Internet-Enabled Workflow Management. Business Process Management Journal, Volume 11, Issue 3

When research in the area of office automation began more than 25 years ago the typical enterprise infrastructure consisted of heterogeneous computing platforms and operating systems, different networking standards, a variety of email products and limited user interface technologies. These technical inconsistencies and the lack of process-orientation within enterprises led to a slower-than-expected adoption of office and process automation technology. In the 1990s, when the Business...
More Description

When research in the area of office automation began more than 25 years ago the typical enterprise infrastructure consisted of heterogeneous computing platforms and operating systems, different networking standards, a variety of email products and limited user interface technologies. These technical inconsistencies and the lack of process-orientation within enterprises led to a slower-than-expected adoption of office and process automation technology. In the 1990s, when the Business Process Reengineering wave created process-awareness in many corporate boardrooms and led to the restructuring of enterprises, the search for technology to support these new structures finally accelerated. In the last decade, many technical difficulties of the early workflow days were eliminated through the evolution of defined or de-facto standards and process management technology was increasingly deployed within enterprises. Nevertheless, it was not until the rapid adoption of Internet technology created a unified communication platform between enterprises that workflow systems began to reach out and connect processes across enterprise borders. Internet technology affects organizations and creates new challenges on three levels: technical, organizational, and managerial. Five articles have been selected for this e-book, spanning technical, organizational, and managerial aspects.