BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE CONCERNS
What is Business Process Management (BPM)?
Business Process Management systems provide the capability to design, deploy,
execute, analyze and optimize end-to-end business processes. They coordinate
the flow of tasks, access to resources and the exchange of information among
employees, customers and partners. Importantly, BPM systems are intelligent in
that they capture information about the execution of each process to enable
continuous process improvement.
What to ask a BPM vendor before making a decision to purchase...
How do you determine the cost of your system?
Most BPM companies base their cost on the number of licenses a company
purchases. Five, Ten, One Hundred, or Unlimited user licenses with the cost of
each license varying based on how many licenses you purchase.
The important question to ask though is, what constitutes a license?
Some companies count a license as any user added to the system regardless of
whether that user ever uses the system. Other companies determine licensing
based on the number of users logged on at any one time. The second scenario
makes more sense and more cost effective to the customer.
Also can the system be broken down so you are not paying for functionality that
you will never use.
What will my yearly maintenance costs be?
Yearly maintenance costs are what a vendor will charge a customer to receive support and software updates. These
costs are usually a fraction of what the customer paid for the system and are usually only assessed to companies
that purchase an On-Site license as opposed to a Hosted license (see below). With a Hosted license these costs are usually
built in.
What if I need custom work done, how much will that cost?
If you want functionality added to the system that is specific to your business or just might be a great enhancement, will your
software vendor charge you for this? Some software companies will charge for all enhancements regardless if they are specific to your business or not.
Some will only charge for enhancements that are uniquely specific to your business and cannot be used in the general functionality of the product. Other will
split the costs with other customers that might be looking for the same feature. Very few will make enhancements free of charge.
Can the system be hosted?
A Hosted system is one that the vendor "hosts" at their own facility. This type of services is more like renting the system rather than buying it and
it is paid for monthly. In the end this type of service can be more cost effective because it will cost the customer less to get started and they will not
have to set up a server, database software, backup systems, network, DBA, etc. All that is handled by the vendor.
