Hot Vendors TM in Workflow and Content Automation, 2018

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1 Hot Vendors TM in Workflow and Content Automation, October 2018 Research Note Author: Jim Lundy Topic: Workflow and Content Automation Summary Issue: Who are the workflow and content automation providers and how will they evolve? Workflow and content automation (WCA) is positioned to challenge legacy technology applications, such as standalone customer communications management. WCA automates the process of creating content and moving it through a customer journey. Aragon has selected two Hot Vendors in WCA for Introduction For B2B enterprises, documents are still the currency of conducting business. However, analog methods of creating and routing document and content processes are slowing enterprises down. The new way forward is automation. Aragon introduced the concept of workflow and content automation (WCA) in 2016 and it is gaining traction. This research note reviews how WCA will help an enterprise go digital by eliminating legacy document processes Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

2 Documents, Outcomes, and Time to Revenue Part of the challenge in going fully digital is that all business processes will eventually need to be automated and enterprises must choose which ones to automate first. Enterprises should look first at the processes that stand to have the greatest effect on business; because documents and document processes can have the highest impact on speeding up the time to outcomes (or in many cases, time to revenue), documents and their processes should be at the top of the priority list. As such, WCA is a critical way to automate the enterprise. Workflow and Content Automation Overview Note 1: Defining Workflow and Content Automation Workflow and content automation (WCA) is a new category that combines workflow capabilities integrated with intelligent document generation to allow the creation of smart document processes that can be easily analyzed to find what is working well and what needs improvement. As a business application, WCA is designed to be used by business people, and as such, should require minimal to no programming. WCA is poised to consolidate the legacy technology markets of business process management and customer communications management, which were designed in an era of programmers and manual integration. WCA is a key part of a content-focused digital business initiative. Today, many companies rely on unwieldy enterprise software applications that are difficult to configure, maintain, and update as business processes evolve. This results in organizations lacking the ability to quickly execute and react in real time. Operating an agile business in our competitive era of digital transformation requires a different approach. WCA combines sophisticated workflow capabilities with automated document generation and involves a number of key departures from a traditional business process management (BPM) discipline: It is combined with document generation and image parsing features to create a new, must-have set of tools that allows for the creation of, and harvesting of data from, intelligent documents that seamlessly move between the enterprise and their customers. It spans the boundaries of any one software or storage asset; processes typically involve multiple sources of structured and unstructured content. Copyright 2018 Aragon Research Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Aragon Research and the Aragon Research Globe are trademarks of Aragon Research Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This publication may not be distributed in any form without Aragon Research s prior written permission. The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Nevertheless, Aragon Research provides this publication and the information contained in it "AS IS," without warranty of any kind. To the maximum extent allowed by law, Aragon Research expressly disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in such information. This publication consists of the opinions of Aragon Research and Advisory Services organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Although Aragon Research may include a discussion of related legal issues, Aragon Research does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Aragon Research is a private company and its clients may include firms or financial institutions that have financial interests in entities covered by Aragon Research. Further information about the objectivity of Aragon Research can be found at aragonresearch.com

3 It expects solutions to continually evolve over multiple iterations, and the tools are designed to embrace this reality. It strives to reduce the amount of work on the part of both the designer/developer and the participants. It strives to reach work participants using the apps, devices, and communication channels they already know, hooking into , instant messaging, texting, social media channels, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and existing websites. A new app for every new solution is not practical. It calls on features like digital signatures, faxes, electronic forms, mobile apps, API gateways, etc., as needed. Unlike pure integration platforms, WCA is capable of significantly more elaborate process logic, effectively assigning tasks to software. By combining these capabilities, WCA opens up the possibilities for automating content-centric processes that require human interaction to conduct business. WCA also enables dynamic engagement between internal and external constituents, a key tenet of digital transformation. The Genesis of WCA WCA is a realization of the multitude of ways that documents are generated and then moved inside and outside of an enterprise to conduct business. While the purpose of this research note is not to break down the legacy silos, automating documents today requires people, document editors, and document generation software (also called CCM and workflow software). WCA is about consolidating all of the above into a single category. As such, Aragon believes that WCA is poised to be a key catalyst for document automation, which represents a key component of a digital continuum relative to digital transaction management and digital business. WCA will consolidate the following: 2018 Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 3

4 Forms software Workflow software Document generation or customer communications management (CCM) Figure 1: WCA combines traditional categories of BPM and customer communications management (CCM) into one modern platform. The rise of new modern platforms that consolidate older IT stacks is a strong trend, but the bigger opportunity is creating processes that are partially or fully automated. Core WCA The most basic form of WCA is the document creation process. Often, a human needs to provide input for a document, but in some cases, input can be generated by a software application (see Figure 1). Historically, this was accomplished through forms. WCA, via built-in interview capabilities, can help a person or buyer fill out a document by interviewing them via a question and answer process Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 4

5 There is often a review and approval process after the document is created. In many cases, these core WCA document flows are repeatable and can happen multiple times a day. Figure 2: The WCA core process map. Customer Journeys and Putting Content in Motion The last 25 years have focused on managing content after a transaction was completed. In many cases, it was because the agreement was completed in paper format and then had to be imaged and stored. There is growing recognition that old ways of conducting business are slowing down the enterprise and making it less competitive. While senior executives understand this, sometimes it is only after an incident like losing a major customer that firms react. CEOs and chief digital officers (CDOs) are the change agents for their organizations, but the challenge is helping the rest of the organization understand the impact. Aragon feels that we are leaving the era of content management where the focus was on storing and managing documents, to one that is about putting content in motion with a focus on outcomes. This is a fundamental change and is one of the reasons Aragon sees WCA as a strategic part of the customer journey (see Figure 3) Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 5

6 Figure 3. The content automation era is about putting content into motion. One of the ways to impact change is to perform a customer journey mapping exercise to understand where the analog processes are slowing down a transaction. By conducting a review of the journeys of both customers and employee-based document processes, a set of goals can be established to make the journey digital and then later, make it fully automated. The Benefits of WCA There are a number of reasons to consider workflow and content automation. The strongest reason is that it eliminates manual processing of documents. Consolidating Traditional Software Silos WCA combines the traditional silos of workflow and document generation, which from a software perspective, were two distinct technology categories. Through consolidation, entire document processes can be 2018 Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 6

7 automated, and often with fewer technology stacks, which can also accelerate the process. For enterprises, the need to buy fewer applications that often do not work together is a large benefit. If the goal is to automate content, the focus should be on selecting a new platform that performs more of the document process automation and accomplishes it in less time than developing and deploying the new digital application. Content Automation: Eliminating Manual Processes The content automation component of WCA cannot be underestimated. Eventually, document processes will be entirely automated, so productivity will skyrocket. The ability to generate more contracts and business documents means that businesses will move faster and generate more revenue. A basic aspect of automating content processes is automatically extracting content from legacy or new documents. This goes beyond OCR. One of the vendors in this report, HyperScience, specializes in this level of extraction. Faster Digital Transactions Aragon estimates that hours are saved in the creation process through WCA, compared to traditional, manual methods. For example, creating an automated proposal for a client can be accomplished in 15 minutes, rather than two hours for the manual process, thus saving significant time. In a sales organization, the reduction of time it takes to create client-facing documents can have a substantial impact on results. Then, time spent creating proposals and contracts can be reallocated to customers and prospects Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 7

8 Prediction: By YE 2018, smart documents will be able to auto-create and route themselves. Workflow and content automation will power this revolution. Increased Accuracy and Error Reduction One of the largest issues with business documents is overlooked errors. Typos and other errors in documents can slow down business transactions and may impact the brand s reputation if they are not corrected. WCA, by building in verifications of business data, can ensure that errors in documents are eliminated. By automating the data input into documents, the transaction speed is increased, as is the probability that corrections will be made. This example is one of the big drivers enabling faster time to revenue. Eliminates Costs and Saves Time WCA can save a significant amount of time by speeding up processes through automation. When the process is repeated, it adds up to business days per month and per year. In the race to move the enterprise at digital speed, WCA is the answer for eliminating bottlenecks that slow down processes. The cost factor can hit multiple lenses. The labor involved in continually creating documents is reduced or, in fully automated scenarios, is eliminated. If fewer people are needed to create or process the documents, they can be reassigned to higher-impact tasks. Business Insight: Analytics One of the small but powerful aspects of WCA is the business insight it can provide to business leaders. Dashboards can show where content is in the process and can help enterprises understand why some regions may be behind in revenue. Dashboards can reveal if documents are stuck or were delayed to begin with Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 8

9 Enterprise buyers need to look carefully at the analytics capabilities and the roadmaps that WCA providers offer. Pathway to a Digital Business and Growth At the end of the day, a digital enterprise moves faster than an analog one. WCA represents a core foundational element in going digital and eliminating the slowness of manual creation and movement of documents. Enterprises that put WCA in place will be able to experience two to five times the productivity of the staff who are responsible for processing paperwork. This suggests that enterprises that wait to deploy WCA will not be able to respond to clients as quickly as those that have automated their content. For this reason alone, WCA should be a top priority. Hot Vendors in Workflow and Content Automation, 2018 This research note is not intended to be a complete list of vendors in the market being discussed. Rather, it highlights vendors with interesting and cutting-edge products, services, or technologies Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 9

10 ProcessMaker Note 2: ProcessMaker at a Glance ProcessMaker makes it easy to create forms and automate complex workflows. Location: Durham, NC CEO: Brian Reale Key Offerings: ProcessMaker Availability: Available now Website: Figure 4: ProcessMaker makes it easy to design and automate complex workflows. ProcessMaker, based in Durham, North Carolina and led by CEO Brian Reale, offers a workflow and content automation platform that focuses on process automation and the creation and automation of documents and forms (see Figure 5 and Note 3). Today, the need to automate document-based processes is more important than ever. The ability to do this is important to business professionals and ProcessMaker makes it easy via its low-code, drag-and-drop user interface. What makes ProcessMaker hot is its full set of WCA capabilities combined with drag-and-drop modeling that allows for a complete process to be fully designed and executed. This includes complex processes, such as credit approvals. The ability to perform sophisticated processes, such as service level agreement (SLA) monitoring, differentiates ProcessMaker from other vendors that focus primarily on document generation. Who Should Evaluate ProcessMaker? Enterprises looking for a full WCA platform with the ability to automate complex workflows should evaluate ProcessMaker. The breadth of capabilities combined with a robust set of industry solutions makes ProcessMaker one to watch Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 10

11 Aragon Advisory Organizations should select one or two primary WCA vendors to focus on for their content automation needs. Enterprises need to look at both short-term and long-term content automation needs when selecting a provider. Enterprises need to ensure that any WCA provider is open, cooperative, easy to use, and has a product roadmap for the future. Enterprises need to look at their customer, employee, and partner journeys to identify the critical document processes and agreements to automate first. Bottom Line We are leaving the content management era and entering the content automation era. The focus for enterprises should be on automating critical documents with a focus on better customer journeys, and faster time to outcomes. Inventorying and prioritizing the documents that have the biggest business impact can help to accelerate overall transformation and enhance how enterprises benefit Aragon Research Inc. and or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Page 11