CSC Author Redefines Competitive Advantage: New Book Describes Breakthrough in Process Technology, Outlines Path to Unprecedented Agility
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 10, 2002 — Heralding the new source of competitive advantage for businesses, Computer Sciences Corporation’s Howard Smith and author Peter Fingar describe the most important new breakthrough in computing technology in two decades in their new book, “Business Process Management: The Third Wave.” This groundbreaking work provides business leaders a clear understanding of how entire business processes can for the first time be made self-automating and self-optimizing, and how organizations can use business processes to achieve unprecedented operational and competitive advantage.
Until now, businesses have found it difficult to change processes quickly because the underlying technology was inflexible and unable to adapt to sudden needs. Smith, chief technology officer for CSC in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, observed, “With BPM, change is no longer the enemy; it’s your friend, the very source of your advantage.”
Previous efforts at business process change started with diagrams on conference room walls that were converted into business capabilities only with great effort and long development times. Now BPM systems can not only capture and codify how new processes will work, but effect their immediate implementation. This means that non-technical functional and line managers can sit down and make process changes instantaneously, without relying on lengthy implementation efforts. BPM systems accomplish this by unifying disparate systems and orchestrating all activities via a virtual management layer that rides on top of the software components and systems most businesses have in place already.
“The promise of new technologies to improve business performance cannot be fulfilled without understanding how to effectively manage the underlying business processes,” said Andy Efstathiou, program manager at the Yankee Group. “CSC has been a leader in the field of business process management for many years and this book represents their latest thinking on this critical subject.”
“BPM is a major technological breakthrough that revolutionizes the way business is conducted,” said Smith. “CSC is at the forefront of its development and use. We are a founding member of BPMI.org, we’ve developed advanced methods for implementing BPM systems, and we’ve already delivered BPM functionality to clients worldwide.”
“Business Process Management: The Third Wave” is published by Meghan-Kiffer Press and is available now through major booksellers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.bpm3.com .
About the Authors
Howard Smith is CSC’s chief technology officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and co-chair of the Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI.org). With more than 24 years in the IT industry, he is a sought-after speaker and advisor. His work in predicting and shaping technology at the intersection with business led him to take an active role in the development and application of the third wave concept. He is currently researching the application of business process management to corporate sustainability, innovation and growth, for which he has global research and development responsibility at CSC.
Peter Fingar is an executive partner with the digital strategy firm, the Greystone Group. He delivers keynotes worldwide and is author of the best-selling books, “The Death of ‘e’ and the Birth of the Real New Economy” and “Enterprise E-Commerce.” Throughout his 30-year career he has taught graduate and undergraduate computing studies and held management, technical and consulting positions with GTE Data Services, Saudi Aramco, the Technical Resource Connection division of Perot Systems and IBM Global Services. He has also served as chief information officer for the University of Tampa.
About CSC
Founded in 1959, Computer Sciences Corporation is one of the world’s leading IT services companies. CSC’s mission is to provide customers in industry and government with solutions crafted to meet their specific challenges and enable them to profit from the advanced use of technology.
With more than 65,000 employees, CSC provides innovative solutions for customers around the world by applying leading technologies and CSC’s own advanced capabilities. These include systems design and integration; IT and business process outsourcing; applications software development; Web and application hosting; and management consulting. Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., CSC reported revenue of $11.4 billion for the 12 months ended Sept. 27, 2002. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.csc.com.
