In the new digital world, organizations need to be faster – leaner, and more transparent in order to survive and face competition. And when it comes to how business is done Blockchain has rewritten this book, an incredible world discovery that gives businesses an unprecedented ability to enjoy enhanced trust, security, and automation.
If you use the best business process management software solutions, you can use blockchain to further optimize features and increase maximum value for businesses.
What is Blockchain in BPM?
Put quite simply – think of Blockchain as an open and techy ledger that records transactions between two parties and distributes it openly and clearly. And said blockchain is used with, say Business Process Management aka (BPM) software – it only serves to create a more transparent and more open way of doing business!
Business Process Management Software (BPM) has always been able to streamline processes. But, with the possibility of blockchain, their process efficiency can be multiplied. Imagine if we have a digital system that allows faster approval, audit, and compliance checks — but if we can take these new basics and make sure they are immutable.
Enhanced Transparency
It’s because, with blockchain, you can understand everything that is happening. Each party has their own copy of the transaction or as part of the process in their hands. When we use BPM software, processes can be more transparent. Each party’s activities can be monitored. This instills trust, and each party can rely on the other. Stakeholders can trust that everything that is happening is above board.
Strengthened Security
We can have a digital system that allows for quick approval, audit, and compliance checks. But what if we can take this further and make it immutable?
BPM software can run on the blockchain – and this provides an extra layer of data-level security. Let’s use healthcare as an example for a second. The new-age process through blockchain ensures that patient history is never leaked unnecessarily.
A blockchain database is managed autonomously using a peer-to-peer network and a distributed timestamping server. In this approach, the replication process is truly distributed, as the distributed deployment of the ledger software can be used to ensure the broadened network set.
Smart Contracts for Automation
Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller written into lines of code. Simply put, they are the computer programs running on the blockchain. It is called “Smart” (from English Smart — “smart,” “intelligent”) because it is defined not by natural language but by the digital code. Smart contracts are a part of a computer protocol.
They implement blockchain applications in accordance with the contract conditions. They automatically perform the protocol without the participation of an intermediary and perform it in a verifiable manner. Decentralized applications are created by said digital code. And they enable interaction with each other in a highly reliable and predictable environment.
Smart contracting with BPM software is the automatic way to make these hard-to-follow operations and rules on time without having to worry about manual exertion. This causes faster transactions, less error-rate results and better impact.
For instance, an insurance claim process. With smart contracts, the approval process becomes automated, cross-checking what kind of documents are being submitted with what the policy promises to cover.
Of course, the entire transaction is managed end-to-end on the BPM solution ensuring all compliance and customer satisfaction.
Real-Time Auditing and Compliance
While being monotonous, process audit becomes essential for all businesses. It not only verifies compliance but also acts as evidence in identifying who might be responsible for a particular error. While this task is already taken up by BPM software, blockchain comes in handy when pairing the two!
While BPM software streamlines an accountant’s job at ensuring the books are balanced, blockchain adds another layer of agility by making the entire transaction publically visible but tamper-proof.
Improved Collaboration Across Teams
We have seen how BPM software helps streamline transactions when a business has more than one department or even multiple locations. But, the problem of centralizing transactions just does not end here.
Employees from different departments, too, need to have one single source of truth – a place where not only everyone can refer to but also be able to validate. When they have several different instances about one single subject from other departments, BPM does not solve the problem!
The Future of BPM with Blockchain
Combining blockchain with BPM software is still in its traction days. However, the opportunities that both these technology integrations will bring are not only revolutionary but game-changing. As companies start to pay attention to witness other companies reporting growth benefiting from implementing and adopting this integration, we will see a complete era of secure and transparent shuffle in businesses.
Several startups and businesses have today started to tap into this integration to bet a competitive edge. Whether it is to cut costs, improve compliance, or even win customer’s trust back for improved transparency, blockchain and BPM are redefining the BPM in business process management.
A New Era of BPM
Blockchain technology has opened a completely new chapter in business process management. And there is no going back from this. With blockchain into BPM, a whole new era of transactions and workflow automation has just become the most transparent experience and security and compliance reassurance businesses have seen.
From smart contracts to real-time audits, the possibilities are endless and transformative, and for the same reasons, blockchain and BPM couple is a must-have formula for all tech-afar businesses.
