Business Process Automation (BPA)
What and why
We help companies model and execute their business processes.
We lift your processes into an overarching layer above departmental boundaries and IT systems. We at Cognosys call this topware.
BPA is the core of digitisation and your gateway to the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR).
To remain competitive, you'd have to modernise. BPA is a modern imperative!
A quick overview
Model your Business Processes digitally
We assist you to capture policies and procedures as process models. Tie in human participants and IT systems. Since this digital model is executable, it reifies the enactment of your operating model. It's the conductor's score in the orchestration of your company!
Nothing to download, nothing to install
We deploy your process models to our hosted servers. It is a cloud-based solution. We integrate your internal IT systems (ERP, CRM, etc) and external services. We take care of all the geeky stuff which allows you to focus on what you do best: To execute your processes!
Intuitive for both business users and your customers
User-friendly web interfaces make it easy for both staff and customers to participate in the processes. Using your favourite device, all communication is secure and encrypted. No more dropping of the ball, taking shortcuts, "wait until I'm back at the office"... Log in and go!
Continuously evaluate a process for improvements
Look for bottlenecks, underutilised personnel, and any monotony which can be done magnitudes more efficiently by a machine. Incorporate IoT, machine learning and AI. Readily and iteratively respond to the demands of your customers. Your organisational agility has become your most cherished asset!
All processes have a beginning and an end, and can cycle between these multiple times
Business Process Modelling and Notation (BPMN)
BPMN is an ISO 19510 standard for modelling processes. Even the process of embarking on a BPA journey, in other words automating your processes, can be modeled in BPMN, as is done here.
This process has two participants, as can be gleaned from the two lanes. Tasks are rectangular, with an icon indicating the nature of the participant, either a human using a GUI or a service utilizing an API. Decision points are diamond, with multiple emanating branches.
System integrations are indicated, and once sufficient metadata is provided, automated integration with systems such as ERP and CRM are readily achieved.
A generic BPMN example
This is a generic process used by financial services companies such as auditors. We regularly amend and adapt this process to suit the needs and idiosyncratic nature of each new auditing client.
It depicts the modelling phase (the above step 1), where the exact nature of the business process is captured using BPMN modelling.
Once this model is embellished with all of the required metadata, it then becomes an executable artifact. In other words it is a computer programme which can be invoked to execute the depicted process.
This model is then handed over to a server for execution. It automates the integration with existing systems such as ERP and CRM via APIs, and renders the GUI forms for users to participate manually.