A better view of business process content

To help clients improve their business performance, IBM has introduced "business space," which gives them a continuously updated desktop view of their business processes. According to IBM, the new role-based collaborative BPM capability is powered by WebSphere software and built using service-oriented architecture (SOA). The idea is to enable clients to manage their processes more effectively, make better-informed decisions and take action more quickly.

IBM points to Ball State University as an example of the success of its business process management. Ball State wanted to simply its Distance Education Program, which allows students to take courses while they’re not at the university. Due to a lack of system integration in the past, students who tried to register for a course on the Web site were frequently denied access because the class would fill before their request was processed.

Fred Nay, director of computer services at Ball State, explains, "We were able to streamline our processes surrounding class registration. Because we can update multiple, different systems behind the scenes in real time, we have changed what was a tedious, three-day class registration process for students into an instantaneous experience."

Tom Rosamilia, general manager of IBM Websphere, says, "Our clients are increasingly realizing that their key differentiators and competitive advantages are contained in their business processes—not just their products or services. They are asking for visibility into these business processes and the ability to change them on the fly or iteratively to drive continuous improvement, cost-savings and innovation."