Note: This article was originally published on my previous blog ProcessRamblings.com.

Mobile devices have become an integral part of our daily lives. They have changed our habits, the way we connect and communicate, and get stuff done. With each passing day more and more organizations are trying to support those habits, by bringing work to mobile devices. Hence the organization-wide initiatives like Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) also known as Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP).

As a result, in order to cater to these changes in the way organizations work, quite a few BPM vendors have launched or are working on their versions of Mobile BPM. Currently, the solutions are a mix of Native Apps and Web Mobile Platforms.

Web Mobile Platform

  • Apps are built using standard HTML, and a fine-tuned version of the app can be used on the mobile device e.g. http://mobile.bpmvendor.com. These are device and operating system independent so can be accessed from any device with a web browser.
  • The look and feel are similar to a web-based application.
  • Since these are not native apps so performance may vary on different devices.

Native Apps

  • Apps are built specifically for a mobile operating system (iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry etc.).
  • Use native features of the mobile operating system and the look and feel is similar to other apps on the device.
  • Since these are native, so performance has been given a lot of thought.

Vendors List

Here is a list of various BPM vendors (in no specific order) who claim to have a Mobile BPM offering. Links to their apps (if available) have also been provided.

Apart from the BPM vendors, there are of course various consulting companies who work with their customers to build process-specific apps.

Disclaimer: This is a work in progress list, and will continuously be updated for additions and changes. Please share the link to any BPMS that might not have been included in the above list.