'Killer' workflows clear a path for application decisions

By John Hogan, News Editor 18 May 2001 | SearchMiddleware

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SAN FRANCISCO - "Killer" e-business workflows will be the guiding force for enterprises trying to decide whether to buy, build, renovate or rent their applications in the future, according to an analyst who spoke on the subject at the Gartner Application Integration conference.

"We believe that workflow, which is managed by BPM (business process management) is the way that organizations are going to go," said James G. Sinur, a Gartner vice president and research area director. "We've got examples of companies that have made significant inroads and cost reductions at the same time by deciding to go with workflows."

New e-business service workflows will include something old, something new and something borrowed, he said.

Because of the recent spate of mergers and acquisitions in a number of industries, some companies are bulging with applications. That means applications get out of hand and "something's got to give," said Sinur. But all companies, not just those with scores of applications, should be proactive and review all of their applications about every 18 months. Any longer than that "and you're asking for trouble," Sinur said.

"Differentiating core from non-core is extremely important when you're trying to evaluate whether you want to buy, build, outsource or rent," he said. It also helps a company decide where to build "killer" workflows. "In general, where we see the most chance of differentiation is in supplier interaction, customer interaction, knowledge management and management information."

When you decide what application will add value, invest in it, he said.

"Everyone says applications development is dead. It is not dead," said Sinur. "When you want to build something that differentiates, we believe this is where you should use your new infrastructures - you should use the new leverages that are either .Net or Java or J2EE enabled."

Nothing lasts forever

In the past, when companies reviewed their application portfolio, they looked to see whether the users were happy and the technicians were happy and whether the applications were mission critical. Today, businesses should take that a step further by looking to outsource non-mission critical functions or retire them outright, Sinur said.

Even mission critical functions turn non-critical over time, said Sinur. That's why a regular cycle of application review is important. "Assets tend to erode over time in terms of their ability to provide mission-critical function." An example is how logistics went from being mission critical to something that is not such a big deal today because it has come to be expected as a minimum-level function.

In a good economy, there is an enterprise trend toward focusing on infrastructure-driven and vision-driven environments. In a down economy, the trend is toward business-competition-driven and legacy-driven environments.

That's why focusing on the business process is so important. "We think that the (business) process-focused organization is the organization that is going to succeed," said Sinur, who recommended that enterprises focus on meeting customer needs, leverage their knowledge and link their strategies and goals to specific processes ? rather than stovepipe applications.

Evaluating the core

One attendee at the conference said Sinur's message reinforced her feeling about core processes. Sondra L. Jacob, data processing administrator for system design and development with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, said the agency had considered outsourcing its case-management system, but ultimately ruled that out because of its status as a mission-critical function.

"I really had my heart set on outsourcing everything, but the rule of thumb is that you do not outsource mission-critical systems," said Jacob. "And since our mission-critical system is so comprehensive, and encompasses everything for the most part, it just wasn?t feasible."

Instead, Jacob said the department will look to outsource IT infrastructure for smaller divisions within the agency, such as the day care licensing group. She said she will closely evaluate the needs of these groups before coming to any conclusions. Some of their needs still might be served by the department's legacy systems, she said.

A summary of recommendations

Following are recommendations made by Gartner Inc. to companies when looking at their e-business application needs:

• Functional portfolio assessment is a crucial ongoing assessment.
• Think "dynamic process" and business process management.
• (Re)invest in business process analysis tools and techniques.
• Identify critical paths and simulate where necessary.
• Business activity management is a must.
• Prepare for a world of explicit and open processes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

The Best Web Links on workflow automation

The Best Web Links on e-business integration

The Best Web Links on Java-based middleware

Oklahoma Department of Human Services

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