Think about the many processes you have in your company, big and small — from the
big manufacturing processes that makes the widgets, to the mundane ones like vacation requests.
Now think about how efficient all of those processes are. Most companies have the big
manufacturing processes pretty well nailed down — the ones that involve the big machinery. But
what about the little processes that support the big ones? Like the processes for ensuring the
supplies are ordered, on-hand, and installed to keep the big machines maintained and running?
Think about... paper. Signatures. The time involved in chasing down the supervisors and
managers and decision makers who authorize purchases and vacation requests and all of the little
things so important to keeping the big things running.
Business Process Management is about exactly this — studying all of the components of a process,
and studying how that process affects downstream processes.
Business Process Automation is about performing BPM in a reliable, repeatable manner.
What is K2 blackpearl?
K2 blackpearl is enterprise-level Business Process Automation software.
The goal of using K2 blackpearl is to provide dependable, repeatable workflow processes
for the organization. K2 blackpearl uses a combination of technologies to provide the
convenience of automation with the flexibility of operation within the line-of-business
systems.
What is a line of business system?
A system that contains data necessary to the operation of a business or part
of a business is a line of business system (LOB). Just about any given business has
certain functions.
Let's say you have different software systems or data
repositories for those functions — one for payroll, one for your business equipment costs,
one for your location costs. Maybe they're even maintained by different vendors as a service.
How does K2 blackpearl tie into line-of-business systems?
Through K2's data adapters called SmartObjects,
you can access LOB data directly from those systems on demand, without having
to store it outside of its system of origin.