Workflow automation

Use workflow components to optimize core business processes.

These are the workflow patterns available in IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation:
IBM Business Automation Workflow

Optimize core business processes with Business Automation Workflow. Workflow automation orchestrates multiple business processes (straight-through, human-assisted, or case management) within operations and provides visibility into each step.

Workflow applications improve productivity and streamline daily business operations. Workflow applications have four main components:

  • An authoring environment to create and configure the application.
  • Frameworks or models for sequencing and delegating work. With Business Automation Workflow, the models can be either structured processes or unstructured cases. You can choose your model based on the pattern of your workflow and not be limited to a case or a process.
  • A user experience for interacting with the application. To provide consistent user experiences, standardized workflows can be reused across the organization.
  • Administrative tools for optimizing how the application runs, deploying new versions, and managing security.

For an overview of Business Automation Workflow in IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation, see IBM Business Automation Workflow.

For how to and reference information, see Workflow automation.

Workflow Authoring is fully compatible with the container-supported functionality that is provided in the traditional on-premises Process Designer and Case Builder. You can move your IBM Business Automation Workflow projects into Business Automation Studio and continue to develop them. See Moving from on-premises Business Automation Workflow to Cloud Pak for Business Automation.

You can also install projects directly from Workflow Center in the traditional Business Automation Workflow to the workflow server in Cloud Pak for Business Automation.

A picture showing Workflow Designer and Business Automaton Studio, with arrows from Business Automation Studio to the Workflow Center Server in the development environment and to Workflow Server in the runtime environment.

For information about the traditional on-premises Business Automation Workflow, see IBM Business Automation Workflow.

IBM Workflow Process Service

Workflow Process Service is a process capability with a smaller footprint and resource usage for authoring and running processes. The service is offered as part of IBM Cloud Pak® for Business Automation.

Workflow Process Service provides an entry point to the IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation, with the following advantages:
  • A fit for purpose BPMN process capability with a smaller footprint and fewer dependencies to create, deploy, use, and manage processes that require only process features and do not require case features.
  • The ability to use process skills that developers are familiar with from Business Automation Workflow.
  • OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) features of auto-scaling, High Availability (HA), and multi-zone regions (MZR).

You can try out Workflow Process Service by setting up and using Workflow Process Service Trial on the Docker environment or the Podman environment. Download the trial from this site: Workflow Process Service Trial

For more information, see IBM Workflow Process Service.