One of the big promises of BPM is that it cuts costs. It can remove lots of needless steps which saves labor costs, data transfers, and infrastructure costs.
But all those promised savings can be quickly washed away if you choose a vendor that adds on significant BPM consulting fees.
Unfortunately, it’s an all too common situation to pay a bomb for BPM software, only to find out that you need to hire expensive BPM consultants to come in and set everything up for you – often doubling the cost of the initial implementation. And you’ll be forced to continue to use these BPM services if you want to make any significant changes to your processes.
Wouldn’t it be great if you reduce, or better yet, eliminate all these BPM consulting fees and let your BPM efforts actually save you money instead of racking up costs?
The Hidden Costs of BPM Consulting
There are two significant ways you can get burned paying too much for BPM consulting.
The first is by choosing an open-source BPM platform. The best thing about open-source options is that they are free to download and install. And, if you already have a great team of programmers at your disposal, you can build a great tool.
However, if you don’t have the resources on your team already, you are going to need to pay a lot of money for a programmer with BPM consulting skills to come in and set up the software exactly as you need it.
The second way you can pay a lot for additional BPM services is by choosing an overly-complex legacy BPM system, simply because it has a good name and reputation. The first crop of BPM suites out there were revolutionary at the time – businesses had never been able to have so much control over their processes.
However, all of these systems required a lot of expert programming work, which means getting a BPM consultant who knows processes and programming – expensive folks! Over time, many of these original BPM suites didn’t evolve to a more user-friendly, self-service model, and you still need to hire the same expensive BPM consulting teams to get it done.
Avoiding Expensive BPM Consulting Costs
Thanks to updated technology and improved design, there are a lot of ways that companies can reduce or even eliminate BPM consulting costs.
1. Know exactly what you need before you buy
There is no definitive, indisputable BPM software that meets the requirements of all businesses. To find out what kind of software is best fit for your processes, you have to do some self-analysis and come up with a concrete checklist.
Here are a few questions to help you to articulate your BPM services needs:
- What is your BPM budget?
- What is the expected ROI?
- What are some goals expected?
- What is your team size?
- What is your priority – features, integrations, cost, analytics, reduced time?
- How much technical expertise do you have in-house to help build your BPM solution?
As you put your list together, don’t compromise on the must-have BPM features; you will definitely regret it later.
2. Chose a solution that matches your ability to build your own BPM program
If you have access to skilled programmers who can build on top of an open-source tool, then you can save a lot of money in BPM consulting by just building on top of it. However, if the BPM platform will be built by business users, you are going to want something that is much more intuitive and easy for anyone to create. Adopting a no-nonsense BPM services option also frees up IT folks to focus on other important priorities.
3. Chose a solution that values UI/UX
A modern UI/UX design doesn’t just mean the product looks pretty. It also means the creators have taken the time to consider how a product will be used and have painstakingly simplified it so that it provides the easiest access to all users. A great UI/UX also indicates a commitment to continue to evolve and morph over time as new technologies make things even easier.
4. Chose a solution with basic support built in
One of the worst additional costs of a BPM product is paying to have someone else come in and make simple solutions. The product you chose should have on-demand support built into the price you already pay which should cover any small editing.
You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For
BPM consulting can give businesses a huge sticker shock, even after paying a lot for a BPM platform. However, you don’t need to shell out big bucks to have a fully-automated BPM platform. Find more self-service options like Kissflow Process and chose provides that offer technical help at no additional charge.
BPM consulting can be worth the cost if it sets you on the right foot, but it should never be so debilitating that it eats into any savings your BPM program brings.
