What are communication-enabled business processes (CEBP) and communication- enabled business applica

What are communication-enabled business processes (CEBP) and communication- enabled business applica

What are communication-enabled business processes (CEBP) and communication- enabled business applications (CEBA)?

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With the ever increasing focus on unified communications (UC), both CEBP and CEBA seem to get a lot of attention. CEBPs refer to the embedding of UC functions (such as click to call, buddy list, presence, and conferencing) directly into a business process. This could include a number of applications that work together to support a business process.

One example might be the process of filing an auto insurance claim online. In this instance, there may be several applications that come together to fulfill this task. From the web services that front-end the filing input information, to the database that stores the customer-relevant data, to the insurance agent's desktop application that takes the relevant information. Without this process being "communication-enabled," there might be a fair amount of manual intervention or tasks required to quickly and accurately get the claim filed and a claims adjuster out to the customer to assist. By enabling this process, you might be able to deliver functionality such as front-end chat while the person is filling in the claim to assist with any questions. You can also send an automatic notification to the insurance agent that a claim has been filed and a claims adjuster is required. Furthermore, the agent could look at the presence status of the claims adjusters in that area and select the one who is available. There is a business benefit to both the customer and the insurance company in the form of better customer service and quicker resolution of the claim.

CEBA really refers to the enabling of any application with the same UC functions. Let's say an employee works in an SAP portal for manufacturing as the main application. Typically, to start a communication channel, the employee would step outside of that application and engage either a desktop client or device to perform this function. By having the communication functions embedded directly in their application the employee can access their preferred communications channel (IM, voice, email, or even video), determine availability (presence of person they want to reach), and connect with them without needing to know what device their intended contact is using. You can see some similarities between CEBP and CEBA and you can see some of the differences with the examples I provided.

This was first published in May 2009