On workflows in the pandemic, barriers to process automation and BPM trends for 2022 – the OTRS Group Spotlight on BPM

Cupertino, CA November 29, 2021 – What is the state of workflows and business process automation in enterprises?

Cupertino, CA November 29, 2021 – What is the state of workflows and business process automation in enterprises? How has the pandemic affected it and what trends in business process management (BPM) are expected for 2022? These are the questions answered by 500 employees from different companies in Germany, the USA, Brazil, Mexico and Singapore in the latest OTRS Group Spotlight on BPM, initially compiled in September this year.

#1 Pandemic resulted in improved workflows at most companies.

A total of 63 percent of respondents stated that workflows and processes had improved in their companies, with the figures for the various countries ranging from 53-78 percent. The fact that processes in their company deteriorated as a result of the pandemic was true for only a very small proportion of respondents, just under 6 percent. Here, the range of responses was between 1-12 percent (Germany: 7%, USA: 4%, Brazil: 1%, Mexico: 12% and Singapore: 5%). It can therefore be assumed that, although the pandemic shook up the workflows of companies in all countries at the beginning, all were largely able to improve during the crisis. This allows companies to be more flexible and resilient today.

#2 Success factor in the crisis: Active redesign of processes around home office.

The need to avoid offices and workplaces during the pandemic and instead work from home, i.e. remotely, was one of the biggest challenges to existing workflows in all countries. Not surprisingly, actively enabling and working on good remote workflows was seen as the biggest process improvement success factor across all respondents, with a total of over 52 percent, ranging from 48-62 percent across countries. Time saved through remote work was cited by one-third of respondents (33 percent) as the most important reason for implementing business processes improvements. “Companies that have successfully automated their processes benefit from being able to do their tasks quickly and accurately and can rely on the other necessary process steps being performed automatically.” said Christopher Kuhn, COO at OTRS Group, “This is simply because the work goes through defined and automated processes, so tasks are appropriately routed to all stakeholders for completion. Remote work, in particular, can be done securely and easily this way.”

#3 What still stands in the way of business process automation?

Despite the aforementioned progress that many companies were able to make with their workflows during the pandemic, obstacles that still stand in the way of automating business processes are also apparent: Of those who claimed they had not yet worked on process automation, nearly a third (30 percent) said that this is because their manual workflows are sufficient. Two other noted obstacles each received about 27 percent of the responses: these were the impending expense and the lack of a suitable tool for a BPM project. “In order to overcome such inhibitions and identify potential for improvement in their workflows,” explains Kuhn, “it is helpful to visualize business processes in a so-called process diagram. These business processes can then be automated with a tool such as OTRS to reduce workplace chaos, making tasks and communication quicker and more error-free.”

#4 Expected trends for 2022: Big Data & AI in BPM.

When asked about the defining trends for 2022, about a quarter of respondents said that data-driven process management will become a reality and that artificial intelligence will be used in business process automation. Overall, a majority of respondents across all countries (31 percent) expect business process management to receive more attention and budget in the coming year. “The pandemic has posed significant challenges to the business processes of companies everywhere,” said Kuhn, summarizing the results. “But our OTRS Group Spotlight shows that most have come out of the crisis stronger and with improved workflows. Those who approach the topic systematically will be able to remove the last obstacles, find the right software and benefit from automated processes in the years to come.”

 

 

 

About OTRS Group

OTRS Group is the manufacturer and the world’s largest provider of the service management suite OTRS, awarded with the SERVIEW CERTIFIED TOOL seal of approval.
It offers companies industry-independent solutions for structured communication in customer service, IT service management and security management. In addition to the core product OTRS, the security solutions STORM and CONTROL ensure efficient cybersecurity incident management and transparent documentation in accordance with standards such as ISO 27001.

Among its customers are Lufthansa, Airbus, IBM, Porsche, BSI (Federal Office for Security in Information Technology), Max Planck Institute, Toyota and Hapag Lloyd. The company consists of OTRS AG and its five subsidiaries OTRS Inc. (USA), OTRS S.A. de C.V. (Mexico), OTRS Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), OTRS do Brasil Soluções Ltda. (Brazil) and OTRS Magyarország Kft. (Hungary). OTRS AG is listed on the basic board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. For more information, see www.otrs.com.

 

 

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