IT Briefcase Exclusive Interview: The Increasing Value of Cloud-based Process Improvement Solutions

New Zealand’s Promapp Solutions – an industry-leading provider of cloud-based business process management (BPM) software for creating and managing business processes online – recently expanded its US presence. After establishing a strong US foothold by attracting a range of marquee clients from its office in San Francisco, Promapp has now opened a second US office in Austin, TX. The new office already has seven employees, with plans to add more in the near future. IT Briefcase spoke to Promapp’s CMO, Sarah Berkowski, about the company’s new Austin office and its importance to Promapp’s US growth in response to increased market interest in cloud-based process improvement solutions.

• Promapp recently opened its second US office in Austin, Texas. Why did you feel the need to increase your US presence beyond your headquarters location in San Francisco and why Austin?

We’re seeing a lot of demand for our BPM software in the US. Promapp’s new Austin office represents an integral part of our strategy to continue US expansion in support of our current momentum and growing US client base. The Austin location, coupled with our office in San Francisco, will enable us to more easily serve clients located throughout the country.

• Promapp focuses on providing business process management (BPM) software. What accounts for the heightened interest companies seem to be showing in BPM?

Effective business process management is no longer a nice-to-have. More and more businesses are now recognizing the essential role business process management plays in driving innovation, staff engagement, and competitive advantage. As a result, C-level executives are increasingly using BPM to enable their teams to drive change and innovation, ensuring that critical process information is not only captured, but presented in formats that teams across the business will actually use and improve every day.

• Why does process management play such a vital role in creating an innovative corporate culture?

BPM software such as Promapp can help foster a thriving business improvement and process management culture within an organization. For example, rather than limiting access to process information to analysts or technical specialists, Promapp encourages operational teams across the business to participate in the process improvement conversation with processes that are easy to find, use, and improve. Promapp makes it easy for everyone across the business, especially those who use the processes regularly, to identify and implement process improvements. Doing so not only creates an inclusive and innovative business environment, but also encourages the development of smarter, safer, and more productive ways in which to work.

• How are companies using BPM to drive staff engagement and effective change management?

Giving teams access to BPM software that is intuitive and making sure processes are easy to find and use impacts staff engagement. Assigning process ownership widely throughout the organization can also have a tremendous impact on process participation and, ultimately, on process improvement and innovation, as well as staff engagement. In terms of change management, it’s tough for organizations to manage change effectively when they don’t know how teams do things today, or which people or systems will be impacted by a potential process change. This is where an effective BPM solution can help – in the accurate capturing of current state processes, identification of improvement opportunities, and increased transparency of change impacts. A good BPM tool should also facilitate quick process updates and the tracking, reporting, and communication of process changes to the right stakeholders, which are all critical elements of effective change management.

• How does Promapp differ from other BPM software available on the market?

Many other BPM tools are aimed at technical, specialist users. They do little to encourage ongoing process engagement and improvement across the business. In contrast, because it is so intuitive, Promapp provides a simpler, more effective approach to business process management that works for teams right across the business. With Promapp, it’s easy to create, update, and share processes. It’s also easy for everyone in the organization to access and use process information, and to provide feedback and improvement suggestions on an ongoing basis, which helps to foster an innovative culture of improvement.

• What is your strategy regarding continued growth in the US market?

To date, Promapp has had great success in North America. We have attracted a number of marquee clients – including companies like ConnectWise, MorganFranklin, JE Dunn, the University of California, Berkeley and Michigan State University – as market interest in cloud-based BPM solutions increases. As a result, we want to focus on continuing to respond to the demand we’re seeing for process management tools that work for teams across the business, not just the technical experts, and continue to serve and support our rapidly growing US client base.

• What are your plans for the Austin office? Have you set sales goals and are you planning to add more positions?

Promapp already has seven employees in our new Austin office, and we have plans to add other sales and marketing personnel in the near future. We have set sales goals for the office and the US generally, and are currently recruiting for several positions, including a Marketing Operations Manager, and additional account executives and sales development representatives.

• Do you envision adding other office locations in the US in the future – perhaps an East Coast location to complement San Francisco and now Austin?

We’re taking things one step at a time. Promapp opened its first US office in San Francisco in 2015. We now have a second US office in Austin. We’re confident those two offices will support our current momentum, but who knows what the future may hold given rapidly growing market interest in cloud-based business process management software.

Sarah Berkowski is Chief Marketing Officer at Promapp Solutions, an industry leading provider of cloud-based process management (BPM) software for creating and storing business processes online. For more information, visit www.promapp.com.