Business process management (BPM) for information technology teams

So your IT team is feeling the heat, right?

You're juggling dozens of service requests, rushing to deploy new systems, and somehow expected to keep everything running smoothly 24/7. Meanwhile, your

CEO wants everything faster, better, and cheaper. Sound familiar?
If you're nodding your head, you're not alone. As the CIO or IT leader, you're stuck in a tricky spot, trying to keep up with new tech while making sure your team isn't drowning in chaos.

In this post, we'll show you how business process management for IT teams can be your secret weapon for making IT operations run like clockwork. You'll learn practical ways to boost efficiency, cut costs, and make your team more agile—all while making your internal customers happier. By the end, you'll have a clear roadmap for bringing order to the IT madness.

What's BPM for IT teams?

Think of BPM for IT teams as creating a GPS for your tech operations. Just like a GPS helps you navigate the fastest route to your destination, BPM helps your IT team find the smartest path from problem to solution.

BPM for IT service management isn't just about drawing fancy flowcharts. It's about mapping out how work actually happens in your department—from handling service requests to managing system changes—and then making those workflows better.

Picture this: Instead of your help desk scrambling to figure out who should handle each ticket, BPM creates clear lanes of traffic. When a request comes in, it automatically goes to the right person, with all the info they need. No more "Who's handling this?" confusion.

Why your IT team needs BPM now (not later)

Remember when IT was mostly about keeping the lights on? Those days are gone. Now you're dealing with:

• Cloud systems that change every few months
• Teams working from everywhere on every device imaginable
• Security threats that evolve faster than you can say "firewall"
• Business folks who want new apps and features yesterday
• Budgets that never quite match your to-do list

Without BPM solutions for IT teams, these challenges can turn your department into a firefighting squad—always reacting, never getting ahead.

Take Sarah, a CIO at a midsize manufacturing company. Her team was constantly putting out fires, dealing with emergencies, missing deadlines, and getting user complaints. After mapping their workflows with a BPM approach, they found that 40 percent of their emergencies stemmed from skipped steps in their change management process. Emergency tickets dropped by a third within months by fixing this one process.

Organizations lose an average of $1.3 million annually to process inefficiencies. Yet, only 4 percent ^[6] of companies track and manage their processes.

The good stuff: Benefits BPM brings to IT teams

Speed things up

Remember the last time your team had to provision a new server? How long did it take—Days? Weeks? With IT process automation, tasks that used to take days can often be completed in hours. One of our clients at Kissflow cut their request-to-delivery time by 70 percent just by automating their IT service workflow.

Automation through BPM saves an average of 280 staff hours ^[6] annually, contributing directly to faster task completion.

Stop dropping balls

Ever have that sinking feeling when you realize a critical security patch was missed? BPM helps create airtight processes where important steps don't fall through the cracks. Tasks are tracked, deadlines are flagged, and managers are alerted when things veer off course.

Make users happy (yes, really)

When processes run smoothly, the folks who depend on IT notice. They get faster responses, more accurate solutions, and fewer frustrating follow-ups. Happy users mean fewer complaints landing in your inbox, a win for everyone.

BPM adoption improves project success rates by up to 70 percent ^[1], which often translates into better experiences for both internal and external users.

Save money (your CFO will love this)

Streamlined processes mean less wasted time and fewer resources. We've seen IT teams cut operational costs by 15–30 percent after implementing business process automation for IT teams. That's budget you can redirect to innovation instead of maintenance.

On average, BPM adoption results in direct cost savings of around $21,800 ^[2] per company annually, making the financial case even stronger.

Sleep better at night

With proper change management and governance baked into your processes, you'll face fewer unexpected outages and security incidents. Every step gets documented, every change gets reviewed, and every risk gets assessed, before it becomes a problem.

Keep getting better

The best IT teams use BPM to create a culture of continuous improvement. They regularly check how processes are performing and make small tweaks that add up to big gains over time. 

Despite the growing adoption, only 4 percent ^[3] of companies consistently track their processes, suggesting continuous improvement is a missed opportunity for most.

How to bring BPM to your IT team (without the headaches)

Step 1: Figure out what's actually happening

First, map out how your key processes really work today, not how they're supposed to work on paper. Gather your team and walk through processes like incident management or change requests. You'll often find surprising detours and workarounds you never knew existed.

For example, a financial services company discovered its developers were using a shadow ticketing system because the official one was too cumbersome. This insight helped them design a new process everyone actually wanted to use.

Only 26% ^[4] of companies use process mining to uncover workflow inefficiencies, yet it holds tremendous value in spotting issues like these.

Step 2: Find the pain points

Look for bottlenecks, delays, and frustrations in your current workflows:

• Where do things get stuck?

• Which steps take too long?

• When do mistakes typically happen?

One healthcare IT department noticed its password reset requests took up 30 percent of help desk time. This insight led them to implement a self-service solution that freed up staff for more complex issues.

Step 3: Redesign with purpose

Now redesign those workflows to be simpler and smarter. Focus on:

• Cutting unnecessary steps
• Adding automation where it makes sense
• Building in quality checks at critical points
• Making information available when and where it's needed

Remember, the goal isn't to create perfect theoretical processes, it's to build practical workflows your team will actually follow.

74 percent of organizations believe automation saves time, reinforcing the value of simplifying and automating targeted processes.

Step 4: Roll out changes thoughtfully

Big-bang process changes often fail. Instead:

• Start with one process that's causing real pain

• Test your new approach with a small group

• Get feedback and make adjustments

• Communicate clearly about why changes matter

• Train everyone thoroughly

When we helped a retail company revamp its IT asset management process, we started with just its laptop provisioning workflow. The early wins created momentum for tackling bigger processes.

Step 5: Measure and tweak

Set clear metrics for what success looks like. Is it faster resolution times? Fewer errors? Higher user satisfaction? Whatever you choose, track it religiously and keep refining your processes.

Dodging the common BPM pitfalls

Don't just draw pretty pictures

Process documentation that sits in a digital drawer helps no one. Make sure your BPM efforts lead to actual changes in how work gets done.

Don't skip the people part

The fanciest workflow tools won't help if your team doesn't use them. Involve your IT staff early, address their concerns honestly, and show them how BPM will make their jobs easier, not harder.

Nearly half (46 percent) of organizations cite employee resistance to change as a barrier to BPM adoption, making this one of the most critical pitfalls to avoid.

Don't overcomplicate things

Not every process needs 20 approval steps and complex branching logic. Sometimes the best process is the simplest one that gets the job done reliably.

Don't set it and forget it

Processes need regular tune-ups just like systems do. Schedule quarterly reviews to make sure your workflows are still serving their purpose.

BPM in action: Real-world IT wins

Service request handling

A manufacturing company was drowning in unstructured IT requests coming through email, chat, and hallway conversations. After implementing BPM:

• Requests dropped into a single intake form
• Automatic routing sent issues to the right specialist
• SLA tracking kept response times on target
• Managers got visibility into workloads and bottlenecks
• Result? Average resolution time dropped from 3 days to 4 hours.
  

Software development lifecycle

A financial services firm struggled with inconsistent development practices across teams. Using BPM to standardize their development workflow:

• Code reviews became mandatory checkpoints
• Security scanning is integrated automatically before deployment
• Documentation requirements were clear at each stage
• Approvals happened in parallel instead of sequentially

Result? Deployment frequency increased while production issues decreased by 60 percent.

Incident management

A healthcare provider's IT team was handling major incidents inconsistently. After mapping and optimizing their incident response process:

• Clear severity definitions triggered the right response levels
• Communication templates ensured stakeholders stayed informed
• Post-incident reviews became standard practice
• Root cause patterns became visible across incidents

Result? The mean time to resolution improved by 45 percent, and repeat incidents dropped significantly.

Best practices that actually work

Time to take action

The pressure on IT teams isn't going away. If anything, the expectations for faster, better, and more secure technology services keep growing. BPM software gives you a practical way to meet those demands without burning out your team or blowing your budget.

At Kissflow, we've helped hundreds of IT departments transform chaotic workflows into smooth, reliable processes. Our platform makes it easy to design, implement, and continuously improve your IT operations, without needing an army of consultants or months of training.

Whether you're looking to simplify help desk operations, strengthen change management, or bring order to your development lifecycle, business process management for IT teams can make a world of difference. Start small, focus on real problems, and build momentum with visible wins.