Comparing the Best Business Process Integration Tools on the Market

Business process integration (BPI) can revolutionize a business. Like, really take it to the next level. Businesses rely heavily on good process management to scale and run at maximum efficiency, but that can only work if it’s integrated well. If not done properly, BPI can hurt business processes by ruining productivity and communication.

We’ve established that BPI is important, so what now? How do you even get started? What is the best implementation process for business process management?

Follow me as I guide you through everything you need to know about BPI.

What is business process integration?

Okay, so what exactly is BPI? Let’s define it so we’re all on the same page.

Business process integration is when companies connect all of their applications, data, and people in one system. What this does is create better coordination between teams and ultimately help businesses grow and scale their operations.

With BPI, companies can open up better systems of communication both internally and externally through the sharing of data. It also makes it easier for organizations to automate their recurring processes.

BPI essentially allows management to take its hands off the wheel of everyday processes and focus instead on driving new business. 

Companies simply cannot grow without proper business process integration. The larger a business is, the more complex its processes. BPI helps businesses connect all of their processes in one place where all employees have access to the same information. It’s essential for proper coordination and keeping things from falling through the cracks.

The benefits of business process integration

I realize I’ve been pretty vague about what the actual, tangible benefits of BPI are, so let me throw some at you.

Increased efficiency

I kind of already touched on this one. When processes are integrated, businesses are able to streamline their services and operations, freeing up time for all team members to focus on other tasks.

And with increased efficiency comes greater overall productivity. With good BPI, businesses can do incredible things like:

• Increase product output
• Reach new customers
• Develop new sales and marketing strategies

Then there’s the reduction of cost, which brings me to my next point ⬇️

Reduced costs

Business process integration won’t save you money right off the bat, but it will if you do it right and give it enough time.

With a BPI tool, companies can reduce the number of software tools they use to manage their operations and keep everything in one place. This cuts down the costs of having multiple types of software and the labor cost of maintaining them.

Additionally, having all company data stored in one place and easily accessible to all employees reduces the time employees spend trying to track down different pieces of information. All of this time and labor savings contribute greatly to the overall ability of companies to scale.

You won’t see all these benefits immediately, but over time the savings made because of BPI will be huge. 

Better decision making

Business process integration tools often come with data-tracking features. These features are extremely useful when it comes to decision-making because they eliminate human error in data reporting. Without errors in data, managers can make better decisions about sales strategies, onboarding techniques, and pretty much anything else. 

This, again, saves organizations time and money because they won’t be making as many mistakes in their day-to-day operations and overall business decisions.

Happier employees and customers

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, BPI tools improve both employee and customer satisfaction. 

For employees, having smoother, more streamlined operations that make their jobs easier and remove tedious tasks is a major plus. Effectively using business process integration tools can significantly reduce employee churn. 

Just make sure you listen to any feedback your team has, especially in the early days. If the software is poorly implemented because of bad training and education, then it can have the opposite effect.

For customers, they become happier when their questions are answered and problems addressed in a more timely manner. 

Their satisfaction also increases when the product they have been on the waiting list for comes back in stock sooner than expected. All thanks to the increased output made possible by BPI. Hello, repeat customers!

Implementing business process integration in your company

I’ve talked a lot about “good BPI” but what does that mean exactly? Really what it means is BPI that has been implemented well in a company. Business process integration simply won’t work well if your teams aren’t on board or aren’t properly trained.

It’s up to leadership to do all the work beforehand to ensure that the implementation of BPI runs smoothly, so here are the necessary steps to ensure success.

Define structure

What do you want your company’s BPI to look like? You know best how your organization runs, so you need to take a look at your current processes and decide how BPI could improve them.

BPI requires some kind of vision on the part of management before it can be implemented. Start by doing some research, read case studies from similar companies, and start cherry-picking the parts you think would work best for your team.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to business process integration, so define what its structure should look like for your company first before moving on to the next step.

Collect data

By this I mean start collecting internal data. You should be looking for things like:

• What software your teams use already
• How much those cost
• What do your teams like and dislike about the software they use
• Where all organizational data is currently stored

And anything else you think would consider useful information to help you find the right BPI tool. You can and should be honest with your employees about what you’re asking them for and why. If they understand what you are looking for and why they can provide you with the best and most useful feedback to help you.

Confirm opportunities

For this step, take the ideal structure you created and all the information you collected from your team and use them to help you find the right BPI tool. 

Start shopping around and look for the opportunities different BPI tools can offer your organization. This step is crucial because the right software can make or break your company’s business process integration.

Don’t be afraid to take your time while you compare and contrast all the tools you find. Read reviews, check price points, and look at all the features they offer. When you think you’ve found the right one, confirm it with your different managers to make sure you’re all on the same page about which one is right for you.

Plan design

Once you have selected your BPI tool, dedicate some time to customizing it to fit your organization’s needs.

Most business process integration software is molded to fit each user’s needs. In fact, any tool which can’t do that shouldn’t even be considered unless your processes are really simple.

You shouldn’t throw a brand new BPI tool at your team and say, “This is what we’re using now, you figure it out.” That’s just poor management. You need to set it up for them first so you can explain how it works. 

Have your managers and team leads contribute to the initial setup so every system is taken care of. Creating a solid baseline of what the BPI tool will look like for your organization will be massively helpful in the implementation process.

Don’t worry about getting it perfect. Your design will change a lot over time as your team provides feedback and your operations scale.

Execute integration

The time has finally come! You are ready to execute your business process integration. Congrats!

For this step, I recommend having a company-wide meeting to introduce the BPI tool to everyone. 

The managers of each team should already have a good understanding of the tool and how each of their departments will be using it. Education and transparency are key to the successful integration of the BPI software. 

Make sure to give them time to play around with the tool and get used to it. It’s also imperative that you always remain open to their feedback. People can offer a wide range of perspectives and ideas on how to improve the use of the tool and their feedback should never go ignored.

Business process integration tools

Now for the moment, I know you’ve been waiting for (or the thing you skipped down to, I see you 👀): the best tools for business process integration. 

I’ve chosen the top three for you. None of them is better than the others because each of them offers something different. 

This list should help you get started in making your decision.

Process Street

For team collaboration, the best tool is Process Street.

This software gives you the ability to invite anyone to collaborate on a workflow, whether they work in-house or not. It keeps each step of every process organized. Using integrations with third-party apps such as Zapier, Salesforce, and Slack to automate the workflow, Process Street keeps everything in one place. Integrations like that really help to streamline operations and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. It also provides lots of free workflow templates to help users get started.

Process Street’s pricing starts at $1,000/year for the most basic package which allows five members and 10 guests. They offer two other packages called Pro and Enterprise, which start at $5,000 and $20,000 per year respectively. However, it should be emphasized that’s where the pricing starts, it’s a custom price for each client to suit their specific needs. 

Monday.com

Monday is the most versatile software for project management.

Monday.com utilizes very user-friendly timelines and calendars to structure tasks, giving users a clear picture of when things should be completed. You can also change the view to see the project tasks laid out in a Kanban or Gantt chart. Monday gives project managers a lot of flexibility in their methodologies. 

Monday.com’s pricing has five levels to it. The lowest level is the Individual plan which is free and allows two users and up to three boards. Then there’s the Basic plan, which costs $8 per user per month but only gets you 5GB of storage. After that, they have the Standard plan at $10 per user per month, which is the most popular plan. 

The last two plans are the Pro and Enterprise plans. The Pro plan is $16 per user per month, but you need to contact support to get a quote for the Enterprise plan. The big difference between the plans is that Enterprise is HIPPA compliant and has features not offered by the others, like reporting and analytics.

Appian

For process automation, the best tool is Appian.

Automation is Appian’s whole shebang. It’s a low-code platform that allows businesses to build applications that automate their processes for them. This allows companies to build the most bespoke automated workflows possible. While it takes several weeks to set up and is more complicated than the others I’ve listed, it delivers the most unique overall experience.

While Appian does offer a free plan, any plan above it requires a consultation and a quote with one of its sales representatives. I tried to see if other websites had posted about pricing, but the prices I saw were very inconsistent, so it is very much set on a case-by-case basis. 

Things to remember

Business process integration does a lot to help businesses run at their best. It saves people time, energy, and money. In fact, it often leads to increased productivity and profits. 

As long as you take the time to do the research into what you need and why, and spend the necessary time training your team, you should find great success in whichever operations management software you choose. 

Bonus tip: If you want to see what a BPI tool can offer and have your questions answered in real time, book a demo with Process Street! Its sales representatives can walk you through the whole process of building a workflow and how the platform can work for entire companies.