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Salesforce, one of the largest American cloud computing companies specializing in customer relationship management software, faced a significant challenge during their annual event, Dreamforce, in 2009. The event, which hosted over 19,000 attendees at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center, included an 'Appy Awards' ceremony where Salesforce.com annually recognizes the best apps of the year. A few weeks before the event, Salesforce decided to add an 'audience choice' category to the awards ceremony. However, the short notice left little time to set up a conventional voting process that would have required lengthy and detailed planning with carriers and long-term commitments. Salesforce needed a solution that could be developed quickly and integrated into their existing workflow, allowing for real-time tallying of results.

The Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP), a non-profit organization, was grappling with the challenge of streamlining the education-compliance full audit process that its school staff underwent every five years, as well as an annual self-monitoring process across its 78 schools. The workload associated with responding to this audit placed significant pressure on teaching staff, administrators, and principals. The process was time-consuming, requiring manual filling out of spreadsheets and emailing them to the education office. Additionally, compliance requirements were ambiguous and often interpreted differently. With 78 Catholic schools in the Diocese, four early learning centers, and a total student population of over 43,000, managing schools and delivering student outcomes was complex and expensive. CEDP needed a solution to reduce staff stress levels, save time, and improve accuracy.

DMS Health Technologies, a provider of medical equipment and diagnostic imaging services, was grappling with paper-based processes that were causing significant delays in productivity. These processes were related to core business functions such as HR, inventory management, accounting, and scheduling. The approval process for large capital expenditures was time-consuming, often taking weeks, and stakeholders were uncertain about the consistency and accuracy of the information they received. Confidential patient data was circulated via fax and manually input into the DMS database, leading to data input errors that needed to be rectified later. The paper-based processes for tracking assets and inventory were cumbersome, resulting in further delays and inaccuracies. DMS had previously attempted to automate processes using Microsoft SharePoint Designer but found it difficult to use and ultimately abandoned the effort. The company was in dire need of an easy-to-use workflow solution that could securely automate paper-based processes, save time, and reduce or eliminate data input errors.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company based in Switzerland, was grappling with an inefficient, paper-based travel approval process. The company's employees found the process stressful and time-consuming, often leading to backlogs and delays in approvals. The manual process was not only slow but also prone to errors, causing further delays. Managers could only approve travel requests when physically present in the office, leading to last-minute approvals, sometimes just hours before the scheduled travel. Additionally, the administrative staff faced difficulties in producing documentation for reports or compliance audits as all travel paperwork was stored as hard copies. The company needed a solution that would digitize and automate its travel approval workflows, enable remote approvals, and simplify the process of searching for and accessing documentation.

FEGRO/SELGROS, a retail company based in the United States, was grappling with inefficient paper-based processes that lacked central control over procedures. This made it challenging for employees to ascertain if they were using the most recent version of a process. Moreover, tracking the progress of a process or ensuring its timely completion was virtually impossible. The company had developed a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to cover various employee activities, but it lacked a system for updating these procedures. Many of the procedures required employees to print out forms and circulate them to managers for approval. These paper-based approval processes were slowing decision making and decreasing productivity.

The National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) was grappling with a significant workflow challenge. The organization was dealing with a vast number of processes and a severe shortage of available resources. The Head of IT, Jayesh Jina, was in search of an efficient way to automate processes and empower employees to create their own workflows easily and independently. NMISA was struggling with a lack of IT resources, automated systems, and risk and compliance solutions. The organization found that out-of-the-box SharePoint workflows were very tedious to build and manage. NMISA was in need of an integrated solution that would speed up the development of workflows, and provide a more professional email interface for tasks and approvals.

Mitchells & Butlers, the UK’s largest operator of managed restaurants and pubs, was facing a significant challenge with its paper-based system. The company’s retail business managers (RBMs) were spending between 30 and 60 hours every three months reviewing safety paperwork for each of the company's 1,700 restaurants, pubs, and bars. This paperwork included forms for pre-opening checks, closing checks, health and safety inspections, cleaning schedules for storerooms and kitchens, general manager’s checklists, corrective action lists, and more. This process was not only time-consuming but also took the RBMs away from their primary responsibilities of interacting with customers and ensuring the quality of food and service. In total, they were inspecting 3 million pieces of paper per year, which was a significant drain on their time and resources.

Premier Oil, a global oil and gas company, was grappling with the complexity and inefficiency of their existing document management process. The company's document controller was inundated with a constant flow of requests for permission, information, and documents, and was tasked with managing document numbers listed on a master document. The document coding was neither intuitive nor understood by the offshore workforce who needed access. The document controller also spent countless hours sending permission requests up to management in several departments. Additionally, the company needed to improve document security to ensure that proprietary information was not shared more widely, especially considering that Premier Oil employs up to 100 contractors and vendors offshore on a typical day.

Home Group, a UK-based social enterprise and charity, was facing inefficiencies within its call center processes. Non-specialist staff were at risk of sending incorrect information to customers, leading to unnecessary repair visits. The training time for new employees was also ineffective and relied heavily on face-to-face meetings. The organization was struggling with managing the logistics of servicing over 120,000 customers and dealing with over 24,000 repair calls every month. The lack of a standardized and efficient system led to multiple visits from maintenance vendors, even when there was nothing to be fixed, resulting in unnecessary costs.

Grupa LOTOS, a rapidly growing oil and gas producer in Europe, was facing challenges in managing its brand assets. These assets were used extensively in marketing materials, online, on gas stations, sponsorships, and more. The company wanted to establish a consistent brand identity, including a logo and brand voice, that would express the essence of the rapidly expanding firm. However, the complexity of Grupa LOTOS, a combination of 14 companies in Poland, Norway, and Lithuania, made the previous paper-based brand management system of 48 printed brand identity books impossible to manage. These books changed frequently, leading to rising paper costs and management difficulties. The company needed a solution that could handle a multitude of requests in a broad range of situations, from displaying the logo on a race car in a high-profile sports event to using company graphics in a sales brochure.

The New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS), an organization with 450 stations and up to 8,000 full-time and volunteer staff, was struggling with manual, paper-based processes that were causing errors and delays in their operations. The management of critical information was a significant issue as documents and essential data were being routed by hand for input and approvals, then stored by a variety of people on a wide range of network drives, on computers and in physical locations. This system was not only inefficient but also siloed, making it difficult to manage, share, organize, and access life-saving information. The need for workflow automation had become both a necessity and a priority for the organization.

Applied Technical Services (ATS), a leading testing, inspection and consulting engineering firm in North America, was facing a significant challenge in managing its data and information. With a year-over-year growth of 15-to-20 percent, more than 700 employees dispersed among 28 locations, and thousands of active projects, the company's information management approach was no longer serving its needs. Information storage had become fractured and inconsistent among departments, and the lack of clear, consistent process and data workflows were impeding operating efficiency. The firm also wanted to overhaul its legacy internal portal, building a home page for each department with document storage centralized within the system, and to create a customer portal.

Wataniya Mobile, a telecommunications provider in the Palestinian Territories, was struggling with a cumbersome and inefficient process of handling various business operations. These operations ranged from complex HR approvals to marketing requests and finance needs. The company was relying on a combination of emails, phone calls, and in-person conversations, which proved to be time-consuming and unwieldy. The endless string of process-related emails and phone calls was interfering with serving Wataniya’s clients effectively. The company was also spending a significant amount of time and money on these processes, which was affecting its bottom line. The challenge was to streamline these processes and improve efficiency without compromising on quality, security, and user satisfaction.

Ufone, a telecommunications company based in Pakistan, was seeking a more efficient workflow solution for its human resources/administration, finance, and network management teams. Despite having an ERP solution for core products, the company needed a solution that was easier to implement. The company's General Manager of IT Development and Governance, Asad Mohsin, was tasked with finding a solution that would facilitate smoother internal transactions, save time, and increase visibility. The company's Technical Project Management Office also faced challenges in tracking progress on mobile network rollouts due to limitations of their desktop-based legacy application.

The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF), a government-funded organization, was facing significant challenges in managing its internal documents and streamlining the onboarding process for its staff and members. The organization, which manages sports organizations and clubs for all of Norway, had to maintain communications across 100 internet sites for its 3.5 million members, 90 percent of whom are children. Prior to the upgrade, NIF was using SharePoint 2003, last updated in 2006, and an old document system, Hummingbird, which was inefficient and posed a security risk as documents were often stored on hard drives, Dropbox, or email. The IT department was struggling with managing approximately 100 sub-companies with an equal number of email domains. The organization needed a solution that was consistent, easy to use, and did not require a lot of custom code or IT help.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport (DoT) was grappling with the challenges of rapid development and the need to protect the interests of local and international stakeholders. The DoT was using an outdated 2007 SharePoint server and an aging intranet portal for data sharing and information access. The 800-plus staff had to rely on paper documents and emails for various processes such as booking conference rooms, requesting visas, changing documents, or ordering office supplies. The approval process was cumbersome, involving printing and circulating documents through multiple approval cycles. This manual process led to unintentional errors and wasted time spent tracking the location and status of important documents, resulting in a significant drop in productivity.

The Eagle River Water & Sanitation District, a government organization based in Vail, Colorado, was struggling with inefficient paper-based processes. The District oversees public water and wastewater treatment systems across 54,000 acres in the eastern part of Colorado’s Eagle County, serving a customer base of 10,000 with a staff of only four in the Lab Department. The manual data entry, hand-written forms, and traditional phone and email communication were not only time-consuming but also expensive, consuming resources equivalent to a full-time employee annually. The District archived its paper documents in a remote warehouse, which was 18 miles away, necessitating a 30-minute drive each way. Locating specific documents in the warehouse was a daunting task, often requiring staff to sift through 10 years' worth of boxed-up paper. The manual nature of these processes led to delays, user errors, and quality assurance risks that the organization could no longer tolerate.

Consolidated Power Project (Pty) Ltd (CONCO), a South African energy company, was facing significant challenges in managing its operations. The company was struggling with manual-laden permission processes and reporting, particularly in areas with unreliable electrical and Internet infrastructure. This was a significant issue as CONCO's work involves designing and installing high-voltage power lines and substations in rural areas, where the danger of electrocution is always present. The company needed to ensure that employees were up-to-date on their certifications, which was a matter of life or death. Furthermore, the company was also dealing with the challenge of managing over 300 tenders a year using file servers and folders. Securing new projects required providing proof of the required certifications for any employees slated to do work, adding to the complexity of the process.

Landis+Gyr, a smart-grid and smart-metering company, was facing a significant challenge with its user provisioning process. The company's in-house IT system included forms for requesting new user accounts, but the manual entry of account provisioning led to inconsistent metadata in Active Directory accounts. The system also failed to address the back-and-forth communication with new employees, help desk tickets, and the various tasks involved in setting up a user account. These tasks could delay the onboarding of an employee, a critical issue given the company's growth and expansion into 30 countries. The company's help desk employees were also burdened with these tasks, diverting their attention from other important projects.

Rosetti Marino Group, a global provider of construction and engineering services for gas, oil, and ship-building companies, was facing challenges in managing large-scale, complex projects. The company was transitioning from Lotus Notes to SharePoint and realized the need for automated workflows to streamline project site permissions and document management. The process of creating project sites and assigning permissions was time-consuming and prone to errors. Moreover, the document approval process was inefficient, with documents often sitting on desks or in email inboxes for days or weeks awaiting approval.

Muntajat, a Qatar-based company responsible for the marketing, sales, and distribution of 10 million tons of chemicals and petrochemicals to 120 countries, was grappling with inefficient, paper-based, and partially digitized processes. The company was dealing with a challenging SAP interface and manual approvals, which were causing delays and inaccuracies. The manual processes were particularly cumbersome in the HR department, where employees had to use paper-based forms for various requests, including leave, exit permits, and travel authorization. The process was time-consuming and prone to errors, with employees often using outdated forms and having to restart the approval process. The company needed a solution to streamline these processes, reduce lead times, and enhance the customer experience.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh was grappling with inefficient manual processes that were consuming a significant amount of employee time. The organization's procurement team was handling over 1,000 requests annually, with each request requiring up to 33 steps from initiation to approval. Additionally, staff had to manually update vendor information 10 to 20 times a day to ensure timely payments and service continuity. These time-consuming processes were diverting resources away from the organization's core mission of addressing gender inequality, poverty, and other challenges in Bangladesh. The organization realized the need for automated workflow processes but was deterred by the high costs associated with hiring an in-house developer or an external consultant.

SOHO Realty, a full-service boutique real estate brokerage, was facing challenges in managing its sales and marketing processes. The agency was already using dotloop, a transaction management tool, for managing electronic signatures and other documentation needs. However, it was not a complete solution. The agency needed a more comprehensive system to automate the delivery of documents, track the status of tasks in the home buying and selling process, and manage incoming leads from both buyers and sellers. The existing system was not efficient enough to ensure proper and fast follow-ups. Moreover, the agency wanted to make the home buying process less complicated and easier for its clients, who were mostly first-time buyers.

World Vision New Zealand, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funds for children and families in need around the world, was facing a significant challenge in managing their processes and risks. Their processes were documented in multiple locations and their risk register was managed via Excel spreadsheets. This fragmented approach made it difficult to ascertain whether effective processes and controls were in place, and it hindered adherence and accountability. The organization needed a more efficient and centralized system to manage their processes and risks, and to ensure better visibility and accountability.

Villa Maria, New Zealand's most awarded wine company, faced a significant challenge in managing its operations across multiple sites and a fluctuating workforce. The company operates across five main winery sites, 14+ vineyards, domestic sales offices, and overseas markets with a growing team of export managers. The staff numbers range from 300 permanent staff up to 500 over vintage/harvest periods. The challenge was to move from quality control to quality assurance, focusing on individual teams, experts, and department ownership. This required a system that was easy to use and could capture not only the information but any changes required for audits. The company needed to ensure stress-free audits, ISO 9001 and health & safety compliance, improved process ownership and empowerment, and ease of process and change management.

Transdev Auckland, a transport company operating the rail service on behalf of Auckland Transport, faced a significant challenge. The company, which employs about 580 staff and serves thousands of Aucklanders weekly, needed an integrated, easy-to-use process management system that could be customized to suit its purposes and keep everything transparent. The company's processes and systems needed to be seamless to ensure staff and customer safety and manage numerous ongoing projects. Furthermore, the senior management had given the Transdev Auckland team a directive to achieve certification of five international standards within a one-year time frame. The company's existing system was described as messy, clunky, and not monitored, which posed a significant hurdle to achieving these goals.

The Tararua District Council was facing a significant challenge in managing their processes. They discovered discrepancies between their perceived processes and the actual ones. This was causing issues in compliance, risk management, and overall efficiency. The council was also struggling with the induction process for new councilors, which led to misunderstandings and errors. For instance, an issue arose when three councilors were not properly briefed on the council’s Iwi relationships. The council was also grappling with the need for frequent changes in legislation, which necessitated quick updates to their processes. Traditional flowchart systems were proving to be time-consuming and expensive for these updates.

Hillphoenix, a leading manufacturer of commercial refrigerated display cases and industrial refrigeration systems, was struggling with its line inspection process. The process was manual, paper-based, and relied heavily on the memory and experience of the inspectors. This resulted in a cumbersome process that was difficult to track, increased the risk of errors, wasted inspection time with paper forms, limited tracking records, necessitated hefty excel files, and delayed reporting. The lack of standardized terminology for defects and the reliance on handwritten notes further complicated the process. The company's First Pass Yield (FPY) goal was dependent on recognizing defects as quickly as possible, but the existing process posed a risk of inaccurate inspection data and inconsistency in the inspection process.

Fulton County School System, one of the oldest and largest school districts in Georgia, was facing a significant challenge in streamlining its operations. With over 14,000 full-and part-time employees and approximately 96,700 students across 105 schools, the school system was struggling with inefficient processes, particularly in the application process for its STEAM program. The application process was paper-based, which was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors and miscommunications. Parents had to fill out a two-page paper form and return it to the program coordinator, who then had to manually review all applications and individually contact parents regarding their child's acceptance status. This process was particularly burdensome for the program coordinator, who also held a full-time position as the school's assistant principal. Each year, more than 200 applications were submitted, and the review, approval, and parent correspondence were all managed manually.

Genesis Energy, a state-owned generator and retailer of electricity, gas, and LPG in New Zealand, faced a significant challenge when it decided to bring its externally contracted contact center in-house. The company was at risk of losing valuable corporate knowledge during this transition. Additionally, Genesis Energy was grappling with the complexity of its processes, which often included a mix of low and high-level steps with no clear divide. The company also had to deal with wide variations in processes across its multiple geographical sites, leading to inconsistencies and inefficiencies. The challenge was to capture and retain the corporate knowledge, simplify and standardize the processes, and eliminate regional variations.