6 solid reasons to shift to cloud-based BPM software

As someone who's a bit on the younger side (Gen Z, as they call us), I've grown up in a world where everything is fast and happens instantly. Want to go somewhere? Book an Uber. Hungry? Order something. Want to see your friends? FaceTime them.

But when I momentarily feel less like a typical Gen Z and decide to engage with the world offline, I’m struck by how some places still rely on outdated tools like spreadsheets and paper-based systems. It always feels like I'm stepping back in time.

So, for anyone who wants to keep up with my generation and the generations to come, here are 6 solid reasons to shift from your old processes to cloud-based business process management (BPM) software. 

1. High developer and infrastructure costs

One of the biggest expenses with traditional business process management is the cost of maintaining on-premises infrastructure like servers and data storage. On top of that, to build, customize, and maintain systems, you need to hire developers. This means you're stuck in a cycle of high infrastructure and development costs, making it difficult to scale.

Cloud-based BPM platform like Zoho Creator simplifies this approach, transforming how businesses build and manage their digital workflows. These platforms are equipped with AI, workflow automation, integration, and numerous other capabilities that help you build the ideal application for your business.

With cloud BPM software, you only pay for what you use. As for system maintenance, the cloud providers or platform handles it all. You can develop applications that can be accessed and deployed by you and your clients from anywhere, with just a web browser and an internet connection.

And don't worry about scaling—platforms like Zoho Creator ensure that apps scale automatically, so you don't have to redevelop your applications as conditions change.

2. The same old monotony

Sending emails and reminders and handling the same mundane tasks day after day can be monotonous. Trying to manage all these tasks manually—without any automation—is like ticking off items on your to-do list only to find that other priorities (important ones!) are still left unfinished, slowing productivity to a crawl.

With cloud BPM software, you can automate these business processes, eliminating the need for manual effort and freeing you from the constant worry of staying on top of everything.

Tools like Zoho Creator offer a range of workflow automation features like blueprints, approvals, and schedulers. Implementing them will allow you to set up and trigger workflows based on your business's specific conditions. And for those who want extra customization, there's Deluge, Zoho's powerful scripting language, which you can use to implement more complex workflows.

With Creator and Deluge scripting working together, you can build your very own cloud BPM solution that meets all your needs in just a few hours—freeing you from the same old routine and greatly improving your organizational efficiency with automated business processes.

3. Data silos

If you're using multiple software solutions and finding it hard to get a holistic view of everything happening across these platforms, you'll definitely relate to Mattias Johansson, the founder and CEO of Syncify, a company based in Sweden. They were facing the same challenge—data silos.

But they took action and implemented a custom application on Creator that bridged their data gaps by allowing them to manage their logs and data in one unified place. They were able to pull data from third-party, internal, and external applications using Zoho Creator's integration capabilities. 

With cloud BPM software, you get a centralized platform where data flows automatically between different parts of your business. These integration capabilities allow you to connect different applications and share data easily across your entire business. This means you no longer have to keep switching between applications or manually entering data across systems, as all of it is in one place.

4. Manual reporting

Preparing reports for every important meeting can be a nightmare. You spend hours gathering data and waiting for input from different people, then sit down and try to make predictions and decisions. And even after all that time and effort, you might end up with forecasts that aren't even accurate. Frustrating, isn't it?

But a cloud BPM solution can turn things around for you. These applications can generate reports in different formats and easily make metrics-based predictions, helping you understand your business's performance—the good, the bad, and everything in between.

With Creator, you can get beautiful and insightful reports populated with real-time analytics and in different formats, like charts and graphs. You can also create pages with detailed reports on the numbers you want to view in one place and design dashboards containing these pages, reports, and other analytics. Because Zoho Analytics, a powerful business intelligence platform, is integrated with Creator, these tasks become much easier.

5. Work your way

Being unable to access important reports and files or make decisions while you're away from your desk can be incredibly frustrating. Traditional BPM systems often lock you in to specific devices within your organization's internal network. If you're away from the office and need to get something done, you're stuck.

But with cloud business process management software, that’s no longer a problem. You can access your system from anywhere, at any time—all you need is an internet connection. Whether you’re at home or travelling, your data is always within reach.

Zoho Creator takes this a step further with its cross-platform functionality, ensuring that your applications are automatically supported on both iOS and Android devices. Need to check something urgently? Simply access your apps via your mobile phone. And if you find yourself without internet access, no worries! With Creator’s offline functionality, you can still work by caching recently opened forms and downloading reports, ensuring you're always in the loop—even when you're offline.

6. Information insecurity

Relying on legacy systems to stay strong in the face of current security threats isn't wise. But opting for cloud BPM platforms is an effective strategy to mitigate potential data and security risks. These modern solutions offer comprehensive security features designed to protect against many potential threats, and they're typically built with robust security standards that are crucial for businesses seeking comprehensive protection.

Take Creator, for example. The platform's commitment to security includes compliance with multiple industry standards and certifications:

• GDPR and HIPAA

• SOC 2 and SOC 1 Type II certification

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification for information security management

These compliance capabilities ensure that your data is protected and secured against unauthorized access, providing businesses with peace of mind when managing sensitive information.

So what are you waiting for?

It’s time to say goodbye to legacy systems and make the leap to a cloud BPM platform like Zoho Creator, which can help you streamline processes, save time, and reduce costs by allowing you to quickly build and scale cloud-based BPM applications.