APAC CIOOutlook

Advertise

with us

  • Technologies
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Big Data
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud
      • Digital Transformation
      • Internet of Things
      • Low Code No Code
      • MarTech
      • Mobile Application
      • Security
      • Software Testing
      • Wireless
  • Industries
      • E-Commerce
      • Education
      • Logistics
      • Retail
      • Supply Chain
      • Travel and Hospitality
  • Platforms
      • Microsoft
      • Salesforce
      • SAP
  • Solutions
      • Business Intelligence
      • Cognitive
      • Contact Center
      • CRM
      • Cyber Security
      • Data Center
      • Gamification
      • Procurement
      • Smart City
      • Workflow
  • Home
  • CXO Insights
  • CIO Views
  • Vendors
  • News
  • Conferences
  • Whitepapers
  • Newsletter
  • Awards
Apac
  • Artificial Intelligence

    Big Data

    Blockchain

    Cloud

    Digital Transformation

    Internet of Things

    Low Code No Code

    MarTech

    Mobile Application

    Security

    Software Testing

    Wireless

  • E-Commerce

    Education

    Logistics

    Retail

    Supply Chain

    Travel and Hospitality

  • Microsoft

    Salesforce

    SAP

  • Business Intelligence

    Cognitive

    Contact Center

    CRM

    Cyber Security

    Data Center

    Gamification

    Procurement

    Smart City

    Workflow

Menu
    • Facility Management
    • Cyber Security
    • Hotel Management
    • Workflow
    • E-Commerce
    • Business Intelligence
    • MORE
    #

    Apac CIOOutlook Weekly Brief

    ×

    Be first to read the latest tech news, Industry Leader's Insights, and CIO interviews of medium and large enterprises exclusively from Apac CIOOutlook

    Subscribe

    loading

    THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING

    • Home
    Editor's Pick (1 - 4 of 8)
    left
    Solving ITSM Issues through Cloud-based Solution

    Danny Dainton, National Software Business Manager, Winc Australia

    We need to talk about inhouse property and facilities systems

    Rodney Timm, Director, Property Beyond Pty Ltd

    Facility Management is a Sector Ripe for Digital Disruption

    Donald Macdonald, Director, Macdonald Lucas

    Load management is the key to EV-friendly facilities

    Tim Washington, Director, JET Charge

    Data Driven Operations: Evolving the facilities management model

    Leon Wurfel, CEO & Founder, BUENO Systems

    Smart Buildings: Key Success Factors to Implementing technology in facilities management

    Jared See, Technology Lead, C&W Services Singapore

    Pathway to Stable, Strong IT Infrastructure

    Jesse Carrillo, SVP & CIO, Hines

    Flying to Success

    Nicole Chesmore, AVP Infrastructure and Operations, Grinnell Mutual

    right

    Business Process Management in the Information Era

    Anu George, Chief Quality Officer, Morningstar

    Tweet
    content-image

    Anu George, Chief Quality Officer, Morningstar

    Do you know what is common to a car, a motorcycle, and a naval ship? Perhaps you are thinking of responses such as “iron and steel”, “heavy machinery”, “complex manufacturing”. Those maybe the correct answers, but did you think the answer could be “software”.

    Yes. Software. These heavy machinery and highly industrial products are more computers and less machinery. Cars have become giant, complex, mobile computers. Ditto your shiny new motorcycle. Ditto that jumbo, gray, naval ship.

    The information age has transformed that hulk of steel mass into the intelligent, information rich “creatures” powered by chips, CPU’s, microcomputers and sensors. And just like that, the information age has transformed companies and industries.

    So where does Business Process management fit in this new world? It’s a misfit. When entire industries and organizations are undergoing deep structural changes, focusing on business process management is like protecting the grand staircase of the Titanic, when the entire Titanic was about to sink.

    Business process managers must shift their focus from process improvement to business transformation management. They must be an active player in helping organizations morph or reborn as new identities as industries are disrupted by technology.

    Given that reality, it will be useful to understand what will the future of business process management be like. Here are some thoughts to ponder on:

    1) From “continuous improvement” to “strategic transformation”. In the past or maybe even currently, process experts and continuous improvement leaders helped organizations improve their processes, led change management projects or even led enterprise wide process reengineering efforts. In the information era, process experts and continuous improvement leaders will play a bigger role of “strategic transformation leaders”. They will help organizations identify potential market disruptions.

    With an understanding of the business strategy, they will help identify the transformation purpose for their organization. They will guide the organization from evolutionary changes to “transformative big bets”. The book Exponential Organizations talks about “Massive Transformation Purpose”. One can call it the “Big Why”–which provides the reason and the soul for the transformation. Most organizations cannot determine the “Big Why”. They are so steeped in meeting the daily revenue and profit numbers, that the winds of change are often left unnoticed. The transformation leader needs to be that constant voice that reminds the organization to keep an eye on the future, to ask questions that spur disruption, and to prevent the organization from burying their heads in the tyranny of today.

    2) From “pursuit of excellence” to “pursuit of innovative ways”. Strategic transformation leaders become the flag bearer of new ways of doing things. Transformation leaders constantly strive to find the latest and best practices in the industry (or even across industries). From Robotics Process Automation, to crowd sourcing, to creating communities, transformation leaders drive “big bet” change across the organization.

    When entire industries and organizations are undergoing deep structural changes, focusing on business process management is like protecting the grand staircase of the Titanic, when the entire Titanic was about to sink

    Most managers are deemed to be successful because they have mastered the ability to scale their processes and organizations, while maintaining stability and consistency in their operations. But these behaviors are the antithesis of transformation. It is the role of the transformation leader to pick up the binoculars, and peer beyond the horizon, and help the organization look for new lands to conquer.

    3) From “Lean Thinking” to “Design Thinking”. The business process manager in the pre-information era was mainly focused on process improvement or process re-engineering. Lean, or Six Sigma were the tools or philosophies adopted. But in the information era, the transformation leader is now charged with helping the organization shape itself differently. From process level change, the focus is now on the entirety of the organization–its process, purpose, systems, people, and structure. The holistic change is 100x more complex than just process change, even if the process was a top tier (L1) wing to wing process. This is where design thinking comes to play. Design thinking refers to creative strategies designers use during the process of designing. As Ideo, the global design company states, “Design thinking, brings together what is desirable from a human point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable”. Design thinking is an excellent approach to co-create future solutions that are customer based and human based. It leverages the same principles of LEAN, i.e. respect for people and focus on the customer, but offers an array of facilitation tools that are a lot more applicable to situations where one is looking to find solutions to multiple challenges, and to imagine a new future very distinct from the current reality. Design thinking offers a more multipronged, holistic and conceptual framework than LEAN.

    4) From process expert to “technology enthusiast”. We are in the information era. Technology is the biggest disruptor. Ebay brought a new virtual marketplace to the homes and workplaces of millions of people across the globe. But, perhaps, in the future, maybe the near future, Ebay may not exist, thanks to new blockchain driven models like OpenBazaar. Relentlessly emerging new technologies are the crux of the information era. The constancy of change becomes immediate and permanent with these emerging technologies. The transformation leader must immerse himself/herself in understanding these technologies. He/ she need not be a technology expert, but must clearly understand the implications of those technologies on the business model. How would it impact the revenue model? What would it do to the operating costs?

    Can it be leveraged globally? What about legal restrictions? How would the approach to talent and culture change with the adoption of new technologies? The transformation leader must be curious to find answers to those questions.

    5) The agile, collaborative genius. The strategic transformation leader should be a master at collaboration. Creating webs of networks and communities internally and externally will accelerate the transformation.

    Governance to manage these communities, without being overshadowing the enthusiasm of participants would be a delicate balance that the transformation leader will have to practice. Injecting ideas and energy in the communities will be a core skill of the transformation leader. And hand in hand with collaboration come agility.

    The transformation leader should be keenly aware of the accelerators and decelerators of the transformation initiative. Learning from failures, pivoting, bouncing back are part of the transformation leaders daily work. Agility and collaboration are the perfect antidotes to zombie transformation projects.

    The world is changing fast. Roles we performed in the past cannot be just the same. They need to evolve with the disruption injected with the information era.

    The business project manager cannot escape this disruption. This role is changing in an interesting and challenging way. In fact, the newly morphed role of the strategic transformation leader is more intellectual and impactful.

    Embrace and enjoy the new reality.

    Weekly Brief

    loading
    Top 10 Facilities Management Consulting/Services Companies - 2019
    Top 10 Facilities Management Companies - 2019
    ON THE DECK

    Facility Management 2019

    Facility Management 2019

    Previous Next

    I agree We use cookies on this website to enhance your user experience. By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies. More info

    Read Also

    Listening Beyond Hearing

    Listening Beyond Hearing

    Salvatore Incardona, Head of IT, Amplifon Australia
    Modernizing Lending Through Innovative, Secure and Scalable Technology

    Modernizing Lending Through Innovative, Secure and Scalable Technology

    Steven Meek, Chief Information Officer, Pepper Money
    Advancing the Chemical Industry through Digital Transformation

    Advancing the Chemical Industry through Digital Transformation

    Jan Mandrup Olesen, Global Head of Digital Business, Indorama Ventures
    Cultivating a Sustainable Future through Collaboration

    Cultivating a Sustainable Future through Collaboration

    Jiunn Shih, Chief Marketing, Innovation & Sustainability Officer, Zespri International
    Mastering Digital Marketing Strategies

    Mastering Digital Marketing Strategies

    Tasya Aulia, Director of Marketing and Communications, Meliá Hotels International
    Building a Strong Collaborative Framework for Artificial Intelligence

    Building a Strong Collaborative Framework for Artificial Intelligence

    Boon Siew Han, Regional Head of Humanoid Component Business & R&D (Apac & Greater China), Schaeffler
    From Legacy to Agility Through Digital Transformation

    From Legacy to Agility Through Digital Transformation

    Athikom Kanchanavibhu, EVP, Digital & Technology Transformation, Mitr Phol Group
    Change Management for Clinical Ancillary Teams: Aligning Practice with Policy and Progress

    Change Management for Clinical Ancillary Teams: Aligning Practice with Policy and Progress

    Ts. Dr. James Chong, Chief Executive Officer, Columbia Asia Hospital – Tebrau
    Loading...
    Copyright © 2025 APAC CIOOutlook. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy and Anti Spam Policy 

    Home |  CXO Insights |   Whitepapers |   Subscribe |   Conferences |   Sitemaps |   About us |   Advertise with us |   Editorial Policy |   Feedback Policy |  

    follow on linkedinfollow on twitter follow on rss
    This content is copyright protected

    However, if you would like to share the information in this article, you may use the link below:

    https://facility-management.apacciooutlook.com/cxoinsights/business-process-management-in-the-information-era-nwid-6835.html