Business process management has become far more rooted in digital frameworks in recent years, as more companies have begun to embrace the rise of Internet-based commerce, operational management and more. New trends in corporate computing are already beginning to impact the integrity of BPM strategies, shifting the demands of these procedures and complicating issues for a wealth of companies struggling to keep pace with the rapid evolution taking place in their markets. 

One of the more important trends to watch today is the Internet of Things, which is already impacting manufacturing and health care in an enormous fashion, and is expected to have similar major implications for virtually every industry. BPM optimization and embracing the IoT in a safe and profitable manner will go hand-in-hand as the trend begins to gain greater traction, which is expected to be the case within the next couple of years. 

Warning sign
Forbes recently published a blog post written by Gartner Research's Nick Jones and Stephen Kleynhans, who affirmed that the worrying statistics found in the firm's survey on the IoT ought to be on everyone's radar. Citing the findings of the study that was released in February, the experts affirmed that more than 75 percent of respondents had not yet appointed any form of leadership to ensure smooth and secure management of the IoT. 

While it might seem as though this is not at all surprising given the novelty of the IoT, the same survey also found that roughly 40 percent of respondents are convinced the trend will have a major impact on their operations within the next few years – and they are more likely than not correct in this assumption. So, despite the fact that so many business leaders do understand the implications of the IoT, Jones and Kleynhans asserted that firms are largely unprepared to handle what could be a highly advantageous movement in corporate computing. 

Leverage automation
One of the keys to fielding trends like the IoT in stride is focusing on BPM optimization, which can be more quickly achieved when firms are leveraging automation technology to streamline these matters. BPM automation will allow firms to keep their processes moving along at a comfortable pace, all the while freeing up key resources and workforce members to focus on the more strategic aspects of deployments and management.