At Camunda, we think a lot about how to make process orchestration and automation simpler and more effective for companies of all sizes, but especially for large enterprises with highly complex processes that are often critical to the business. We know that most people understand the need for automation—96% of relevant decision makers say it is vital to their digital transformation plans—but executing on that goal the right way can be a challenge. Even things that seem like wins at first, like point solutions that automate in one particular silo, often end up a value trap that add to your technical debt and don’t bring you where you need to get in terms of orchestration maturity.
What is already working for major enterprises?
In an effort to get to the heart of this problem, Camunda co-founder and Chief Technologist Bernd Reucker teamed up with Process Orchestration Strategist Leon Strauch to look deeply at what has worked and what hasn’t. They spoke directly to some of Camunda’s 500+ customers to try and determine the patterns and best practices that make organizations successful with orchestration.
The lessons they learned shed a lot of light into a critical yet tricky topic, one that everyone agrees is important but that far fewer implement successfully. For those who do get it right, the agility, customer experience, cost savings, and other benefits can be a meaningful differentiator.
Recently, I sat down (virtually) with Bernd and Leon to discuss their findings and other insights from their new book, “Enterprise Process Orchestration: A Hands-on Guide to Strategy, People, and Technology.” The book aims to explain how to use process orchestration at the enterprise level, focusing on five key pillars: Vision, People, Technology, Delivery and Measurement.
What’s in the book?
The book serves as a nuanced and detailed guide for advancing along the process orchestration adoption framework. It answers questions like:
- How is process orchestration distinct from task automation?
- Why should you align the goal of process orchestration with holistic organizational change?
- How do you involve the right stakeholders to make this change happen?
- What does a modern Center of Excellence look like, and how has this changed over time?
- When selecting a technical solution, what do you need to look for? Why are scalability, flexibility and composability so important?
- How do you tie your project to clear business goals and ensure alignment between the business and IT?
- What are the most effective methods for quantifying success and communicating the business value of your solution?
As Leon told me, technology is important, but it isn’t “fairy dust” that you can sprinkle on your organization and it will magically help. Technology is a tool, but “you also need to define a vision for the technology.” While it is possible to get started quickly and demonstrate value, it requires deeper thinking along a number of levels to implement across an organization and for complex and mission-critical processes. This book helps you understand what those levels are and how to approach them thoughtfully.
When I asked Bernd for one big takeaway from the book, his answer was, of course, “it depends.” But that’s because there is so much in this book for a range of roles and experience levels. Business leaders can expect a lot of insights into how to drive lasting organizational value at scale, but Bernd specifically pointed to the value for developers as well, and why it’s important for them to understand the business value of their work, particularly in a changing development world with low-code functionality and AI-assistance becoming more and more effective.
Find out more at CamundaCon
You can find out more about their book at CamundaCon 2024 New York, taking place tomorrow and Thursday—don’t miss their session on October 17th at 2:45pm ET! There will be an early access release available for feedback, and the final version will be available in May 2025. Be sure to sign up for CamundaCon 2025 Amsterdam to be the first to learn about the book when it’s released.
Check out the full interview below, and if you haven’t yet, you can sign up at the link below for CamundaCon 2024 New York (online attendance is free) to catch Bernd and Leon discussing the book (and much, much more amazing content around process orchestration and automation).
Start the discussion at forum.camunda.io