Bespoke Applications and Scripts Vs Workflow for business logic and process automation

When it comes to the choice between utilising workflow or server script for automating the business processes in your customer relationship management (CRM) system, there are several points to be considered.

To a certain extent, the decision will be based on the personal preference of those who will be designing and maintaining the logic. However, a workflow process does have some restrictions that need to be taken into account.

CRM solutions for all kinds of business have been around since the eighties and are still popular today (though the big-bang all-encompassing IT systems of the nineties are largely accepted as not the best route today). By organising and automating routine business processes, a business can run more smoothly and accelerate growth. The information that we need (data) can be easily accessed and compiled, and most importantly, delivered to the right people at the right time in the right way which in turn leads to the effectiveness of business strategies.

By aligning the right CRM solution (IT) to the business, CRM provides businesses with the ability to spend more time on things other than record keeping and document management.

Objectives can be achieved sooner because data is more readily accessed and better organized, so it is easier to evaluate.

Making the right choices when setting up and implementing a CRM system can make all the difference in the ultimate value to an organisation.

Wofklow for business logic and process automation

Different CRM systems provide different options and capabilities with regard to server scripts and workflows. MS Dynamics for example has an extensive workflow engine. As does Oracle CRM On Demand. Sage’s CRM systems (SageCRM and SalesLogix), while they have workflow, are more inclined towards server scripts as the technical solution to business process automation (BPA).

Workflow processes are not as descriptive as script, and so they may require extra steps to complete the same action, which means more time. The complexity of the loop design may also affect the speed of workflow. Workflow is fairly inflexible which makes it less powerful than scripting, and it cannot (typically) perform complex data verification processes.

We are big fans of Orbis TaskCentre a Business Process Automation (BPA) tool which allows us to access information in (more of less) any location or system, run through several steps of business logic and transformation and then output into any number of different ways (including SQL, FTP, HTML, Crystal Reports, Excel etc.). TaskCentre isn’t actually part of any particular CRM system and there are plenty of organisations who use it purely to automate cross-company processes and information requirements.

However…

It’s important to remember that whenever hardware or software is added or upgraded, the workflow(s) may need to be rewritten to take the change in architecture into account, which can be time consuming. That said, with something like TaskCentre, it takes less time to test workflow logic, because the design is done through a tool and is therefore simpler and more user friendly than trying to wade through pages of code.

Scripting and bespoke apps for business logic and process automation

Bespoke scripting and apps designed for specific business requirements have the advantage that they are just that : designed with one purpose. This means that there’s minimal overhead in terms of hard drive space, server memory, processor time and indeed pretty much everything.

However, like the mobile phone; single function devices are on the way out. Are scripts and bespoke apps going to follow the same path? Scripts can be more expensive to create and maintain than workflow. Production workflow systems are particularly inexpensive due to being built into the solution, though excellent systems like Orbis TaskCentre can (and we do) be used for cross system workflow and BPA.

Bespoke scripts and apps can very neatly and effectively solve specific business problems, but what happens when the business changes and those problems are no longer problems? The script or app must be re-written or at least decommissioned both of which will cost.

The other big problem with bespoke scripts and apps is the same problem companies implementing “open source” CRM systems face : what happens when the company or personnel that wrote the custom code moves on? They’re left with a solution that is no longer a solution : it’s a problem and now they have to find another company or team to undo or replace it.

There are reasons that workflow can be a good choice for defining the rules and logic for your operational CRM processes. Workflow monitoring and event logging is more useful than instrumentation that has been built in to script which has to be costed and built into a bespoke script further adding to the cost of the initial build.

Decision time

The decision to go with workflow over script needs to take into consideration how the system will be used, who is going to maintain it, how often business logic and requirements change and the available technological architecture available to run it.

We have written both bespoke scripts and applications as well as utilising workflow and BPA tools such as TaskCentre for clients across many different requirements and industry sectors.
If you would like a free consultation on your business requirements, please fill in your details and we’ll be in touch to arrange a meeting with you today.