Forrester SmartProcessApplicationsQ22013
Forrester SmartProcessApplicationsQ22013
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All scores are based on a scale of 0 (weak) to 5 (strong).
VENDOR PROFILES
Fringe Leaders Strong In Current Offering Are EMC AND IBM
EMC leads in most functional categories of current ofering. We gave EMC top scores for
BPM, document capture and document output, analytics, mobility, and integrated platform
but, along with most other vendors, an average score for collaboration. On its own or through
partners, it ofers a wide range of vertical smart process apps for its target industries of fnancial
services, insurance, healthcare, government, energy, and life sciences. However, its portfolio of
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cross-industry smart process apps puts it in the middle of the pack. EMCs product road map
will improve its collaboration capabilities, and it is pushing into project-based collaboration,
especially in fnancial services. Its cloud strategy still straddles the existing world of on-premises
apps and the future of SaaS in collaboration, and it still has only two or three clients building
and commercializing apps on its platform.
IBM has one of the largest portfolios of both vertical and cross-industry smart process
apps. Either on its own or through partners, IBM covers most of the bases when it comes to
existing smart process apps for either vertical or cross-industry activities. IBM is also strong
in most of the functional areas, including BPM/DCM, mobility, collaboration, and advanced
analytics, with the exception of document output. It has built its smart process apps through
acquisition; although they are integrated through a shared service-oriented architecture (SOA)
platform, they are not as tightly integrated as the suites of competitors that have been built from
the ground up on the same platform. It is one of the few vendors with products that support
operations, in its case, those for governments and law enforcement. It has been working with
non-vendor clients as well as with other sofware vendors to build and commercialize their own
smart process apps on its platform. But its cloud strategy hedges between on-premises for most
apps with SaaS for a minority.
Fringe Leaders, Stronger Strategy: Appian, Kofax, OpenText, Pegasystems, Salesforce
Appian scores in BPM, collaboration, mobility, and SaaS. Appian has been one of the
top vendors in dynamic case management and BPM, and it also scores well in terms of
collaboration and mobility. Its fully integrated platform that is SaaS-based is a strategic strength.
It is average in the number of packaged apps it has for vertical industries and for cross-industry
processes. Document capture, document output, and analytics are average, as is its road map
for planned enhancements and partnerships with other sofware vendors and clients to create
commercial sofware for industry-specifc collaborative activities. Appian is a good choice for
clients in fnancial services, public services, healthcare, insurance, retail, and pharmaceuticals
who want solutions for improving case and service activities and are starting to look at
improving project activities.
Kofax shines in document capture, BPM, and SaaS strategy. Kofax is the top vendor in
multichannel capture according to the Forrester Wave evaluation of this category and also ofers
a leading BPM/DCM platform.
9
It has strong mobile capture capabilities (which can be used
for transactional as well as smart process apps) but is average on other aspects of mobility such
as the ability to create a mobile app once that can then run directly on diferent smartphones
or tablets. It also is average in document output, analytics, and collaboration. Its solutions are
primarily ofered on a SaaS multitenant basis, though they can also be deployed on an on-
premises or hosted single-instance basis. Its product road map is focused on strengthening its
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case-focused solutions. Kofax is a good choice for clients whose human-based processes involve
a high degree of capture of third-party content in order to resolve a business challenge or
operational issue.
OpenText emphasizes the confgurability of its smart process app platform and apps.
OpenText has made smart process apps a major strategic focus. It used acquisitions of DCM
and BPM vendors like Global 360 and Metastorm as complements to its existing strengths
in multichannel capture, content management, and document output, though for now these
acquisitions have lef it with two diferent platforms for diferent types of smart process apps.
It has a large portfolio of cross-industry smart process apps and an average size portfolio of
vertical apps. It has been making investments to improve its collaboration capabilities, though
its mobility and analytics still have room for improvement. It is further developing its smart
process app platform to allow smart process apps designers to choose from building blocks
of collaboration, case and process management, systems integration, content management,
embedded analytics, task management, and other core functionality and confgure the right
app for their needs. Its cloud strategy continues to emphasize hybrid on-premises or SaaS
options, and its partner strategy for attracting sofware vendors and end customers to build and
commercialize apps on its platform is on par with other vendors.
Pegasystems excels in BPM, document output, mobility, analytics, and SaaS strategy.
Pegasystems has consistently scored at or near the top for strength of current oferings in
BPM and dynamic case management. It has created a strong and innovative analytics ofering;
additionally, it has developed a deployment model that is primarily SaaS-based but supports
what Forrester has called collaborative tenancy, that is, sharing single data objects with
multiple tenants based on an auditable trust relationship.
10
Its document capture and document
output capabilities are average, though Pegasystems is strengthening these. It has a sizable
number of packaged solutions, especially in the sell-side space, but needs to broaden its focus
to support back-ofce and internal collaborative process activities. Pegasystems is a good choice
for clients in fnancial services, telecommunications, insurance, healthcare, and life sciences
who are ready for solutions that address not only their case needs, but also their project and
operational activities.
Salesforce leads in SaaS strategy, collaboration, mobility, and enhancement plans. Salesforce
can no longer be pegged as just a CRM vendor. While it remains focused on sell-side business
activities, it is pushing into a broader range of front-ofce activities that cover marketing and
services as well as sales. It lacks the strong BPM capabilities of other vendors, and its document
capture and document output functions are subpar compared with other vendors. But it has
built top-tier collaboration and mobility functions and is doing experimental work in applying
its capabilities to sales projects, marketing projects, marketing campaigns, and services
operations. In addition to being the largest SaaS vendor, it has, like Pegasystems, been pushing
into new models of multitenancy that involve sharing data objects, documents, and process
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steps among multiple parties. And its Force.com PaaS environment makes it easy for a client
to create and deploy a custom or confgured app built on its smart process app platform. Any
client that is looking to improve its project activities should include salesforce.com as a potential
solution provider.
Strong Performers Are Cordys, Kana, Lexmark, And SAP
Cordys uses its BPM SaaS platform to advantage. Cordys was one of the early BPM vendors
to emphasize SaaS, and it built its platform as a SaaS-only version at a time when most BPM
vendors were selling on-premises or single-instance hosting versions. Its BPM/DCM capabilities
are average as a result, and it is weak in document capture and document functions. However,
the decision to emphasize SaaS gives Cordys a strategic advantage as the market for multiparty
project and operations support grows. Cordys has also been a leader in getting end customers to
build commercializable products on its platforms. Cordys is a good choice for clients who want
to build and sell their own smart process apps.
Kana covers customer-facing smart process apps. Kana began as a customer service and
email management vendor, and its strengths continue to be in support for customer sales,
marketing, and service activities. Acquisitions like Lagan (a government CRM vendor), Sword
Ciboodle (a BPM and DCM vendor for customer service), and Overtone (a social media
monitoring sofware vendor) have moved it squarely into the smart process app market. Its
portfolio of smart process apps is still relatively small and concentrated on service and related
activities. Analytics is a strength of Kana, but its other functions are average, which its planned
enhancements will improve. Some Kana apps are ofered on as multitenancy products, but most
are ofered as single-instance products to be deployed on-premises or on a hosted basis. Kana
should be considered by clients who are looking for packaged smart process app solutions for
human-based activities in customer service and related sales and marketing tasks.
Lexmark has assembled a competitive smart process app platform. Trough a series of
acquisitions, Lexmark has transitioned from its roots as a printer vendor into a leading player in
the BPM/DCM sofware market. Building on the resulting top-tier BPM/DCM platform, it now
ofers a good number of both vertical industry and cross-industry smart process apps. Its other
functions of collaboration, document capture, document output, mobility, and analytics are
average, and its product road map focuses on improving these to strengthen its ability to handle
case and service activities. Lexmark is a good choice for clients in healthcare, banking, retail,
government, education, and insurance who want a smart process app platform that will allow
them to improve their case-based activities.
SAP has the existing apps but needs to strengthen its smart process app platform. SAP is one
of the largest application vendors in the world, so it is no surprise that it ofers almost all of the
cross-industry processes that we have identifed and a good number of vertical industry apps.
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With the addition of Hana, it has leading analytical capabilities to go along with very strong
mobility oferings. However, its other functions of BPM (which Forrester has not formally
evaluated), collaboration, and document capture are average, and it is weak in document output
(it relies on partners like OpenText). Tanks to acquisitions of Ariba and SuccessFactors and
a few home-built multitenant applications, it has put a foot into the world of SaaS, but most of
its applications are still ofered only as single-instance hosted or on-premises applications. Its
product road map understandably focuses on strengthening its weak or average functions for
supporting case-based processes, but it has not yet focused on addressing the more complex
projects and operations processes. SAPs smart process app capabilities should certainly be
considered by any client that is already using SAP transactional applications and by non-SAP
clients for its many existing smart process apps.
Contenders
JDA Sofware leads in smart process apps for the supply chain. JDA has become a leading
vendor of supply chain management and retail merchandising and pricing sofware. Because
many of these business activities involve a high degree of human involvement and collaboration,
it has become almost by default a smart process app vendor. Its historic focus has been on
providing fully packaged applications, and it is just starting to build a platform that allows
clients to create their own smart process apps. As a result, its BPM, collaboration, mobility, and
analytics functions are average, and it is weak in document capture or output. Because its clients
have traditionally wanted to control and customize their supply chain or retail apps, it ofers its
products primarily as single-instance on-premises or hosted apps. It is just starting to explore
SaaS products. Still, for clients who are looking for smart process apps for their supply chain or
retail merchandising and pricing activities, JDA is a Contender.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
Online Resource
Te online version of Figure 7 is an Excel-based vendor comparison tool that provides detailed
product evaluations and customizable rankings.
Data Sources Used In This Forrester Wave
Forrester used a combination of four data sources to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each
vendor:
Vendor surveys. Forrester surveyed vendors on their capabilities as they relate to the evaluation
criteria. Once we analyzed the completed vendor surveys, we conducted vendor calls where
necessary to gather details of vendor qualifcations.
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Product demos. We asked vendors to conduct demonstrations of their products functionality. We
used fndings from these product demos to validate details of each vendors product capabilities.
Existing Forrester Wave evaluation. Because this Wave evaluated vendor capabilities as
opposed to product feature and functions, we used as inputs the Current Ofering ratings
from Forrester Wave evaluations for vendor products that aligned with the capabilities that we
were evaluating. We also involved the Forrester analysts responsible for these Forrester Wave
evaluations to review our evaluations to make sure they refected current vendor capabilities.
Customer reference surveys. To validate product and vendor qualifcations, Forrester also
conducted online surveys with two or three of each vendors current customers.
The Forrester Wave Methodology
We conduct primary research to develop a list of vendors that meet our criteria to be evaluated
in this market. From that initial pool of vendors, we then narrow our fnal list. We choose these
vendors based on: 1) product ft; 2) customer success; and 3) Forrester client demand. We eliminate
vendors that have limited customer references and products that dont ft the scope of our evaluation.
Afer examining past research, user need assessments, and vendor and expert interviews, we develop
the initial evaluation criteria. To evaluate the vendors and their products against our set of criteria,
we gather details of product qualifcations through a combination of questionnaires, demos, and/
or discussions with client references. We send evaluations to the vendors for their review, and we
adjust the evaluations to provide the most accurate view of vendor oferings and strategies.
We set default weightings to refect our analysis of the needs of large user companies and/or
other scenarios as outlined in the Forrester Wave document and then score the vendors based
on a clearly defned scale. Tese default weightings are intended only as a starting point, and we
encourage readers to adapt the weightings to ft their individual needs through the Excel-based
tool. Te fnal scores generate the graphical depiction of the market based on current ofering,
strategy, and market presence. Forrester intends to update vendor evaluations regularly as product
capabilities and vendor strategies evolve.
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ENDNOTES
1
We published our report defning and sizing the smart process application market in August 2012. See the
August 8, 2012, Smart Process Applications Fill A Big Business Gap report.
2
For more information on document creation and output, see the February 23, 2010, Taming Invoice
Processing: Still Work To Do report and see the April 27, 2009, Best Practices: Customer Onboarding
report.
3
Te 22 existing smart process apps that we identifed in our earlier report were the following: contract
life-cycle management, services procurement, spend analysis, supplier risk and performance management,
revenue and pricing management, feld service management, enterprise marketing management, customer
service and support management, social media platforms, governance, risk and compliance, recruitment
management, employee performance management, learning management systems, advanced inventory
optimization, advanced supply chain planning and scheduling, demand forecasting and planning, sales
and operations planning, supply chain event management, supply chain intelligence, closed loop life-cycle
management, budgeting and planning, and project portfolio management.
4
Forrester published a Forrester Wave evaluation on BPM. See the August 26, 2010, The Forrester Wave:
Business Process Management Suites, Q3 2010 report. It also published a more recent evaluation on
dynamic case management. See the January 31, 2011, The Forrester Wave: Dynamic Case Management,
Q1 2011 report. Because of the age of these evaluations, we consulted closely with the responsible analysts
to assess current capabilities compared with those at the time of the original assessment to make sure
assessments were up to date.
5
Forresters most recent evaluation of collaboration was published in 2012. See the August 16, 2012, The
Forrester Wave: Cloud Strategies Of Online Collaboration Software Vendors, Q3 2012 report. For an
earlier evaluation, see the August 5, 2011, The Forrester Wave: Mobile Collaboration, Q3 2011 report.
6
For the most recently published evaluation on multichannel capture, see the August 12, 2012, The
Forrester Wave: Multichannel Capture, Q3 2012 report.
7
For our evaluation of document output for customer communications management, see the September 14,
2011, The Forrester Wave: Document Output For Customer Communications Management, Q3 2011
report.
8
For our evaluation of self-service business intelligence platforms, see the June 12, 2012, The Forrester
Wave: Self-Service Business Intelligence Platforms, Q2 2012 report.
9
For our evaluation of multichannel capture, see the August 15, 2012, The Forrester Wave: Multichannel
Capture, Q3 2012 report.
10
Forrester introduced the concept of collaborative tenancy in our report on new models for business
networks. See the October 18, 2012, Business Networks Will Push The Cloud Beyond IT report.
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