Business Process Management: Colosa Launches Open Source Workflow Solution For Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises

Colosa, a developer of business process management (BPM) software that enables small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to simplify workflow through the capture and automation of paper-based processes, has announced the launch of its open source solution, ProcessMaker OSS version 1.0.

ProcessMaker OSS is an AJAX enabled, web-based software tool that allows private and public organizations to automate document intensive, approval-based processes across systems including finance, HR and operations. It allows users across multiple sites to create and share workflows, customize forms, manage processes, and enhance reporting.

It is designed for small and medium businesses that need to cost-effectively streamline custom business processes such as:

• Admin and finance - credit applications, purchase requests, claims forms;
• Operations - helpdesk requests/responses, inspection forms, survey forms, access authorization requests, engineering change requests;
• National/municipal government - licensing and permit applications, proposal requests;
• Marketing and sales - marketing funds usage requests and reports, collateral approval, special pricing approval, contract on-boarding, production and management reports;
• Human resources - benefits administration, employee on-boarding, off-boarding and hiring.

ProcessMaker OSS v1.0 is published under the GNU Affero GPL v3 open source license, so the source code is accessible to all users and modifications that meet the licensing requirements are acceptable. The installation process is simple and streamlined through an easy-to-use installer with versions of the software available for both Linux and Windows platforms.

The software is designed with a full service-orientated architecture (SOA) and Web Services interface allowing the software to directly connect with popular customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence (BI), content management (CMS), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. ProcessMaker is an entirely web-based, AJAX-enabled application that is built on the popular open source LAMP (Apache/MySQL/PHP) stack.. Users can design their own forms, documents and business rules in a highly modular environment within the suite. ISVs can integrate ProcessMaker with existing software to add workflow functionality.

To support the new open source version of ProcessMaker, Colosa has modified the software to include features such as the simple installation, a simple-to-use interface design suitable for non-technical business owners and created a portal at www.processmaker.com/community.php that will facilitate communication within the open source community, including forums, wiki documentation, issue tracking, and blogs.

Brian Reale, CEO of Colosa said, "We launched the first version of our enterprise offering, ProcessMaker Enterprise, in 2002 and we have seen a huge uptake from businesses and government organizations that are looking for a way to simplify everyday and mundane business processes. Launching ProcessMaker OSS, which has been designed for SMEs, provides a simple yet powerful way for small to mid-sized businesses to automate and improve their operations - something that was the luxury of large organizations. There is a huge opportunity for workflow solutions within the SME sector and we plan to play a key role in this and to eliminate paperwork as businesses currently know it."

Colosa's Enterprise version of ProcessMaker, ProcessMaker Enterprise, differs from the open source version in that it comes with Colosa direct support and some additional higher-end management functionality such as dashboards and reporting.

About Colosa
Colosa is a developer of software solutions that enable companies to simplify workflow through the capture and automation of business processes.

The company's flagship product, ProcessMaker is available in two versions, a free open source application called ProcessMaker OSS and an Enterprise version called ProcessMaker Enterprise. Both enable SMEs to automate document intensive, approval-based processes across systems including finance, HR and operations. ProcessMaker is an AJAX enabled, web-based application which allows users across single and multiple sites to create and share workflows, customize forms, manage processes, and enhance reporting. ProcessMaker OSS is available for download at www.sourceforge.net/projects/processmaker/ and both versions are available at www.processmaker.com.

Colosa was founded in 2000 and has customers in local and central government, retail and finance. Colosa is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts with offices in Coral Gables, FL; La Paz, Bolivia; and Lima, Peru. For more information visit www.colosa.com

SOURCE: Colosa