Aberdeen Report Shows Increasing Demand For Business Process Management Technologies.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2002

Having reached $2.2 billion in 2001, the Business Process Management (BPM) market is poised for significant additional growth, as more and more businesses look to streamline operations and cut costs, according to a new report by Aberdeen Group, a leading market analysis and positioning services firm.

Business Process Management products offer a business-process oriented framework to manage the integration and information infrastructure of an organization in order to systematically bridge internal and external people with applications and back-end systems. With a measurable ROI, BPM technologies enable companies to reduce operational expenses, and over the long run, enable them to be more adaptive, responsive and productive. How this is done varies considerably from supplier to supplier, indicating that the standardization of BPM products is still maturing.

"There is definitely a re-emerging demand for process oriented technologies that streamline procedures and cut fat out of front and back office operations," says Darcy Fowkes, a research director at Aberdeen Group and author of the report, 'Worldwide Business Process Management Spending, Forecast and Analysis 2001-2005.' "As the gap between IT and line of business managers closes, the technical requirements of an organization's IT investments need to be more business oriented and respond to the individual needs of line and business managers running various divisions."

The report, which defines the business and marketing factors driving the BPM market, shows that less than half of the market is represented by BPM supplier product revenues, consisting of 21 public and 15 private BPM suppliers. With 65% of the suppliers at less than 2% market share, Aberdeen expects the BPM market to experience dramatic change over the next three years.

This research is a result of Aberdeen's recently established Business Process Management practice, which covers emerging and established companies in Business Process Management and analyzes marketing, technology, and business trends.

For more information about "Worldwide Business Process Management Spending, Forecast and Analysis 2001-2005," visit www.aberdeen.com.

About Aberdeen

Founded in 1998, Aberdeen Group is a leading IT market analysis and positioning services firm that helps Information Technology vendors establish leadership in emerging markets. The firm provides IT market intelligence, positioning, and market acceleration services to established and start-up technology companies.

Aberdeen's consultants provide up-to-the-minute global IT market insights in more than 25 IT market segments. Research practices focus on emerging market opportunities, market growth rates, important industry trends, and customer buying patterns. The firm also helps clients to identify new market opportunities, enter those markets successfully, and accelerate the adoption of new technologies.

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Aberdeen has research and consulting divisions in Palo Alto, California; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Aberdeen is accessible via the Web at www.aberdeen.com.