And earlier this week, BPTrends published an interesting case study on Metastorm customer the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) – a professional body for pharmacists and the regulatory body for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England, Scotland and Wales.

The organization chose Metastorm ProVision® to model and improve the as-is management processes that the Secretariat undertakes, and the procedure for dealing with the ever-growing number of customer complaints and the paperwork associated with them. It also chose Metastorm BPM® to subsequently automate the new and improved processes.

Check out the case study to learn how RPSGB accomplished its goals of having at least 80% of the investigated cases passed to the Investigating Committee within 3 months of the completed investigation, and how the application has significantly reduced the number of investigations that remained incomplete after six months.

And don’t forget, the 2010 Metastorm Global User Conference, which will be held May 18-19 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, is only 12 days away. We’re gearing up for an awesome time filled with interaction, insight, ideas and inspiration! Have you registered yet?!

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The lives of many organizations have similar, humble beginnings.

But in order to survive and thrive in their environments both the caterpillar and the business have to grow – and for both parties, growing is essentially an input, output scenario.

For the business to grow, it needs to collect resources – people, materials, technology, infrastructure, etc. in order to produce its deliverables or provide its services, which will ultimately enable it to generate profits and expand.

The caterpillar on the other hand, needs to consume food to provide its body with energy - this enables the caterpillar to utilize food resources to increase its size.

Undoubtedly both the caterpillar and the business need resources to grow. But just like the caterpillar in a much beloved and well known children’s book, a business can become fat as it consumes more resources than necessary – or even the wrong resources altogether. Imagine your organization eating through 5 million sheets of paper, 40 thousand dollars in fines from a compliance violation, 150 hours of employee productivity because of duplication of effort, and so on.

Luckily for the caterpillar, it instinctively builds a cocoon that transforms it into a beautiful butterfly – eliminating its excess bulk, and allowing it to soar to new levels of prosperity.

But what’s a business to do? For businesses, overconsumption and poor management is a major problem that can lead to significant losses. Being too fat can be fatal to an enterprise – causing it to waste the profits that it needs to survive and thrive, and to become so sluggish that it is unable to effectively compete in the marketplace.

Unfortunately, no organization can wrap itself up in a cocoon and triumphantly emerge months later as a new and improved version of its former self. But if it were possible, I think it’s a safe bet that many would retract for a brief period and allow such a change to happen.

But there are technologies that can act like a cocoon to facilitate business transformation – and, even better than a cocoon, these technologies enable organizations to realize real, measurable improvements without ever requiring them to pull away from the marketplace. This means organizations can serve their customers and drive results while transforming to be Leaner, more agile and competitive than ever before.

For example, with Metastorm Enterprise, Metastorm’s integrated software suite of Business Process Management (BPM), Business Process Analysis (BPA) and Enterprise Architecture (EA), organizations can achieve business transformation in 3 easy steps:

Step 1: SEE the breadth of the enterprise including goals, resources and key process relationships with Metastorm ProVision®.

Step 2: THINK through and analyze possible organizational changes and process improvements with Metastorm ProVision for BPA – ensuring that the right changes are made.

Step 3: DO the right things with Metastorm BPM® – and quickly and cost effectively realize desired changes and results.

With Metastorm’s “See. Think. Do” capabilities, organizations can identify time and resource wasters, test and implement improvements, and then execute new processes to metamorphose from fat and sluggish to harmonious, well-balanced and resource efficient – enabling them to soar above the competition and achieve unprecedented levels of success.

With Metastorm Enterprise, business transformation truly is elementary – after all, it’s as easy as counting to 3!

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The podcast, “The USAF, Six Sigma, and BPM,” discusses how the US Air Force utilized Metastorm ProVision® and Metastorm BPM® to achieve a 200% increase in automation to gain more efficiency, productivity, and control.

According to Chaney, the project began when the Department of Defense (DoD) mandated that, in order for DoD organizations to continue receiving funding, their IT investments had to include an Enterprise Architecture (EA) tool.

As part of its new EA initiative, the US Air Force wanted to identify how its IT infrastructure was supporting its business processes, and how well the processes were performing in the supported environments. To meet the goals of an existing initiative, Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO21), which aims to streamline processes and optimize resource consumption – the US Air Force also wanted to “Lean out” its business processes to do more with less.

Listen to this podcast and read this customer success story to learn how the team used Metastorm ProVision to see and analyze its processes, and to identify time wasters and other areas of inefficiency, how it subsequently used Metastorm BPM to execute the Leaner, more agile processes across the entire enterprise, and how it utilized the power of the Metastorm Enterprise software suite to realize greater efficiency, and meet the goals of AFSO21.

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A recent report by industry analyst firm, Gartner, positions Metastorm as one of the top business process analysis (BPA) vendors in the world. The Gartner “Magic Quadrant for Business Process Analysis Tools” report positions Metastorm ProVision for BPA as a leader in the business process analysis space, and explains several key differentiators for Metastorm.

The report states that “based on Gartner customer feedback, Metastorm has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the BPA market.” It also recognizes Metastorm for its ease of use and process discovery capabilities, its pre-built connector to SAP, and its integrated market-leading EA and BPM capabilities.

Metastorm also recently released the newest version of its enterprise modeling, business architecture, and business process analysis tool – Metastorm ProVision Version 6.2. Key features of the new release include support for the latest modeling standards, improved ease of use, and extended support for enterprise collaboration, which includes sharing and reuse of models, objects and libraries, as well as enablers for Process Centers of Excellence.

Bill Aronson, founder of the Enterprise Designer Institute, has even authored a fully-illustrated, third party book entitled Metastorm ProVision Version 6.2 Made Easy, in which he shares tips and tricks about the newest release. To learn more visit Bill’s storefront.

For expert advice and instruction on Metastorm ProVision, we currently have several upcoming, hands on Metastorm ProVision training courses. These are offered in person in the United States and the United Kingdom, or via WebEx where they can be accessed from around the world.

And don’t miss our EA and our BPA boot camps. Both will be held in Baltimore, Maryland from May 20th-21st, 2010.

Still wondering what all the buzz is about? Visit our website to request a trial version of Metastorm ProVision (registration required), and see for yourself why industry analysts rank Metastorm ProVision as a leading tool for Enterprise Architecture and Business Process Modeling and Analysis.

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Gartner, the top industry analyst firm in the world, also recently positioned Metastorm in the Leaders Quadrant in the “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Architecture Tools” report (November 2009) and in the “Magic Quadrant for Business Process Management Tools” report (February 2009).

With Metastorm’s established leadership in these three areas, the most recent report states that “Metastorm BPM® and Metastorm ProVision® [are] a strong combination for organizations looking for a single integrated BPA/BPM supplier,” and that Metastorm offers “a good solution for organizations looking for a single tool able to support both EA and BPA.”

“Metastorm is pleased with our position in the Leaders quadrant in three Gartner Magic Quadrant reports – EA, BPA and BPMS – and believe it is a testament to our ongoing commitment to helping our customers better align strategy with analysis and execution to deliver real business results,” stated Bob Farrell, chairman & CEO of Metastorm. “Metastorm will continue to provide best-of-breed capabilities across these three disciplines. Our recent release of Metastorm ProVision Version 6.2 will further help our customers obtain the understanding, visibility and governance necessary to achieve a competitive advantage in today’s challenging business environment.”

In Gartner’s recent report Metastorm ProVision receives accolades for its ease of use, process discovery capabilities, and pre-built connector to SAP, and integrated market-leading EA and BPM capabilities. And, according to the report, “Based on Gartner customer feedback, Metastorm has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the BPA market.”

Metastorm ProVision® for BPA provides a comprehensive solution that allows organizations to discover, model, analyze and optimize their business processes. Metastorm ProVision’s ease of use, built in methodologies, wide array of industry reference models, and integrated user guides provide rapid time to value; and its rich simulation and analysis capabilities help organizations achieve continuous process improvements.

Unlike other BPA software products, Metastorm ProVision also provides deep enterprise and business architecture functionality to allow organizations to better understand the relationship of business processes to the broader enterprise. And paired with Metastorm BPM, an organization can execute process improvement initiatives with great speed and agility at minimal cost.

Learn how one Metastorm customer used Metastorm ProVision in conjunction with Metastorm BPM to achieve greater than 700% annual ROI as well as many other benefits.

To learn more about Metastorm and the Gartner Magic Quadrants, check out the industry analyst credentials page of our website.

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The Metastorm Enterprise Process Advantage Awards program is designed to recognize organizations that are successfully using Metastorm software to realize business objectives, achieve a measurable return on investment, and/or create strategic advantage.

Why Enter?

Winners receive a free pass to the 2011 Metastorm Global User Conference, and will be invited to participate in a thought leadership panel session to help other Metastorm customers learn valuable tips for achieving success.

Winners will also be recognized at the Metastorm Global User Conference and featured both on Metastorm’s website and in a press release that will be sent to technology and business publications.

As a recipient of a Metastorm Enterprise Process Advantage award your organization will gain recognition as a technology leader and a business improvement leader in its industry. You will also gain recognition for your innovative use of technology and your success within your own organization to help in further extending the value of EA, BPA, and BPM to other areas of the business.

So why wait? It’s easy to nominate your customer or your own organization today!

Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your success!

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“Our position in the Leader quadrant in three Gartner Magic Quadrant reports – EA, BPA and BPMS – is a testament to our success in aligning best-of-breed capabilities across all three disciplines to help our customers better align strategy with analysis and execution,” stated Bob Farrell, chairman & CEO of Metastorm.

This most recent recognition strongly positions Metastorm as one of the top 3 EA vendors in the world, with Metastorm ProVision® receiving accolades for its ease of use, extensive library of industry reference models/frameworks, and integrated market-leading BPA capabilities.

“Using EA as discipline to understand the current state of the organization and plan for future changes to better meet strategic objectives is critical to both short- and long-term success, and Metastorm is pleased to provide a leading EA software tool to help our customers obtain the understanding, visibility and governance necessary to achieve success,” said Farrell.

Metastorm ProVision® is part of the Metastorm Enterprise software portfolio, which uniquely combines leading, best-of-breed EA, BPA, and BPM capabilities on a common, integrated framework. Together, the solutions deliver a powerful platform for aligning strategy, analysis and execution.

If you are a Gartner client, you can read the full report here.

More information on Metastorm ProVision® for EA can be found here.

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With a $1.4 billion budget, one transportation agency needed to accomplish a wide range of its responsibilities including road and bridge maintenance, transportation planning, data collection and evaluation, project management, and contract compliance. To ensure all of these processes ran smoothly, department officials decided to implement an Enterprise Architecture (EA) solution to optimize the agency’s portfolio of processes, information applications and technology.

The agency’s EA initiative began when officials embarked on an intensive strategic planning effort. The team wanted to capture data and information gleaned during the planning process for use in the future. They realized that Metastorm ProVision® was the perfect structure for doing this.

Whether the agency was working on an engineering design application that affected state highway designs, or a financial application that ensures contractors and vendors are paid in a timely manner, Metastorm ProVision provided a methodology mechanism that allowed internal business users to understand the IT and the IT systems and add value to the process of selecting and integrating application systems that evidentially supported their citizenry.

As a result, the transportation department was able to quickly develop context charts, data models, work flows, reporting views/“radar charts” that allowed managers to integrate strategic IT planning with operational plans and budgets and better manage the entire agency.

To read more about Metastorm ProVision, and the results of the implementation, click here.

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In that context, Metastorm today announced Metastorm ProVision Connect for SAP – a comprehensive interface between the Metastorm ProVision enterprise architecture and business process analysis suite and SAP Solution Manager. The software is a more efficient and cost-effective means to upgrade SAP and companies are looking to start such EA and process modeling projects as they’re doing major work on the ERP system.

Attesting to the usefulness of Metastorm ProVision Connect, Jens Steuer, Solution Practice Principal at Hewlett-Packard GmbH said: “Now with the economy in a downturn and companies tightening IT budgets and scrutinizing every project, our ability to accelerate the deployment of SAP solutions, minimize rework, and maximize business results is more critical than ever before.”

The full news release can be found on the Metastorm site here.

Highlights of Metastorm ProVision Connect for SAP customers and integrators include:

• Model SAP solutions in a business-friendly modeling tool and, if desired, within the broader context of the business strategy, business architecture (including end-to-end processes) and technology architecture.
• Understand the broader relationships, and impact, of SAP components to people, broader processes and other systems so that solutions can be implemented with lower risk.
• Implement SAP solutions in a manner that clearly considers, and complies with, any legal and regulatory requirements.
• Test process designs through advanced simulation and process analysis capability to avoid poorly informed, suboptimal and costly process changes.
• Allow easy reuse of, and collaboration around, process knowledge and documentation.
• Deploy processes and associated updates to SAP Solution Manager quickly for execution.
• Bring SAP processes and related components back into Metastorm ProVision for ongoing analysis and refinement.

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In a recently published eBook entitled “BPM and EA – two smart investments in a recession,” Laura Mooney, Vice President, Corporate Communications at Metastorm, highlights how EA helps firms achieve and balance these goals: it delivers operational efficiency by identifying duplicate or underutilized overhead, it optimizes your value chain, it quickly and effectively assimilates mergers and acquisitions and it drives cost savings. Metastorm’s clients have showed real ROI by adopting EA. For example, a retail franchisor consolidated its databases from 35 to just 4, saving significant time, money and energy resources.

The panellists who took part in the discussion at the Open Group’s 22^nd Annual Enterprise Architecture Practitioner Conference highlighted some further interesting points about the need of EA during times of recession: it becomes a tool for strategic business transformation, it should demonstrate a long-term path while creating short-term value for the business, it makes a business impact by working across silos, and across HR, Finance and Operations. Finally EA should be seen as a business tool that can add value rather than an IT tool.

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Gnothi Seauton is generally good advice. But, in today’s tough economic times, it is great advice for businesses looking to get a realistic grasp on the big picture in order to make more effective business decisions. During a recession, enterprises need a clear view of the IT resources and infrastructure in their organization, as well as the business processes that call on those resources. Enterprise Architecture (EA) does just that, by allowing organizations to standardize technology and business processes within departments and across the enterprise, eliminating silos and creating greater efficiency.

Beyond reducing redundancy in systems and creating overall enterprise efficiency, EA can also foster greater communication and interaction among business units. Imagine you just spent 10 grueling hours researching information for a big project. Now, imagine learning that much of the information you were seeking was available among the files of one of the other departments in your organization. Sounds frustrating, right? Pretty soon you would have about as much hair as the aforementioned Socrates.

EA software can help in a recession by identifying duplicate or underutilized resources, optimize the value chain and, given the usual increase in M&A activity during tough economic times, quickly integrate assets and assimilate staff.

More to come on the topic of enterprise architecture and modeling in future posts. In the meantime, you can read an example, or several examples, about how companies are using EA in practice.

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In relation to this news from Italy, Metastorm has also seen strong demand in recent months from Italian businesses looking to improve processes and achieve operational efficiency. Robin Martin, Metastorm’s executive vice president of International Operations, told us that prospective customers in Italy are looking for innovative ways to get a handle on their key resources – people, products, processes, systems and technology – and get a better understanding of the relationships between these resources, so that they can plan accurately and achieve greater business agility. In response to this interest from Italian companies such as Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Metastorm recently launched its enterprise architecture and business process analysis software suite, Metastorm ProVision, in the Italian language.

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One such story is that from a major branch of the U.S. Military. In recent years, there has been a significant top down initiative at the branch for greater focus on information visibility and the desire to adopt formal business improvement practice such as Lean Six Sigma and business process reengineering. The first Lean Six Sigma initiative launched by the military branch under this new effort has been the Common Integration Environment (CIE) business process reengineering transition. This project, which was facilitated by contractor BTAS Inc. along with Metastorm, aligns with the branch’s organizational efforts, as an optimized CIE is an integral platform which must interact with multiple agencies and support information systems needs of combat personnel and field commanders.

This project addressed a myriad of internal processes at the military branch. For example, a tailoring worksheet for the development of an IT system originally listed 163 questions, but after implementing business rules the IT team was able to boil it down to just 13 questions.

It is efficiency like this that allowed the military branch to significantly reduce costs for IT projects. The cost for the CIE reengineering plan was approximately $90,000 total. With an average time savings of 30 percent due to the implemented improvements, it is estimated that the reengineering plan will save the branch $750,000 a year in staff time. That translates to an annual ROI of more than 700 percent.

Ping us via email for more on this story.

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The report studied nine leading vendors in the process management space and used an evaluation process based on 93 criterions such as current offerings, strategy and market presence.

Metastorm’s ranking was based on Metastorm ProVision, Metastorm Knowledge Exchange v 6.1, Metastorm Discovery and Metastorm BPM Designer. Read our news release for more information on the report and to read how Metastorm CEO Robert Farrell plans to prioritize EA in 2009.

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