How is iServer different to other BPA tools?

iServer extends the Microsoft Office ® & Visio ® interfaces

For the first time, customers have the option of remaining in Microsoft Office and Visio whilst gaining the full functionality of a Business Process Analysis tool.

Most other BPA tools have proprietary interfaces, and any information stored in Visio and Office must be (at best) imported or even reworked.

iServer is Low Cost

iServer is typically only about 40% of the cost of other leading Business Process Analysis tools. This means that the return on investment is faster, and it is also viable to engage in a cost-effective proof of concept deployment prior to investment in wider-scale BPA initiative.

It is not just the software that is inexpensive. iServer users can be trained in a few hours, and familiarity with Microsoft Visio means that much of the system is already known.

iServer allows you use custom Process Notations

Most iServer customers started off creating processes in Visio, some using the default stencils supplied with Visio, others using the BPMN stencil provided by Orbus, but in most cases, using a custom notation developed to meet their exact needs.

Most BPA tools have a Visio import capability, but this requires conversion into a notation supported by the tool. iServer allows you to continue using your chosen notations and to import your existing diagrams without needing to convert them. This makes iServer very quick to adopt, with no need for re-working of diagrams or the re-training associated with the adoption of a new standard.

iServer provides a very quick start to Business Proces modeling

For a number of reasons, iServer can be deployed & used productively quicker than any other BPA tool:

• iServer allows you to get started with the information you have now
  Many other tools require a lengthy data-migration exercise, with processes needing to be converted into the BPA tool (often this requires a change of notation)
  
  Your diagrams and documents may not be perfect, complete, or consistent (for example in use of notations), but this information can be imported immediately into iServer. Standardization and consistency are of course important, but this does not have to be achieved on day one. Use of templates/standards/metadata can be enforced within iServer as usage evolves, but at the start it can be very useful to have an initial view of the business processes "as they are today". This can be published to the intranet and discussed online, leading to immediate improvement.
• iServer provides pre-packaged "quick start" solutions
  Orbus provide quick start solutions for ITIL and ISO standards.
• Training is quick and painless - users can be productively using iServer within a few hours.

iServer manages Visio Shapes

Visio shapes (such as process activities, swimlanes, events) and Office document components (such as process narratives, risk profiles, work instructions) become the repository objects stored within iServer.

iServer is different from a document management system because functionality such as versioning and audit trail, permissions, relationships and metadata is provided for the individual artifacts (Visio shapes), and not just for documents.

And of course.. iServer is different from most other BPA tools because it uses Visio, rather than a proprietary interface.

iServer is easy to Use

Microsoft Visio and Office are easy to use, and because iServer extends these environments, a large proportion of the interfaces are already familiar. iServer is not just a tool for analysts (see below), so appropriate levels of functionality and complexity can be turned on for different groups of users.

The best way to see this for yourself is to arrange a demonstration or sign up for a proof of concept where you can see the benefits of iServer first-hand.

iServer offers a solution for the different types of BPA user

Orbus Software offers a solution to all three tool buyer types within the BPA Market, but primarily targeting Architects and BP Modellers at the earlier phases of BPM maturity.

Enterprise Architects
Orbus targets the estimated 70% of organizations in the early stages of architecture maturity. Offers pre-packaged solutions for Zachman and TOGAF

BP Modellers
Orbus, with partner products, provides full product coverage for BP Modellers (including repository, modeling functionality, simulation, BPMN & UML specific support). Also offers pre-packaged content-based solutions for ITIL & ISO standards.

BPMS Modellers
Orbus targets the estimated 88% of organizations in phases 0-2 of the Gartner BPM maturity model, and now with partner K2 provides full product coverage of the BPM Lifecycle (including process execution, business activity monitoring and round-trip improvement), managing human and enabled workflows uniquely in a single common repository.