BizFlow® for Microsoft

Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Outlook have become industry standards for document management and collaboration. Microsoft Workflow Foundation is a recent addition to this product mix. Organizations worldwide using these Microsoft tools can incorporate them in their business process automation objectives. But these tools alone do not provide a full foundation or rapid development platform for business process automation.

BizFlow® works with Microsoft tools to unlock their latent business process automation capabilities.

Being fully Microsoft compatible, BizFlow® seamlessly ties to both Sharepoint and Outlook to accentuate and extend their process and task automation functions. Users get to work within these common interfaces as well as enjoy the huge upside of BizFlow’s deep process initiation, tracking, and optimization functionality.

Server Side Power: BizFlow + SharePoint = Portal Ready BPM

Adding BizFlow with SharePoint creates robust workflow applications that are portal-ready with built-in document management capabilities. Users get familiar work areas to initiate, manage, and track tasks and work items. And installation and integration couldn't be easier. Since the BizFlow SharePoint Adaptor is COTS software, it is simply installed on the same computer as the Microsoft SharePoint server using a wizard-driven menu.

Using BizFlow and SharePoint together, users can:

• Tighten Operations – Quickly establish and standardize document review and approval processes.
  • Attach any SharePoint document to a BizFlow Work Item for approval processing.
  • Monitor and track documents through the approval process established in BizFlow.
  • Document revisions maintained in SharePoint.
• Readily Automate – Make processes sensitive to document content.
  • Define documents and forms in the SharePoint EDMS repository to be treated as BizFlow applications.
  • Conditionally route and process documents based on document content and rules created by business analysts in BizFlow.
  • Monitor and manage processes in BizFlow while revisions are maintained in SharePoint.
• Centralize Control – Immediately enhance SharePoint’s value.
  • Drop BizFlow right into SharePoint (see below).
  • Add an additional layer of security by restricting access in BizFlow to SharePoint folders.
  • Centralize document access to the content the Portal Administrator designates.

Server Side Power: BizFlow + Microsoft Workflow Foundation = Saved $$$

If Microsoft Workflow Foundation (WF) provides workflow integration, why use BizFlow? The difference is time and money – lots of each.

WF is a development technology (a set of .NET classes.) that is developer-oriented. BizFlow® is a BPM software platform purposely created for both business analysts and developers to design, execute, and administrate process-driven applications.

BizFlow is a complete human-centric solution framework. With WF all of these BPM capabilities have to be individually programmed and developed – a mammoth build for any development team.

The differences are stark. BizFlow is an integrated software package providing:

• Process Modeling - Structured, Ad-hoc, Dynamic tasking.
• Forms Modeling.
• Workflow Creation - Tying together the process model with the forms to ensure participants follow explicit rules, policies, procedures, roles and responsibilities).
• Simulation/analysis.
• Configurable UI - Work Area Page and several configurable BizCoves.
• Configurable Reports.
• Integration/SOA - Integrating workflow to other applications for automating data entry, validation, and archival.
  • Multiple Portal Support (e.g., Sharepoint, Aualogic, IBM WebSphere).
  • Multiple Document Management Systems Support (e.g., Documentum, Sharepoint, LiveLink Microsoft Sharepoint, OpenSolutions DDS, BEA).
  • User Group Hierarchies, security, authority, and auditability.
• Business Activity Monitoring.
  • Personalized Dashboards.
  • Real-Time Event Capture.
  • Real-Time Alerts.
  • KPI Management.
  • Action Management.

For a detailed comparison of Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation and BizFlow® you can download a copy of "Microsoft Workflow Foundation, SharePoint Workflow Designer and HandySoft BizFlow® BPM: Product Differences and Synergies.”"

Client Side Productivity: BizFlow® + Outlook = Fast Tasking

Too often the costs of introducing a new automated process (deployment, administration, and especially training) eat away all of the anticipated ROI of the initial automation investment. That’s because wholly new systems and approaches are time consuming and expensive to deploy and fraught with risks from potential failed adoptions.

The best protection is seamless and intuitive integration with commonly used tools. This action minimizes training and allows rapid user understanding and successful adoption. This is where BizFlow is unsurpassed.

Directly from Microsoft Outlook, users can push data seamlessly from emails into BizFlow® workflow tasks and work items. Just click the OfficeEngine Task-It™ button from Outlook and BizFlow extracts data (subject, participant, dates, etc) right into the workflow form. No swivel-chair data entry. Just fast, accurate tasking.

To learn more about how organizations use BizFlow® with Microsoft products, please contact us.