Gartner forecasts modest rise in BPM investment

The majority of companies have plans to invest more in managing their business processes over the course of the next 12 months, according to new Gartner research.

Business process management (BPM) is high on the IT department agenda as the recession drives businesses to look for savings and flexibility, according to the study.

"Overall, the survey responses suggest an optimistic outlook for the BPM market, and also highlight trends we've observed in customer inquiries and reference checks, i.e. companies don't see BPM as a luxury," said Michele Cantara, Gartner analyst and author of the report.

"Instead, BPM is quickly becoming an alternative and better way of developing solutions and improving processes for many companies."

Two Gartner surveys conducted at recent BPM conferences in the UK and the US, attended by a combined 800 business and IT professionals, found that most organisations plan to increase spending on BPM by at least five per cent over the next year.

"Most of the BPM practitioners we surveyed were somewhat optimistic about their companies' growth prospects in fiscal 2009," said Cantara. "Only 23 per cent anticipated any degree of revenue decline, while 42 per cent anticipated some growth, suggesting that BPM helps companies thrive and isn't just a survival tactic."

Cantara recommended that organisations use BPM to identify the existing, suspended and new projects that will be prioritised, sequenced, funded and staffed when business growth returns.