Accelerate Enterprise Performance with Mobile BPM

Accelerate Enterprise Performance with Mobile BPMMovement towards the mobile enterprise is gaining momentum based on

the clear business value afforded by better leveraging today’s increasingly

on-the-go workforce. However, corporate IT developers are struggling

to keep up with the pace of mobile workers’ demands for access to key

business processes, applications and data.

This white paper describes the challenges enterprises face in empowering

a new generation of mobile workers. It also illustrates how the Appian

platform enables developers to rapidly deliver secure and high-value mobile

process solutions.

Living in a MobiLe, ConneCted WorLd

The rapid advancement of mobile computing in the past few years has given consumers more

freedom and options, while also making them more dependent on their mobile devices than

ever before. The number of mobile connected devices exceeds the world’s population — more

than 7 billion and counting1. According to the same report, global mobile data traffic will

increase 13-fold by 2017, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 66%. Not

only are there more mobile devices than people, the mobile data volume and frequency of

access are continuously growing at a rapid pace.

Mobile computing processors are now on par with many PC desktops and laptops, utilizing

quad-core processors and 128 gigabytes of storage memory or more. In addition, mobile

devices are providing consumers with a level of connectivity that has never been achieved

by PC desktops, connecting people to friends, co-workers, communities of interest, and

data. In addition to acting as collaboration tools for voice communication, SMS messaging,

email, and calendar functions, mobile devices are supplementing (and even replacing) PCs

for web browsing, video streaming, creating content, and even doing work.

Furthermore, mobile devices are delivering features never available on a PC, such as

instant-on operating systems, extreme portability, low cost, and always-on Internet

connectivity. Easy to use touchscreens and large, vibrant ecosystems of user-friendly

mobile applications are driving mobile adoption in the past few years. In addition, device-

to-device connectivity for everything from monitoring health to controlling home

entertainment systems and appliances, and integrating with work systems are making

mobile devices an increasingly integral part of daily modern life.

Accelerate Enterprise Performance with Mobile BPM 2

New operating systems specifically designed for mobile computing, continued miniaturization of powerful

processors, and the increasing popularity of tablets are driving more and more people to prefer mobile devices

over PCs.

Due to the ubiquity of mobile devices among consumers, mobile is now an essential part of business technology

strategies to increase sales and productivity. As a result, IT organizations must integrate and implement

mobile strategies across multiple mobile platforms and devices. It is no longer adequate to assume employees,

partners, and customers will be bound to a PC or a corporate issued mobile device when accessing enterprise

applications. The rise of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) culture means enterprise software today must be

accessible from virtually any device or platform, while still providing the same level of security and functionality

delivered by PC devices.

business ProCess ManageMent goes MobiLe

Business Process Management (BPM) platforms have delivered large gains in efficiency across a wide variety

of business processes and industries. Commercial organizations and government agencies use BPM to

improve operations and achieve measurable results for employees, customers, and partners. BPM’s return-on-

investment is exceptionally high across industries and functions.

BPM brings together processes, systems, data, and people to improve

the efficiency and quality of work. By modeling and automating

processes, BPM can systematically manage millions of transactions with

consistency, while also having the intelligence to apply business rules,

prioritize cases, escalate at-risk events, and handle exceptions. Having

the ability to track and monitor every process, decision, and action with

embedded analytics also results in better visibility and accountability

across the organization.

Traditional BPM’s dependence on PC access by every participant has

created a physical barrier to process efficiency and slowed enterprise

adoption. According to CIO magazine, 80% of employees use personal

technology for business purposes, while two out of three enterprises

will adopt a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) solution by 2017. As more

companies and knowledge workers embrace mobility as an essential part of work, the need increases for

effective mobile enterprise applications.

A mobile-enabled enterprise that gives the right employees access to key business processes, data, and reports

will see the benefits of better decisions, faster actions, shortened cycle times, and increased business agility.

Despite significant technology advancements in the past few decades, collaborative knowledge work and

decision-making is often buried in email chains, meeting notes, and water cooler chats – disconnected from

measurable and repeatable processes managed in a BPM platform.

Companies are now using BPM as an application development platform for creating fast, secure and responsive

mobile access to critical processes and information. Mobile BPM applications bridge the technology gaps

inherent to PCs for the world’s increasingly mobile workforces.


enabLe an agiLe enterPrise With MobiLe bPM

Mobile BPM drives more than just process efficiency. It empowers professionals to make smarter decisions

and take faster, better business actions by providing the relevant, timely information they need to do their jobs,

regardless of where they work. Important customer interactions and critical decisions take place in the field

daily. Every interaction, decision, and action defines a company’s reputation and determines its success. In a

world where a customer can walk into a store and use a mobile device to price compare products, employees

need to be equally empowered with information to win the sale.

Mobile process applications combine the delivery of enterprise information, tasks, records, reports, and actions

in a single interface. Mobile access to information enables knowledge workers to see and search data across

different systems, collaborate, make intelligent decisions, and take immediate actions that drive enterprise

processes to achieve successful results. A wide variety of industries have field personnel making important,

process-driven decisions every day that could benefit from mobile access.

Financial services government healthcare & Pharma Cross industries

Investment Bankers Case Workers Healthcare Professionals Sales Reps

Financial Advisers Inspectors Home Care Providers Attorneys

Insurance Adjusters Trainers Clinical Researchers Field Engineers

Claim Assessors Operations Specialists Site Inspectors Service Technicians

Compliance Auditors Field Analysts Quality Assurance Managers Operations Managers

An insurance claims adjuster, for example, must evaluate a claim in the field, gather information from parties

involved and update the case, make a business decision, then recommend follow-up actions based on insurance

rules and corporate policies. The adjuster may also need to access collective knowledge and collaborate with

other workers in headquarters or in other regional offices to complete a claim.

Mobile access to insurance case information, pending tasks, customer records, claim reports and related

documents would allow the adjuster to make faster and better informed decisions in the field, while increasing

the efficiency of the overall claim process through mobile actions.

This example of mobile BPM has a number of positive and measurable business outcomes, including:

• Higher customer satisfaction and retention

• More accurate and complete claims information

• Decreased claims processing cycle times

• Fewer process exceptions and risky claims


MobiLe deveLoPMent ChaLLenges

Building new mobile applications can be a daunting endeavor given the variety of platforms, devices, and

development languages. IT professionals face a number of mobile development challenges, including:

• Platform development complexity across different mobile operating systems

• Device fragmentation with hundreds of smart phones and tablets

• Security guarantees for all information handled on mobile devices

• Strategy and implementation of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies

• Cost and time of mobile development to support multiple platforms

• Lack of mobile development expertise and limited resources

Companies need to recognize the importance of delivering mobile applications while not locking

themselves into a specific mobile platform, or creating security gaps to corporate data. Like Internet

technologies in the mid-1990’s, mobile device technologies are rapidly evolving with an overwhelming

number of choices and options for mobile application development.

MobiLe deveLoPMent oPtions

One of the most critical factors to mobile application development success is having a sustainable and scalable

long-term strategy. The three common approaches are to create HTML5 web apps, hybrid HTML5 apps

(wrapping a HTML5 web app in a native client), or pure native mobile apps designed for the specific mobile

operating system. Here is a comparison of the pros and cons:

Compared to HTML5 or hybrid HTML5 apps, native mobile applications provide a better quality user

experience, more responsive performance, and superior security on mobile devices across platforms, but

traditionally at a higher cost. Developed specifically for Apple iOS, BlackBerry, Google Android, or Windows

Phone, native mobile applications can take advantage of unique form factors and device features that can vary

greatly on each platform.

When starting a mobile development project, many companies would opt to go for the faster, more cost-

effective approach of HTML5 or hybrid. However, as mobile adoption and frequency of use continue to climb,


they realize that this strategy does not provide the best mobile experience and performance. Facebook and

LinkedIn are just two of the largest software companies that switched to native mobile applications after

fielding user complaints about unresponsive and frequently crashing HTML5 apps and lack of mobile features.

Additional considerations when selecting a mobile development platform:

• Use of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) standards like REST and SOAP

• Support for multi-platform deployment: write once and deploy on every mobile device

• Ensure security with data encryption and minimal data storage on mobile devices

• Provide secure communication using SSL, VPN, and Corporate directories authentications

• Empower non-developers to model, implement, and update mobile applications

• Integrate with enterprise processes and multiple systems

These points will typically rule out using any of the standard SDK platforms from mobile device manufacturers,

such as Apple xCode or Google Android so as to prevent locking into a specific platform. Enterprise developers

should recognize that the majority of mobile business applications need to deliver data discovery and reporting,

with interfaces to view and complete electronic forms, and the ability to participate in collaborations. All

of these are within the context of a business process. Rich graphical mobile apps typically seen in games

development are not necessary to empower most enterprise mobile applications.

bPM as a MobiLe deveLoPMent PLatForM

Modern BPM development platforms provide the necessary multi-platform support, SOA standards, and

integration to existing systems to make an ideal choice for most mobile enterprise applications. BPM platforms

are also focused on agile development methodologies, allowing for rapid prototyping and deployment to

support constantly evolving modern enterprises.

For these reasons, Business Process Management Suites (BPMS) with mobile BPM capabilities deliver the

optimum amount of speed to deployment and flexibility for a standard mobile application development

framework. A modern BPMS uses a highly visual design environment that is easy for business users to both

understand and deploy. In many cases, a non-developer can create a complete mobile-enabled process

application without writing a single line of code.

In addition, a BPMS ties together people, data, and systems in cohesive processes on an integrated platform.

By providing a single interface to interact with all systems and participants, BPMS can accelerate user adoption

across the enterprise, significantly reduce training costs, and increase productivity. A single mobile BPM

application can further serve as the main mobile interface for every interaction with a variety of back-end

systems, simplifying mobile development, deployment, and consumerization.

aPPian bPM

Appian is the leading innovator in BPM software and the first to:

• Offer a complete suite both on-premise and in the cloud with full portability

• Provide pure native mobile applications across major device platforms

• Enable process participation for social collaboration and customer engagement

• Deliver a “data-first” platform that enables enterprise data navigation, orchestration, collaboration, and reporting


The Appian BPM Suite is powerful, secure, and comprehensive in its capabilities to meet a full spectrum of

enterprise requirements. Appian includes a natively-integrated Process Modeler and execution engine; business

rules and Forms Designer; Business Activity Monitoring (BAM), reporting and analytics; content management,

social collaboration, data integration, and “write once, deploy anywhere” native mobile applications.

Appian is also simple for end-users to use,

enabling fast BPM adoption. An intuitive

social interface extends process visibility and

participation through native mobile device

access, real-time collaboration, filtered and

personalized views of key business events,

integration to external systems, and the ability

to take direct action. Users can easily access

enterprise information, tasks, records,

reports, and take actions from the device of

their choice.

MobiLe deveLoPMent in aPPian

Instead of taking the inferior HTML5 or hybrid approach, compromising usability and security, Appian provides

pure native mobile applications for all major device platforms. Appian releases a fast and responsive native

mobile application on major device platforms with customized navigation for each device’s characteristics,

enabling rapid user adoption.

Appian’s mobile design approach provides the

best of both worlds between HTML5 and

native mobile applications. This ensures that

Appian customers will get all of these benefits

as part of the integrated Appian BPM Suite:

Appian makes mobile application design simple and powerful through a unique “write-once, deploy anywhere”

architecture. Appian’s mobile and web user experience is powered by Appian SAIL, which allows designers to

quickly create a single user dynamic interface definition, then deploy to native mobile client applications on all

major device platforms and across major web browsers.

Furthermore, application designers can simply drag-and-drop to design mobile process patterns in Appian’s

Process Modeler. Using a graphical Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) modeler, even business users

Figure: Key components of the Appian BPM Suite across Process, Data and Social capabilities with user interface for multiple devices and flexible hosting options.


can model and orchestrate processes, define and update rules, create forms and enable them to render natively

in mobile applications. When ready, a designer can test, validate, and publish the new mobile application – all

from the same web interface. Once published, the updated application will be immediately available on virtually

any device with no need to compile code or publish to an app store.

Extensive user management capabilities enable

Appian Administrators to easily view, add, and

edit users and groups to allow the right level of

control and permissions. Providing an intuitive

design environment empowers business

analysts to create powerful mobile BPM

applications, then update them to address new

requirements with speed and ease.

aPPian MobiLe bPM aPPLiCation

Appian provides native mobile client apps for Apple iOS, BlackBerry, and Google Android that enable users to

securely authenticate and interact with your mobile BPM solutions. Users can directly download the Appian

mobile client from each respective app store. After download and installation, Appian authenticates with

designated servers to securely communicate with mobile BPM applications for that organization.

Organizations can custom-brand the Appian

mobile client app for either distribution in the

public app stores, or direct side-loading to

select mobile devices approved to operate with

that organization. Custom-branding the Appian

mobile app provides a unique branded

experience for that organization, with branded

application icons, welcome screens, and menus.

Appian also provides managed branding,

enabling our support organization to entirely

manage the distribution process of mobile

client applications to public app stores for an

Appian customer. Managed branding removes

the IT concerns of working with multiple

application stores and ensures mobile client app versions are always compatible with the latest mobile BPM

applications. Appian’s mobile BPM offering allows employees to stay connected, informed, and empowered

Figure: Appian Process Modeler

Figure: Appian’s native mobile applications


to make important business decisions, regardless of where they are and which mobile device they use. It also

extends BPM participation beyond predefined process participants to include everyone in the organization.

With mobile BPM from Appian, employees, partners, and customers can use market leading smartphone and

tablet devices in a wide spectrum of scenarios across the organization, enabling:

• Executives to see and engage with the key business events, tasks, records, and reports they need to make better, faster decisions in leading the organization

• Suppliers, distributors, and field staff to access enterprise data to receive updates, collaborate, and participate in business processes

• Customers to check account details and related documents, request information, or see the status of a service request

MobiLe bPM Case study: CraWFord & CoMPany

When you need to file an insurance claim, chances are good that Crawford & Company is doing the work. Crawford

(NYSE: CRDA; CRDB), with 700 offices in more than 70 countries, provides outsourced claims management

services used by the largest insurance providers in the world. Crawford Community is a revolutionary mobile and

social application built on Appian that streamlines Crawford’s catastrophe-related resource management, from the

assignment of insurance adjusters to the management of claims and final claim resolution.

In the past, Crawford would assign claims based on Excel spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls. Now, the

company uses Appian’s capabilities and a claim adjuster’s mobile device to allow Crawford to pinpoint the right

adjuster to review a claim, based on GPS positioning, capacity, certifications, past performance scorecards, and

client specifications. Adjusters then use the Appian mobile app to upload electronic claim forms, along with

photos of a claim site, directly from an iPad, iPhone, Android tablet, Android phone, and even a Blackberry.

Using Appian, Crawford is able to optimize adjuster utilization, reduce travel time, and improve the quality and

responsiveness of service levels.

ConCLusion

Enterprise computing is now at an important crossroad driven by the rapid adoption and growth of mobile

devices. Organizations must align their critical business processes with a mobile strategy to maximize

organizational efficiency and customer responsiveness to stay competitive in this era of mobility.

The Appian BPM Suite is the ideal platform for rapid development and deployment of key business processes,

enterprise data, and mobile applications. Appian’s native mobile client is available on every major mobile

platform to provide a single point of access to critical information, tasks, records, reports, and actions that drive

key processes across multiple systems. Download the Appian mobile app today from any of the major app stores

to evaluate how you can accelerate enterprise performance with Appian.

As the market leader in modern Business Process

Management (BPM) software, Appian delivers an

enterprise application platform that unites users

with all their data, processes, and collaborations

— in one environment, on any mobile device,

through a simple social interface. On-premise and

in the cloud, Appian is the fastest way to deliver

innovative business applications.

For more information, visit www.appian.com

1 Source: Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012–2017

Documents

Accelerate Enterprise Performance with Mobile BPM