
Sub-opmum roung
Process transformaon through analysis and
reengineering
Compliance errors Informaon security and access control
Process compleon mes Digital transformaon

are extensive
Analycs, data sourcing and integraon
Stuck in-process delays
KPI, KRI development and monitoring
Irregularies Enhanced technology use
Change management
Response outliers
Oversight and connuous informaon
ecosystem improvement
Trailblazer - Above average Cizen - Average Outlander - Below average Data quality management, data
cleansing and migraon
This leads one to ask, where is the focus? Where are businesses looking Case Management
now to improve and automate their processes? Feedback provided Aggregaon and curaon
ranges from, “It is mostly reactive and depends on what incident
happens at the time,0%then 10% 20%to “We
we react” 30% focus
40%on customer
50% 60% Other
outcomes while making reasonable profits.” Overall, our research finds
Improved customer experience
that customer experience is the top choice for fifty-seven percent
Informaon accessibility and delivery
of our respondents
including mobilefollowed by information access and delivery for Not all processes are managed internally. In fact in some cases, it
forty-four percent. From an enhancement or continuous improvement
rocess transformaon through analysis and makes better business sense to outsource them. When we asked about
perspective, process transformation using analysis and re-engineering is
reengineering
outsourcing processes, payroll and benefits topped the list for thirty–three
the area of focus for forty percent of respondents. (Figure 12)
Informaon security and access control
percent of our respondents. This is followed by outbound print (32%) and
Digital transformaon outbound mail (28%) processes. (Figure 13)
Analycs, data sourcing and integraon There were a few surprises in the “Not ever” segment. For example, we
hear a lot today about outsourcing capture, yet sixty-two percent of our
KPI, KRI development and monitoring
respondents say this is something they would never consider for inbound
Enhanced technology use capture. Yet in our Industry Watch report titled “Paper-Free in 2016 – Are
we there yet?” we found that when it comes to outsourced services, forty
Change management
percent of respondents said they plan to use more document process/
Oversight and connuous informaon
ecosystem improvement data capture services, indicating that the disconnect between content
Data quality management, data and process still needs to be bridged and the management of content
cleansing and migraon
and process projects is still siloed in many organizations.
Case Management
Aggregaon and curaon
Other
Industry Watch
Infrastructure

Infrastructure
Figure 13: What is your understanding of the following processes being
outsourced by your organization: Putting The Pieces Together
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Top-down mandates and departmental initiatives typically would mean
Outbound mailing an organization would move quickly toward change, yet when it comes
Outbound print to process, there is still much room for improvement. There also remains
a large disconnect between content and process where process and
Inbound mailroom
content projects are conducted in siloed efforts, rather than jointly.
Customer service/support
Stuck-in-process initiatives and compliance errors are issues to be
Inbound capture
dealt with, yet process governance is lacking, pointing to operational
Invoice processing/accounts 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
payable deficiency and a lack of executive leadership when it comes to back-
Review and approval processes
Outbound mailing
office automation.
Payroll and benefits
Outbound print Planning and strategic initiatives are much discussed with the customer
Back-file scanning/conversion
in mind but still there are a lot of reactive mode projects taking place to
Inbound mailroom
address immediate need rather than long-term goals. In best practice
Currently have
Customer service/support Planned Considering Not ever
scenarios, even in reactive mode, there is room to include some
Inbound capture strategic elements that align with the corporate vision in support of
As with ECM, process automation is not technology alone; it requires a
Invoice processing/accounts
combination of people, departmental goals.
payable process of course, technology, and governance.
When
Reviewweandlook at processes
approval governance, thirty-six percent of our respondents say they
have established business process policies in some areas or departments
Payroll and benefits
but not in others.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Infrastructure
Back-file scanning/conversion
Twenty-four percent say they have policies but nothing they consider as
We have established business Currently have
being mature, and
process policies fifteen percent havePlanned
in some Considering
no business Not ever
process policies at
areas/departments but not
all. Only seventeenothers percent of our respondents indicate having robust,
enterprise-wide
We have businessbusiness
process process policies, and one could surmise that these Technology is not simply workflow tools in process automation. The
policies but have nothing you
are in highly regulated
could describe as mature industries where there is no choice. (Figure 14) use of business intelligence (BI) and analytics tools can prove quite
Figure
We have robust, 14: How
enterprise-wide mature are your organization’s business process beneficial in providing operational insight. When we asked about
business process policies governance policies? the use of these tools specifically for that purpose, we heard back
We don’t have business process 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% from individuals that BI and analytics helped with the improvement of
policies
We have established business sales, in decision-making, improved compliance processes and even
process policies in some
We planareas/departments
to develop enterprise-
but not enhanced operational event reporting.
wide business process policies
others
We have business process Overall, fifty-seven percent of our respondents told us they feel BI and
policies but have nothing you
could describe as mature analytics improves customer insight and engagement with forty-four
percent saying it improves their collaboration capabilities. For forty-
We have robust, enterprise-wide
business process policies five percent, the benefit of BI and analytics is seen in performance
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% monitoring and management, providing better insight into internal
We don’t have business process
Improves customer insight and
policies operations. (Figure 15)
engagement
We plan to develop enterprise-
Performance
monitoring/management
Improved collabora on
Increased speed and availability

of data
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 16
Enhanced case/client
management capabili es
business process policies
We are not using these at
Infrastructure
We don’t have business process
policies
We plan to develop enterprise-

present
Unclogs process flows and
review cycles
Beer support for archive and
compliance
Other
Figure 15: How do you view the use of business intelligence and analytics to gain Figure 16: What change management steps is your organization taking to move
operational insights within your organization? the organization’s process automation projects forward?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Improves customer insight and
engagement Educa on and training
Performance Communica ng the reason
monitoring/management for change
Improved collabora on Sharing the vision and
benefits
Increased speed and availability Elimina ng older ways of
of data working
Enhanced case/client Conduc ng workshops
management capabili es
Improve back-office efficiencies Early user engagement
We are not using these at Project milestones related to

present user adop on
Unclogs process flows and Incen ve programs
review cycles
Beer support for archive and Other
compliance
Other
Infrastructure today must also support the growth of the information

ecosystem and access to information and interactive processes by
While it may sound cold 0% to some,
10% people
20% are also
30% part40% 50%
of the process 60% internal resources and from those beyond the corporate walls – meaning
infrastructure, and it is this part of the infrastructure that often presents remote workers, partners, suppliers, and customers. It must also be
the most
Educadifficult challenge in the form of user adoption. As a result,
on and training capable of managing multiple sources of incoming information, ideally
change management
Communica ng the reason
becomes a large part of process projects, and using a combination of technologies to streamline and automate those
so we asked about the actions taken to address change management
for change inbound processes.
in order to move
Sharing process
the vision and projects forward. In some cases, it is seen as When we asked how businesses are managing various capture related
such a monumental benefitstask to overcome. We are told by one individual,
processes, more specifically in a distributed environment – given that
“YouElimina
can do ng older ways ofabout it,” and by another, “Process improvement in
nothing work today is not restricted to a singular location – the results were
working
my organisation is spotty, not organized. There is no governance, and it somewhat disheartening yet not surprising.
Conduc ngon
all depends workshops
whose pet project get funded. No change management
elements to be found.” When looking at the use of multi-channel inbound capture, only sixteen
Early user engagement
percent of our respondents positioned themselves as Trailblazers while
Taking a larger view, fifty-seven percent of our respondents are focusing more than a third say they are Outlanders. When we asked about
Project milestones related to
on education userand
adop training
on while fifty-four percent are turning attention the use of tools like AI and machine learning to help automate their
to communication
Incen ve programs
about their reason for change. Fifty percent say they processes, nearly three quarters of our respondents placed themselves
are sharing the vision and benefits of change. (Figure 16) The reality is as Outlanders with only six percent indicating they are Trailblazers in this
that all of these shouldOther be part of a larger change management project area. (Figure 17)
that aligns with the process program – where communications about the
vision, reasons, benefits and tools are delivered and training is provided The reason these figures are disheartening is simply that this technology,
to help the user community accept the new ways of working. while ever-advancing in capability, is not new. The ability to perform
distributed capture for example has been around for many years. The

workflow
Infrastructure Use of a digital workspace with automated

no fica ons of changes
Automated versioning of shared documents
Automated security and access controls
Trailblazer - Above Average Ci zen - Average Outlander - Below Average

same is true of mailroom capture, recognition technologies, auto- Figure 18: Which of the following functionality is used within
classification, and automated routing and notifications. This is an your organization?
indication and affirmation that content and process projects remain in 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
isolation rather than joined together for maximum gain and benefit to
the organization. Cloud services
Figure 17: In your view, how would you rate your organization in Mobile device
relation to the following: support/mobile apps
ECM/ERP integraon
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Use of distributed mul -channel capture Data management
(Departments, branch offices, etc.)
Centralized capture using large mailroom Business Process
scanner(s) Management Suite
Centralized capture using mul ple scanners Case management
produc on scanners
Outsourced capture of some inbound mail Rules engine/rules
management
Outsourced capture of all inbound mail We do not have BPM at this
me
Automated recogni on, indexing, and classifica on
of mul -channel inbound informa on Process intelligence
capabilies
Use of business rules engines Roboc process
automaon
Robo c process automa on
Use of arficial intelligence/
machine learning
Use of automated rou ng and no fica ons
Other
Use of ar ficial intelligence/machine learning
Use of forms based informa on capture and
workflow Cloud, mobile, integration across repositories: all of this requires
Use of a digital workspace with automated some method or approach0% to make it all work,
no fica ons of changes 20% 40% whether
60% it is the use
80% 100%
of a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Enterprise Service Bus (ESB),
Automated versioning of shared documents
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), or some other means. More
Enterprise Applicaon
Automated security and access controls than one third of our respondents
Integraon (EAI) indicate their preferred approach is
SOA, with twenty-seven percent
Enterprise Service Bus reporting they prefer EAI. However, the
Trailblazer - Above Average Ci zen - Average Outlander - Below Average majority – more than half (ESB)
– say they prefer the use of web content or
process management, and e-forms tools. (Figure 19)
Service Oriented
Architecture (SOA)
Looking beyond capture to collaboration, information sharing and
access, we now look at the use of mobile 0% 20% mobile40%
devices, 60%
apps, cloud 80% Open Source
services and integration across various systems in relation to process.
When we asked about these Cloud services
types of functionality, sixty-two percent of
“The majorityElectronic
of businesses
forms are using web content or process
our respondents told us that
Mobilethey are using cloud services with fifty-three
device
management and electronic forms tools as their preferred
support/mobile
percent reporting use of mobileappsdevices and mobile apps. Additionally, development approach.”
Web content/process
management
fifty-percent say that they have
ECM/ERP integration with their ECM and ERP systems
integraon Currently Planned Not Sure
in place. (Figure 18)
Data management
Business Process
Management Suite
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Case management
Rules engine/rules Roung to and between
©individuals
AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 18
management
We do not have BPM at this
Industry Watch
Benefits

capabilies
Benefits Roboc process

automaon
Use of arficial intelligence/
machine learning
Other
Enterprise Applicaon
Integraon (EAI)
Enterprise Service Bus
(ESB)
Service Oriented
Architecture (SOA)
Figure 19: In your view, what development approach does Forty-five percent of our respondents see benefit in routing to and
your organization use? Open Source
between individuals. Forty-two percent are seeing benefit from increases in
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% organizational agility while thirty-four percent are benefiting from improved
Electronic forms
compliance capabilities. (Figure 20) While these are all sound individual
Enterprise Applicaon examples, Web
onecontent/process
could also find connections in that routing to and between
Integraon (EAI) management
individuals increases organizational agility and supports compliance
Enterprise Service Bus through better control, thus Currently
bringing yet an even higher levelNot
Planned of overall
Sure
(ESB) benefit.
Service Oriented
Architecture (SOA) Figure 20: In your opinion, what benefits has your organization seen resulting
from process improvement and automation?
Open Source
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Electronic forms
Roung to and between
Web content/process individuals
management Improved organizaonal agility
Currently Planned Not Sure and flexibility
Improved regulatory, legal, and
industry compliance
Putting The Pieces Together Roung to and betwee
processes
Infrastructure is often only thought
0% of in terms
10% 20%of system-to-system
30% 40% 50% Decreased review and
connections and networking, it involves people and process as well. In order approval cycles
to establish, maintain,
Roung and constantly improve and automate business
to and between Shared work queues
individuals
operations, all of these must be addressed and managed as a whole.
Improved organizaonal agility Expanded customer and
Infrastructure takes on an entirely different look and feel in relation to process,
and flexibility partner interacons
one where tools like BI and analytics play a significant role in providing insight
Improved regulatory, legal, and Automated workflows with
into performance, customer engagement, and internal operations. As such,
industry compliance parallel processing
businesses analyze and leverage this data to enhance and strengthen the Rules-based workflows/
Roung to and betwee
underlying information ecosystem and supporting infrastructure; improve and
processes Automated decision making
automateDecreased
their business
review and processes; and implement continuous improvement Roung to archive or
programs that approval
keep their
cyclesorganizations moving forward. other systems
Shared work queues
Benefits Expanded customer and

partner interacons Benefit is one thing, but what of value: Where is the value and how do
you place that value on improved and automated processes? Fifty-six
Automated workflows with
Process is a parallel
key element
processingof any business, bringing all parties and information percent of our respondents have found value in their ability to process
togetherRules-based
with a focused
workflows/
purpose like contract creation, reviews and critical activities faster, while forty-seven percent have seen value through
approvals, and
Automated evenmaking
decision client engagement. Benefits are wide-ranging based a reduction in errors and exceptions. Faster processing with fewer errors
on the purpose
Roung of the process
to archive or – meaning it could be the closing of a sale, means less time spent at a lower cost to process more accurately. Forty-
signing of a contract, approval of a bid, or even recommendation of a
other systems five percent of respondents have seen value in their increased visibility into
structural change of a building plan. This also means that timing is key and operations, allowing them to implement change and adjust operations
impacts how benefit is seen and calculated. accordingly, making their business more agile. (Figure 21)

Industry Watch
Technical
Requirements

Technical Requirements
Figure 21. In your opinion, where has your organization seen the biggest value process automation projects?
to be gained from process improvement and automation? Putting The Pieces Together
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Trailblazers step back and take into consideration the impact they
Process business crical
acvies faster will have in changing the way business is transacted, how processes
Reduce the number of errors function, and the human interactions required in order to be
and excepons
Increase visibility into operaonal
successful. While it may not be a small task, it is one that must be
efficiencies and bolenecks taken else the full benefit will not be realized and the potential for less
Improve customer service and than expected results increases.
retenon
Reduce duplicaons They also understand that benefit and value are perceptions based
and calculated on stated goals and objectives. If the goal were
Reduce business risks
to reduce time to process, the benefit and value gained would be
Reduce staff and office overhead lowered costs. The key is to focus on a business issue, identify the
numbers 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
goal, derive a benefit and calculate the value of that benefit.
ReduceProcess
overall IT costs
business crical
acvies faster
For example, if the goal is to process applications faster, than the
Reduce the number of errors
and Other
excepons first step it to determine how many applications are being processed
Increase visibility into operaonal
efficiencies and bolenecks now, set a goal to define “faster” and work toward that goal. So if the
Improve customer service and number today is 5,000 applications processed each day and the
Of course, as with anyretenon businessproject, there is an investment to be made
Reduce duplicaons More than five goal is to process that same number in four hours, you now have a
consisting of time, resources, technology,
years, 3% etc. Along with this, there is an goal and can plan how to get there.
expectation of payback
Reduce in that at some point inWithin
business risks 6there
time,9%months,
is a return on
the money spent.
Reduce staff 5 years,
When
and office 10% asked about the payback period for their process
overhead
numbers
automation projects, thirty-one percent of our respondents indicate
Reduce overall IT costs
seeing payback within a year, with nine percent of those citing payback
within 6 months. (FigureOther 22) Technical Requirements
Figure 22: What do you feel has been the payback period for your organization’s
There are business requirements and there are technical
More than five 6-12 months, requirements. For example, the business requirement might be the
18-24 months, years, 3%
22%
21% Within 6 months, ability to process 10,000 applications per day and the technical
9%
5 years, 10% requirement is what it would take to accomplish that goal. Many
organizations feel they are still learning about the technical
capabilities of BPM, even though it has been around for many years.
However, fifty-one percent of our respondents say that analytics
12-18 months, and reporting are mandatory requirements of BPM as are alerts and
21%
6-12 months, notifications. For forty-seven percent, configurability is a mandatory
18-24 months, 22%
21% requirement over custom coding as the feeling now is shifting to one
of usability and placing the power in the hands of the business rather
than depending on IT. (Figure 23)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
12-18 months,
Process discovery 21%
Process Modeling and Simulaon
Process registry
Producing an executable file

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 22
Roboc process automaon
Process discovery
18-24 months, 22%
21%
Technical Requirements 12-18 months,

21%
12-18 months,
Figure 23: How important are the following feature/technologies
21% in meeting Technology capabilities are part of the criteria when making a selection for
your BPM requirements? a solution provider, but they are not the only criteria. There are price, stability,
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% support, and event services options to consider. When asked to rank the
Process discovery levels of importance as part of their selection criteria, eighty-four percent of
our respondents rate overall functionality, security, compliance and privacy
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% capabilities as high criteria. Sourcing like BPO, ISV or Vendor Direct (26%) and
Process registry
Process discovery vertical expertise (27%) fall lower on the list, as does out-of-the-box
Producing an executable file pre-packaged processes (30%). (Figure 25)
Roboc process automaon
Process registry Figure 25: Please rank the importance of the following when
Automated decision making considering solution providers.
Producing an executable file
Shared services/process reuse 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Roboc process
Configurability automaon
Vs custom coding
Real-me and reportdecision
Automated based Business
making Pricing
Acvity Monitoring (BAM)
Integraon/interoperability across on-
Shared services/process
premise reuse
and cloud applicaons Overall func onality
Integraon/interoperability with on-
Configurability Vs custom
premise and cloud coding
repositories Financial Stability of
Real-me andanalycs
Process report based Business
and reporng the supplier
Acvity Monitoring (BAM)
User defined process mapping and
Integraon/interoperability across on- Available support op ons
premise and cloud modificaon
applicaons
Alerts and noficaons
Security, privacy, and
Integraon/interoperability with on- compliance capabili es
premise and cloud repositories
Mandatory Desired Irrelevant Pre-packaged/ready-to-use
Process analycs and reporng
processes
User defined process mapping and
Automation of manual process
modificaon is one topic of discussion in this research, but we Scalability
also foundAlerts
thatand
when discussing technical requirements, automation in other
noficaons Sourcing op ons (BPO; ISV;
areas is also of high interest. In this case, eighty-five percent of our respondents Vendor Direct)
agree that there is a need for Mandatory
automated performanceDesired Irrelevant
metrics and reporting Professional Services
while eighty-one percent agree on a need for automated activity monitoring. Specific/specialized func onal
(Figure 24) This highlights not only the need but the desire to take certain activities capabili es
out of the hands of humans0% and make20%
them40%
part of 60%
a rules-based
80%
systematic
100% Vercal experse
environment that is capable of monitoring operations, tracking activities, and Deployment models (Cloud; On-
sending notifications and reports when needed.
Overall system premise; Hybrid; Mobile)
Industry and market reputaon
Figure 24. In my opinion,
Audit trails/executed my organization sees a need for automated capabilities
processes (Analyst reviews)
Performance metrics/reporng in the following areas: Industry and market reputaon
(Customer Experience/References)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Work queues Integraon capabilies with LOB
systems
Overall
Process models and system
simulaons High Medium Low Not at all
Audit trails/executed processes
Acvity monitoring
Performance metrics/reporng
Collaboraon with external
pares Putting The Pieces Together
Work queues Yes No Not sure
Technology must support the business requirement else it will be doomed
6 months,
Process models and simulaons
to fail, or at minimum, fail to meet full expectation.9%Many a technology
Acvity monitoring has been purchased without purpose or goal only to be tossed out and
Within the next 5
Collaboraon with external
replaced.
years, Pricing
25% is not the only reason to select a technology, nor is an
pares ability to plug-n-play.
Yes No Not sure
6-12 months,
11%

Industry Watch
Opinions
and
Spend

1-2 years,
Opinions and Spend 21%

1-2 years,
21%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Trailblazers understand that in order to gain full benefit from technology, clear Figure
Not at27: Our organization is planning to expand our solution within:
all –we
Pricing intend to 6 months,
business requirements must be drawn and technical requirements must be replace it, 14% 15%
aligned to address those business requirements. If the requirement is simply
Overall func onality Not at all –we
6 months,
intend to
to automateFinancial
a decision-making
Stability of process, linear process capabilities to move replace it, 14% 15%
information from the supplier
point A to point B will not be enough and will fail. Begin by
Available support op ons
identifying the true business requirement, and even more so, the underlying
Security, privacy, and
business problem to solve,
compliance capabili es then chose the right technology to meet those
requirements.
Pre-packaged/ready-to-use
processes
Again, using the example Scalability from the previous section, if the goal is to process
5,000 applications in half
Sourcing op ons (BPO; ISV; the amount of time it presently takes, this is the 6 -12 months,
business requirement. So now that you have the business requirement, you
Vendor Direct)
13%
can develop a technology
Professional Services requirement based on the business requirements, 6 -12 months,
13%
assessSpecific/specialized
the current func technology
onal you have in place and match it against the
capabili es 1 -2 years,
requirements, then acquire the technology that you need to fill that gap.
Vercal experse 29%1 -2 years,
Deployment models (Cloud; On- 29%
premise; Hybrid; Mobile)
Opinions and Spend

(Analyst reviews)
Buying and expansion is all good, so the obvious question is simple: Who is
(Customer Experience/References) getting this business? Forty-two percent of our respondents say they will look to
Integraon capabilies with LOB
Growth and expansion is
on the horizon with twenty percent of our
systems a BPM or ECM supplier, twenty-four percent are going to a services provider
respondents saying they will High
make a purchase
Medium withinLow
a year, Not
andatnine
all percent
and twenty-three percent will turn to a third party for their solutions. (Figure 28)
within 6 months. (Figure 26) Figure 28: Where will you look for your process automation solution?
Figure 26: Our organization is planning to purchase a solution within:
0% 0% 10% 10% 20%20% 30%30% 40%
40%
50%
50%
6 months, BPM provider
BPM provider
9%
ECM provider
ECM provider
Within the next 5
years, 25% Business services
Business provider
services provider
Third-party soluon
Third-party soluon
6-12 months,
11% Systems Integrator
Systems Integrator
Other Other
(Please(Please specify)
specify)
Value Added
Value Added Reseller
Reseller
In order to make a purchase or expansion decision, someone has to

evaluate the products and services first and ensure they will not only do
1-2 years, what the provider says, but more importantly, that they will meet the business
21%
requirements. According to thirty percent of our respondents, it is the Line-of-
Business (LOB) manager who will initially evaluate the solution while twenty-five
When it comes to expansion, twenty-eight percent of our respondents say percent say it is their CIO/COO who will be directly involved with the evaluation
they will expand their current systems within a year, with fifteen percent process. (Figure 29)
indicating they will within 6 months. (Figure 27)
Not at all –we
intend to 6 months,
replace it, 14% 15%

Opinions and Spend
Figure 29: Who do you feel will initially evaluate and vet the process
automation solution? Putting The Pieces Together
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
So there are indications that business organizations will be focusing on
Line-of-Business managers automation, although it remains to be seen how these will impact the
projected spending and project success rates. Evaluation will take place
CIO/COO 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% by the business unit, and a C-Level executive will be involved in the
decision-making process as will IT; however the reality is that all parties
IT personnel
Line-of-Business managers should be involved in each step from evaluation to purchase through
implementation to ensure that the right product and services are chosen
Chief ProcessCIO/COO
Officer to meet the business needs.
This will also help with change management in that the users will watch as
External IT
consultants
personnel a unified team works to resolve business problems, improve operational
End-users efficiencies, and strengthen the organization; not just one individual or IT
Chief Process Officer
alone – a team that includes the C-Level as an active participant.
Other (please
External specify)
consultants In many organizations, leadership often provides a message but falls
short of engaging in the project. Trailblazer organizations have leadership
End-users that truly is involved in the movement of the organization toward digital
Once the evaluation is complete, it is time to make the decision, so where transformation, paper-free processes, and an environment that embraces
does this(please
Other responsibility
specify) fall? For sixty-two percent it is the C-Level executive continuous improvement and change. These are the organizations working
who will make the purchase decision while eleven percent say it is the LOB as a team to identify opportunity, improve and automate their processes,
manager, and ten percent say it is their IT department. (Figure 30) Truth and implement change in order to maintain a competitive edge.
be told, all of this should be a team effort to evaluate and decide which
product, service and 0% supplier to choose.
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Figure 30: Who do you feel will make the purchase decision for your process
CEO/CIO/COO automation solution?
Line-of-Business managers 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
CEO/CIO/COO
IT personnel
Line-of-Business managers
Chief Process Officer
IT End-users
personnel
Chief Process
External Officer
consultants
End-users
External consultants

Industry Watch
Conclusions &
Recommendations

Conclusions & recommendations
Recommendations
Conclusions & Recommendations
n Identify a potential business process where paper-based
AIIM research shows that while process improvement and automation information still exists and manual processes are still heavily in use.
are not screaming along at the fever pitch the supplier community had
wished for a decade ago, they are truly in motion and gaining momentum.
n Document where the process slows down, what information is
involved, the sources of that information, and who interacts with it.
Recognition of process improvement, automation, and BPM as imperative
or significant by the majority of our respondents is an indicator of the role
n Identify how and where that process could be improved, like the
process automation is taking in today’s business world. Where once there
elimination of a bottleneck or creation of a parallel process.
was talk of working at the speed of paper, there is now talk of working at
the speed of process. The more efficient, effective, and responsive your n Capture relevant information as early in the process and as close
processes, the more engaged you are with your suppliers, employees, and to the first touch point as possible.
most importantly – your clients.
It is also becoming clear that department heads and business executives n Implement recognition and auto-classification technologies
are coming to realize the important connection between process and that will identify, store information, and trigger related workflows
information, in that process without information serves no purpose and automatically at the time of capture.
information without processes goes nowhere. There must be consideration
given in each project, whether information/content- or process-related, for n Develop a strategy to leverage captured and analyzed information
the other. When the way information is managed is changed, the processes across multiple departments and for multiple purposes. Embrace
associated with that information are likely to be impacted. The same holds the mindset of repurpose not recreate.
true for process. When a process is changed, the way it interacts not only
n Establish a continuous improvement program that will periodically
with people but also with information is impacted, thus the reason a more
review and refine those changes made now. When a project ends,
holistic and intelligent approach to information and process management
it should be the beginning of an on-going process improvement
is needed. In order to be more effective and take action today, here are
practice that looks for ways to improve upon the foundation set
some recommendations and steps you can take now to begin your journey.
and extend those capabilities to other departments within the
organization.
If unsure of where to begin or how to begin, seek professional

assistance and/or training to help determine the right path. Look
to current suppliers and service providers for guidance. Turn to
professional associations and peers to find advice and training that will
provide best practices. It is better to take a step forward and learn than
to take no step and fall behind.

Industry Watch
Survey
Demographics

Appendix 1: Survey Demographics
Over 10,000, 1-10, 11%
Survey Demographics 15%
5,001-10,000,
11-100, 16%
7%
Survey Background
The survey was conducted with a web-based tool collecting responses from 272 individual members of the AIIM community
during the month of April 2017. Invitations to take the survey were sent via e-mail to a selection of the 195,000+ AIIM community
1,001-5,000,
members and through various social media outlets. 20%
101-500, 20%
Organizational Size Geography 501-1,000, 11%
AIIM survey respondents represent organizations of all sizes. Larger Forty percent of the participants are based in North America, with 40% from
organizations over 5,000 employees represent 22%, with mid-sized EMEA-R, and 20% rest-of-world.
organizations of 501 to 5,000 employees at 31%. Small-to-mid sized
organizations with 1 to 500 employees representing the largest segment of
survey takers at 47%. Mexico, Central/S.
America, Caribbean,
2%
Over 10,000, 1-10, 11% Asia, 9%
15%
US, 30%
5,001-10,000, Middle East, Africa,
11-100, 16% S. Africa, 11%
7%
Australia, New
1,001-5,000, Zealand, 9%
20%
101-500, 20% Eastern Europe,
Russia, 3% Canada, 10%
501-1,000, 11% Other Western

Europe, 18% UK, Ireland, 8%

Mexico, Central/S.
supplier of ECM products
Healthcare, 1%
Appendix 1: Survey Demographics

or services, 21% Government
Finance, & Public
Banking,
Services
Insurance, 11%–
Australia, New Government & Public Naonal/Internaonal, 6%
Services -
Local/State, 7%
Zealand, 9% Healthcare, 1%
Government & Public
Services –
Government & Public Naonal/Internaonal, 6%
Eastern Europe, Services -
Local/State, 7%
Russia, 3% Canada, 10%
Industry Sector Departments
Other Western 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Local and National
Europe,Government
18% UK,
together make up Ireland,
13%, and8%
Finance, 25% of departments represented are from IT/IT Services, 22% corporate,
IT and IT Services
Banking, and Insurance 11%, Education 7%. and 15% records and information management.
Corporate
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Records/Informaon
IT and IT Services
Management
Sales
Corporate
Records/Informaon Operaons
Management
Legal
Retail, Transport, Sales
Real Estate, 3% Telecoms, Water, Ulies, Markeng
Operaons
2% Finance
Non-Profit, Charity, 2% Legal
Consultants, 9% Customer Support
Manufacturing, Aerospace, Markeng
Food, Process, 5% Research and Development
Finance
Document Services
Provider, 6% Customer Service
Legal and Professional Customer Support
Services, 3% Other
Educaon, 7% Customer Service
IT & High Tech — Other
not ECM, 7%
Energy, Oil & Gas,
Mining, 5%
Engineering &
Construcon, 3%
Job Roles
IT & High Tech —
supplier of ECM products 15% are IT Consultants/Project Managers, 14% heads of records and information
or services, 21% Finance, Banking, management, 24% C-level Executives, Presidents, CEOs, and Line-of-Business
Insurance, 11% Executives.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
Healthcare, 1%
Government & Public IT Consultant or Project Manager
Services – 0%
Head of records/informaon 5% 10% 15% 20%
Government & Public Naonal/Internaonal, 6% management
Services -
Local/State, 7% IT Consultant or ProjectBusiness
Manager Consultant
Line-of-business execuve,
Head of records/informaon
department head or process owner
management
Records or document
Business management
Consultant
staff
Line-of-business
President, CEO,execuve,
Managing Director
department head or process owner
Records or document management IT staff
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% staff
IT and IT Services President, CEO, Managing DirectorHead of IT
Legal/Corporate
IT staff
Corporate Counsel/Corporate Compliance
Records/Informaon Head of IT Other
Management Legal/Corporate
Sales Counsel/Corporate Compliance
Other
31 page Operaons
© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch
Legal
Appendix 2: Open-ended Comments
Open-ended Comments
Respondents were able to provide open-ended comments about digital
transformation. Here are a select few that represent the general:
n I believe that process automation systems are key to all organizations.

n Our present process automation needs is tailored to our business and
would like to improve our process to have a competitive edge in the
industry Future strategies for IM are not clear and the organization
needs to take an enterprise approach rather than a siloed approach
n We are a manufacturing company and process automation for

improving productivity across the enterprise will be a key differentiator
in future.
n We have automated many of our processes but are only about 50%
done with our goal of improving businesses process District wide,
whether through automation or just improving practices.
n We are moving forward in key areas first (HR, Finance, IT). No idea
about tying in departments and schools.

Developed in Partnership with:
Hyland
Hyland is a leader in providing software solutions for managing
content, processes and cases for organizations across the globe.
For over 25 years, Hyland has enabled more than 19,000
organizations to digitalize their workplaces and fundamentally
transform their operations. Named one of Fortune’s Best
Companies to Work For® since 2014, Hyland is widely known as
both a great company to work for and a great company to do
business with.
For more information, please visit:

www.Hyland.com

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the latest AIIM Industry Watch
Report on the Business Process
Automation. What now?
AIIM (www.aiim.org) AIIM is the global community of information

professionals. We provide the education, research and
certification that information professionals need to manage
and share information assets in an era of mobile, social, cloud
and big data.
© 2016
AIIM
1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
+1 301.587.8202
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AIIM Europe
Office 1, Broomhall Business Centre,
Worcester, WR5 2NT, UK
+44 (0)1905 727600
www.aiim.org
Take your skills to the next level by learning how to map, design, capture and
automate operational processes using a combination of strategies, and
technologies with AIIM’s Training Courses
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Business Process

Where should we begin our process

What do you recommend when What should we consider in a reporting

Is it really possible for a BPA product to

About Our Underwriter

For more information, please visit www.Hyland.com

© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 1

© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 2

ABOUT THE RESEARCH.....................................................................2

DRIVERS FOR CHANGE....................................................................13

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS.............................................30

APPENDIX 2: OPEN-ENDED COMMENTS...........................................32

3 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

About the author

Bob Larrivee is Vice President and Chief Analyst of AIIM Market

© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 4

5 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

n When looking at the benefits of process improvement and

© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 6

7 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

It is just another “Buzz” word

Agree Disagree Not Sure

© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 8

Supplier contracts and procurement

Automate business decisions Research and development

Change Management Manufacturing and warehousing

Customer correspondence, help desk Internal processes like reviews and

Case Management Sales proposals and contracts

Supplier contracts and procurement Case Management

Research and development Supplier contracts and

Manufacturing and warehousing Research and development

Internal HR processes (Applicants, Manufacturing and warehousing

Trailblazer - Above Average Ci­zen - Average Outlander - Below Average

Internal HR processes (Applicants,

© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 10

Perceptions of BPM Average,

Trailblazer – Above average Cizen- average Outlander – below average

Research and development

Drivers for change Sales

Drivers for Change automation is actually Legal

Top down management mandates

Drivers for change

Process failure rates Improved customer experience

Process compleon mes Digital transformaon

Irregularies Enhanced technology use

Aggregaon and curaon

15 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

Increased speed and availability

We plan to develop enterprise-

We are not using these at Project milestones related to

Infrastructure today must also support the growth of the information

17 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

Infrastructure Use of a digital workspace with automated

Automated security and access controls

Trailblazer - Above Average Ci zen - Average Outlander - Below Average

19 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

Benefits Roboc process

Benefits Expanded customer and

© AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch page 20

21 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

Producing an executable file

Technical Requirements 12-18 months,

23 page © AIIM 2017 www.aiim.org AIIM Industry Watch

Trailblazer - Above Average Cizen - Average Outlander - Below Average

Trailblazer – Above average Cizen- average Outlander – below average

Process compleon mes Digital transformaon

Irregularies Enhanced technology use

Aggregaon and curaon