Gone are the days when business process automation was icing on the cake for organizations. Today it is a necessity and the practice that informs how a business should carry out its day-to-day operations in order to achieve organizational goals.
In a survey conducted by UiPath and The Economist Intelligence Unit across 8 countries, 90 percent of respondents’ organizations were already using technology to automate business processes. They reported using automation more for IT, production/operations, and finance when compared to other functions.
There are many business process automation companies that are helping organizations improve operational efficiency. In fact, the digital process automation market is expected to grow to $12.61 billion by 2023.
This means that there are endless options to consider when looking for the best among business process automation companies. It can get overwhelming quickly and result in a suboptimal choice that will affect your business for years to come.
You don’t need to panic, though. We’ve got you covered.
Here’s a compilation of the top business process management tools as well as a guide on how to choose the right one for your business.
What is business process automation?
Business process automation is the practice of automating repetitive, predictable tasks with the help of technology. Business process automation speeds up operations, minimizes errors, reduces operating costs, and boosts product or service quality. In the long run, it helps organizations transition to a digital way of doing business.
Why is business process automation important for your business?
Automating business processes can give your organization an edge over competitors.
Respondents from the UiPath survey reported multiple business benefits. The most common were increased productivity, reduced human error, and consistency in processes and output.
Here are some more benefits that you will enjoy with effective process automation.
Streamlined processes
Automating business processes helps execute them seamlessly without hiccups, within the desired timeframe. Human intervention is not required to transition from one task to another.
Better resource allocation
When mundane tasks are automated, the bandwidth freed up allows employees to focus on tasks that require human input. Workforce, materials, and budgets are utilized efficiently in optimized processes.
Employee satisfaction
Automation facilitates a friction-free work environment and better collaboration. They in turn improve employee engagement and satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction
Business process automation helps companies meet service level agreements (SLAs) with ease. Delivering consistently high quality products and services boosts customer satisfaction levels.
Greater compliance
Automation logs enable businesses to demonstrate compliance with legal, financial, or industrial regulations effortlessly.
Transparency and accountability
Automating business processes requires process mapping and involvement of all stakeholders. This increases transparency and accountability for all performers.
Fewer bottlenecks
Business process automation software have monitoring capabilities. This allows companies to identify and resolve bottlenecks before they affect process performance.
Lower costs
Minimized operating costs are another beneficial outcome of optimized processes. Efficient document management also allows businesses to be able to renegotiate vendor contracts, which further reduce costs.
Foundation to digital transformation
Business process automation tools are a stepping stone to effective digital transformation. Good BPM strategies foster the right culture and approach to implementing digital transformation.
In order to make all these advantages a reality for your business, your choice of business process automation software is critical.
What are the top BPM tools of 2023?
The following are leading business process automation companies whose products are highly rated by customers. They are great options to consider when you’re looking for the perfect automation solution.
Kissflow
Kissflow is a cloud-based BPM software that is intuitive enough for business users to set up with little to no IT support. It allows organizations to easily build processes of varying complexity. Powerful analytics and reporting will help you monitor and improve processes. Conditional access keeps confidential data secure. Kissflow offers custom pricing based on your business needs.
Nintex
Nintex is a no-code automation platform that helps businesses manage and optimize their processes. It has the entire gamut of required BPM features from process mapping to analysis and improvement. Nintex integrates well with SharePoint, Office365, Adobe, Salesforce, ServiceMax, and Box. Pricing for Nintex is available on request.
Zoho Creator
Zoho Creator lets businesses create apps quickly and manage processes efficiently. The intuitive drag-and-drop interface lets users build apps without coding knowledge. Zoho Creator enables mobility as well as seamless data flow between apps. The pricing varies from $6 to $20 per user per month.
ProcessMaker
ProcessMaker is a low-code intelligent BPM software (iBPMS). It helps organizations automate processes that are document-intensive and require approvals. ProcessMaker helps manage data and documents with ease. It integrates with other popularly used applications. Organizations can also leverage their RPA bots within the software. They currently charge $1495 per month for unlimited users and usage.
Creatio
Previously called bpm’online, Creatio is an intelligent low-code BPM software. It features process management as well as dynamic case management capabilities. It has a mobile version to enable flexibility. Creatio also protects data from unauthorized access using multilevel security. You can choose between on-premise or cloud hosting. Creatio offers plans starting at $25 per user per month.
Bizagi
This platform enables digital transformation by helping business and IT collaborate to build processes quickly. Bizagi is can be hosted on-premise or on cloud. It helps businesses stay agile by orchestrating operations across locations. While Bizagi Modeler and Studio are free, Bizagi Automation pricing is based on usage and can be availed on request.
Once you’re aware of your options, the crux of the decision lies in gauging which software meets your business needs.
How to choose the perfect business process automation software
If you were planning to go the eeny-meeny-miny-moe route, you’re headed for a world of chaos!
Picking the right process automation solution for your business requires careful consideration. We created a questionnaire to heighten clarity on process requirements in your organization.
- Why do you need it? What process challenges do you need to resolve?
- Will your teams prefer a low/no-code solution or one that requires custom coding?
- What are the features you require? List both basic and advanced features.
- How flexible do you need your workflows to be?
- What technology do you already use?
- What is your budget? What type of licensing would you prefer?
- How important is mobility to your operations?
- What type of hosting does your organization need? Cloud, on-premise, or a hybrid?
- What KPIs are relevant to your processes? Will the automation software allow you to customize dashboards to your requirement?
- What are the skill sets of the end users? How much training are you comfortable with?
- Will the software in consideration scale alongside your business effortlessly?
Planning ahead for continuing efficiency
When choosing a business process automation tool, it’s important to consider not only present day needs but also goals for the foreseeable future. Automating processes should be viewed within the larger context of ongoing process improvement and eventually digital transformation.
Kissflow Process is well equipped to help you achieve these goals, no matter which stage you’re at. As an efficient digital workplace, it can manage your processes, cases, projects, and collaboration. Everything related to work on a single platform!
Sign up for a customized demo and experience smooth workflows like never before.
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