Process automation
has been absorbed by all
kinds of tools ranging
from ERP to case handling.
This trend will continue.
An important paradigm
shift will be the link
between workflow and web
services. |
Better integration
with BPR tools (even integration
of. Encreased usage and
integration with EAI tools.
Better process model expressiveness.
Ease of use (process definition,
interfaces generation,
...). Interface with collaboration
tools for exception handling.
Enterprise wide process
monitoring. Enterprise
process repository with
simulation capabilities
based upon enactment logs. |
Process modeling and
its relevance to overall
meta-data modelling will
increase. Design environments
will increasingly start
from a process-oriented
perspective. Process automation
will move further into
the 'infrastructure' layer
and become comoditize
(much as application servers
have). |
The production workflow
market place has become
somewhat commoditized
with most vendors deliver
more or less functionally
equivalent products despite
differences in paradigm.
Process automation technology
will evolve as vendors
begin to create specialized
capabilities necessary
to establish leadership
in specific niche markets
with mostly out of the
box solutions. These specialized
capabilities will categorized
in at least three major
categories functionally
specific interfaces, functionally
specific workflow engines,
and functionally specific
integrations. Web-services
will play a dramatic role
in the evolution of workflow
as organizations will
look towards the lower
cost adaptive nature of
workflow rather than the
more costly and rigid
framework of ERP to connect
inter-organizational processes.
Lastly, vendors will begin
to extend the depth and
breadth of their audit
log capability as organizations
look to leverage workflow
data in conjunction with
transaction data to evaluate
and control process effectiveness. |
standardisation will
reduce the required efforts
for setting up workflow-based
solutions |
- towards real-time
business process management
across enterprises and
supply chains with adaptive
exception handling |
Technology must evolve
to better support inter-organizational
processes (security, etc).
As it supports more and
more very large scale
processes, it must become
much more distributed. |
It will embrace web
services standard, and
leverage them to be finally
useful and finally enable
an easier development
of process-based application.
So, maybe it is not so
much the wf technology
that evolves in a significant
way, but rather the components
will evolve so that it
is easier to compose them
with a process automation
tool |
The change will be
more in the application
programs, rather than
the workflow software.
Workflow technology is
old, the vendor's products
are mature. |
A usable process definition
standard will evolve within
the next 2-5 years. Standardised
highlevel services for
distributed processes
(like system landscape
lookup) will be defined.
A usable distributed modelling
environment will be available
within the next 3 years.
|
(I hope) there will
be generic workflow engines
with an end-user graphical
interface that is good
enough for the business
side to develop and maintain
their own processes. |
Inter-organizational
aspects will become more
important. Integration
of WFM technology and
e-business technology
(e.g. web service technology)
will be necessary, e.g.
to allow dynamically forged
virtual enterprises (loosely
coupled systems). Reliability
of processes will gain
more attention (e.g. through
the use of transaction
management and exception
management mechanisms). |
Should be more interactive,
change things on the fly.
should incoporate formflow
and document management
with interactive database |
Any attempt at predicting
the future is almost
certainly doomed some
smart kid in college
will be dreaming up
an idea that non of
us has even considered
which will render all
of this speculation
redundant it will
be as useful as an ashtray
on a motor-cycle but
that shouldnt stop
us from taking an educated
guess; The future of
information technology
hinges on the emergence
and acceptance of four
key technologies. All
four exist today, and
taken in isolation they
are significant but
when combined, have
the potential, and I
dont think the language
is too strong, to dramatically
liberate all users of
Information Technology
from the copper-bound,
expensive suit of chains
that it has become.
These technologies,
when they mature, will
enable organizations
to dynamically find,
develop and tap into
the services, systems
and resources they need
to support their business
objectives and goals.
At least thats the
theory. The four technologies
I am referring to are:
1. Business Process
Management
2. Web Services
3. Grid Computing
4. Mobile Computing
The combination of
these four technologies
doesnt, as yet, have
a name; furthermore,
it wont be easy to
build; nor will it happen
overnight but it will
happen and it will change
the way IT suppliers
do business and how
IT users exploit the
technology. |
Such technolgy has
been for the most implemented
as "islands" of automation.
A decade of work on interoperability
standards has few actual
results to show. Yet you
can ask the question,
"how has email evolved".
Clearly the email we use
now (with the advent of
spam, as well as pop-behind
advertising) bears little
resemblance to the email
we used 10 years ago.
The biggest change in
email is that now I can
receive my monthly credit
card and bank statements
via a PDF file emailed
to me. As process automation
technology goes mainstreem,
it will become realistic
to (a) have simple process
automation technology
running in homes, (b)
use it to arrange a 'birthday
party', and (c) have stores
that have the ability
to hook into such processes
to supply things needed
for such a party. Of course,
B2B will come far before
home consumers, and B2B
is not there yet, but
I think that process automation
technology will evolve
to become more consumer
oriented. |
1. Standards will emerge
- for modeling, analysis
and querying of workflows.
2. Frameworks for integrating
workflows with other applications
will also emerge.
3. New IT architectures
where processes play an
important role.
|
workflow technology
in the context of component
architectures. |
Technology and automation
will evolve together.
How it will evolve is
a very different question.
Automation as I know has
been theory - I have not
known of any large scale
process becoming automated,
so I really cannot answer
this question. |
Slowly
and painfully until it
is targeted toward the
user. |