I caught up with a friend from my K2 days and we got to talking about his new business. For those that don’t know K2 --- it is a workflow and Business Process Management (BPM) company. Or at least it was when Shaun Leisegang and I worked there.
Don't Just Start a Business, Solve A Problem
Solve a problem and people come looking for you. Make it easy for end users, IT Pros and non-technical users and you might just have them knocking down your doors.
The Problem (with workflow)
The number one challenge most businesses face when considering workflow solutions is that they are either too simple or too complex.
If you have been in the workflow or BPM space for long your know what I’m talking about. If you are new to the space keep in mind that this has been the case for many years.
Enter AppsForOps …
That’s the name of the new business. It’s clever and apropos. Check ‘em out at AppsForOps.
The idea and the intent is to make it easier for business users to get started with a workflow process.
The AppsForOps team has made it easy with templates. They picked the most common solution areas where businesses can take advantage of pre-built capabilities. By using pre-built templates with common operations people can get back to doing their job instead of trying to figure out how the workflow systems function.
They have also made it 100% deployable, configurable and manageable from web based apps. Simple is at the root of everything they have done.
Don’t Take My Word For It
Seriously, don’t take my work for it. See for yourself. Check out the AppsForOps webpage, request a demo, and get started today. I think you will be impressed.
Whether you are a small business or a division of a Global 2000 … there is a constant need to make it easier to allow employees to do the job they were hired to do. The AppsForOps team realizes this and has built out a solution to make that possible.
Built to Scale
The AppsForOps team took a best of breed approach to build out their solution. They utilized the Microsoft Azure platform for cloud capabilities and scalability and they extended the K2 Blackpearl platform to offer solutions that allow businesses to get started quickly.
Mobile or Desktop or Both
Customers don’t want to be tied to a desktop app or to a mobile platform. Sometimes they’ll want to add an expense on a mobile phone and then enter CRM information on a tablet and perhaps submit their timesheet on their PC.
The AppsForOps team has made it really easy to get started and I think they are onto something with the model they are building for solutions.
Sure, some of the big platform players are offering options to some of this, but as far as I can tell they will still need a fair amount of configuration and somewhat complicated maintenance. Which is exactly what the Problem Statement above tries to avoid.
Don’t Miss the Platform Explorer
The AppsForOps team has done a great job with a few more specific areas that pretty much every business needs. These are an extension of what I call FOSH applications. They apply to any business that is in business. You might not be able to read the details on the image below … just click or here for the Platform Explorer.
Partnerships are the Secret Sauce
They have also setup a partnership with Xero. If you are using Xero today you can begin using AppsForOps today too.
I suspect this is just the beginning. Much like some of the more consumer focused workflow solutions I expect the AppsForOps team to continue adding more and more platform and partner specific solutions.
If you happen to talk with Shaun … tell him I said hello. He and his business partner Hennie Laubscher continue to be some of the best business and technical workflow people I have ever had the pleasure of working with in the past 20+ years I’ve been in the ECM space.
Find more information --- contact the AppsForOps team. You’ll be happy you did.
If you are already an AppsForOps customer or partner drop a comment here with your thoughts. I’m open to any comments, but if you have specific issues you might want to ping Shaun and Hennie directly. I know they take customer and partner feedback very seriously. I’ve seen it and lived it first hand.
Happy Workflowing!
Image Credits: K2, Microsoft, AppsForOps
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