Review of BPM systems: how to automate processes, speed up approvals and assess the ROI of solutions in practice.
70% of companies in CIS lose money to routine work: requests get stuck in legal, contracts disappear in email threads, and employees do the same work twice. There is a solution: BPM systems cut approval times by 50% and save businesses millions. Here is our top 5 list for CIS companies: what these solutions are, how they work, and how they have proven their effectiveness in practice.
A BPM system is a software platform for managing business processes.
It automates routine work, improves collaboration between departments and increases operational transparency.
In other words: instead of emailing contracts back and forth and chasing reminders in chats, the system routes tasks to the right employees itself, tracks deadlines and keeps the history.
When a company should consider BPM: -
Processes become complex and confusing. -
Frequent errors, failures, and information loss occur. -
The team spends a lot of time on routine work and approvals. -
Difficult to track task deadlines and KPIs. -
The business grows, and old management methods stop working.
You draw a process diagram (for example, discount approval).
Routes the document through the workflow: manager -> lawyer -> director. -
Tracks deadlines: if a lawyer has not replied within 8 hours, it sends a reminder. -
Result: processes speed up by 30-50%, and managers see weak points in real time.
Choosing a platform affects business performance for years to come. The wrong decision will waste time and money and still fail to deliver the needed result. To avoid mistakes, evaluate systems against specific, measurable criteria: Scalability. Make sure the solution can handle company growth - more users, higher load, and more complex processes. Check the architecture: cloud (SaaS) systems scale more easily. Review implementation cases in companies of your size.
Make sure the system will not need a full replacement in 1-2 years. Flexibility. Check whether processes can be changed without programmers. Look for a visual drag-and-drop builder where business analysts configure forms, routes, and logic themselves. That way, they can make process changes in 1-2 days without developers - IT does not waste time on routine tasks, and changes are not delayed. Integrations. Check whether the platform will connect to your CRM, ERP, 1C, email, and telephony.
Look for ready-made connectors for your key systems - this will save months of work. Make sure the API allows you to build custom integrations when needed. Integrations with internal systems make it possible to transfer customer, order, and payment data automatically, without manual entry or the risk of errors. Modeling and analysis. The solution should include a convenient editor for drawing process diagrams in the BPMN 2.0 standard - a common language for business and IT.
Check whether the platform lets you not only draw but also simulate a process: run it virtually with different parameters (load, stage duration) to find bottlenecks in advance and assess the effect of changes before deployment. Monitoring and analytics (Process Mining). Require dashboards with KPIs: errors, execution time, employee workload. Process Mining is a must: the technology analyzes actual data, finds deviations and growth points. Without it, optimization runs "blind." Mobility.
Make sure there is a mobile app: the team should be able to view tasks, approve documents, receive notifications and track process statuses. This matters especially for managers on the move, sales reps and shop-floor employees. Security. Check whether the system meets the requirements of Federal Law GDPR: personal data protection and access control. This protects the business from Roskomnadzor fines (up to RUB 500,000) and loss of customer information.
Ask about data backup and recovery. Total cost of ownership. Include in the budget: implementation, customizations, annual support, training, servers (for on-premise). Compare total costs over 3-5 years. Sometimes an expensive system is cheaper in the long run. Support and community. Check for CIS-language support (SLA), communication channels, and documentation. An active community means dozens of ready-made templates, answers to rare questions, and help from other users without waiting for support.
Localization for CIS. Domestic platforms (ELMA, Comindware) guarantee CIS-language support, integration with 1C/SBIS/Kontur and compliance with CIS law. All of this reduces import substitution risks. After analyzing the market, expert reviews (on CNews, RB.ru, TAdviser) and deployment experience, we selected 5 examples of BPM systems for CIS companies. Let us look at each solution in more detail.
One of the best-known low-code platforms.
It brings tasks, projects, documents and correspondence into a single window.
You draw process diagrams with a visual editor using the BPMN 2.0 standard, without developers, and connect 1C without complex integrations. In ELMA365, you can automate almost any process, from invoice approvals to hiring. Benefits: -
Deep integration with 1C saves development budget. -
Ready-made templates for retail, manufacturing, and services speed up implementation. -
Fully localized in CIS: interface, documentation, 24/7 support without delays. - Business analysts configure forms and logic without programmers. -
Complies with CIS laws (Federal Law 152, Federal Law 223). Drawbacks: -
Complex interface for beginners: training is required. -
Slow support on the basic plan. -
Requires server infrastructure (on-premise) or a cloud subscription.
The price of the basic system edition (core for up to 50 users) starts at RUB 300,000 per year. Add modules on top: document management (+RUB 150,000), project management (+RUB 120,000) or Process Mining (+RUB 200,000).
Initial deployment costs at least RUB 500,000.
It is more cost-effective to choose a cloud subscription - it is 20-30% cheaper than an on-premise installation. ELMA365 suits small, medium, and large companies. These include: -
Companies using 1C that need end-to-end automation. -
Manufacturing companies, retail, logistics. - Organizations that need support for CIS laws (Federal Law 152, Federal Law 223).
The system lets you build business applications through a low-code interface without deep programming skills.
You can configure forms, business rules and integrations visually through the builder.
All projects, tasks, and data in one window.
No need to switch between systems. Comindware automatically transfers data from ERP and 1C.
Everything updates automatically, without manual entry, so employees always work with current information. Benefits: -
Flexibly adapts processes to changing conditions (for example, approvals in holding companies). -
Reduces application development time by 3-5x thanks to low-code. -
Integrates data from ERP, ERP, and 1C through ready-made connectors. -
Does not require advanced programming for customizations. Drawbacks: -
Hard to learn: training takes 2-4 weeks. -
Not suitable for simple tasks - too much functionality.
The basic Comindware edition for 50 users starts at RUB 500,000 per year.
Initial deployment costs at least RUB 1,000,000.
A cloud subscription costs 15% more than an on-premise installation on your own servers.
The solution suits large businesses (500+ employees) with complex processes: R&D, multi-tier logistics and frequently changing regulations.
If your processes do not fit the templates, this platform adapts them in days.
Directum RX combines ECM and BPM in a single platform.
You configure workflows in a visual designer using the BPMN 2.0 standard - this speeds up process setup and makes maintenance easier.
The system ensures long-term, secure record keeping (Records Management) per legal requirements, and provides tools for flexible handling of non-standard tasks, such as complex customer cases.
The platform integrates with enterprise systems: 1C, MS Office, email services, and industry solutions (GIS Housing and Utilities, EGISZ). Advantages: -
One of the strongest EDM systems on the market, tightly integrated with BPM. -
Meets strict regulator requirements (FSTEC, FSB) and is suitable for state secrets. -
Easily integrates with corporate IT systems. Drawbacks: -
Difficult to implement and configure (requires highly skilled partners/internal IT). -
Focused on large enterprises: less relevant and cost-inefficient for small companies.
Price depends on project scale and deployment model.
The on-premise version requires significant upfront investment: license and implementation costs start at several million rubles. For example, implementation for 50 users with basic document workflow starts at 3 million rubles.
The solution suits large and very large businesses (banks, insurers, industrial holdings, energy), government agencies and companies with elevated security and document management requirements.
A popular cloud platform that combines a wide set of tools for collaboration, communications and management.
It includes a simplified visual process builder for configuring workflows without extensive training.
Here it is easy to create tasks, manage projects with Kanban boards and Gantt charts, run CRM, make calls, chat, and hold video conferences. Bitrix24 offers basic document workflow, cloud storage (Drive), a website builder, and marketing tools. Benefits: -
Free plan for small teams (up to 12 users). -
Intuitive interface, quick start. -
Solves many communication and management tasks without integrations. -
No need to spend on your own servers or administration. Drawbacks: -
Process functionality is simpler than in specialized BPM systems and does not support full BPMN 2.0. -
Complex, non-standard processes are harder to configure here than in ELMA or Comindware.
The platform offers a free plan for teams of up to 12 users.
Paid subscriptions start at RUB 5,900 per month (up to 24 users), while top cloud plans for an unlimited number of employees reach around RUB 119,000 per month.
Bitrix24 is used by small and mid-sized businesses (up to 100-200 employees), startups, and teams that need an affordable, simple tool to automate standard processes (approvals, requests, simple workflows) together with CRM and communications.
The system lets you draw processes with the mouse in a free builder.
Once the diagram is ready, it can be launched to the cloud: Bizagi automatically creates the workflow.
The solution integrates easily with popular RPA platforms - for example, it connects bots for data transfer or document checks. Bizagi saves time on routine work: standard document or request approvals can be set up in 1-2 days. Advantages: - Modeler is available for free download. -
The editor interface is intuitive, and most users understand it within 1 day without training. -
The cloud version (Studio) can be configured in weeks without involving programmers. -
RPA bots can be connected to processes in 2 clicks, saving up to 70% of the budget on system integration. Drawbacks: -
Limited analytics: complex reports require custom work. - Scalability: the cloud gets more expensive with 100+ users. -
Weak support for mobile employees. -
Not suitable for processes with unique logic.
The cloud version costs from $20 per user per month.
A team of 20 will need to pay about $400 per month - that is cheaper than employing another person.
The on-premise version requires a one-time $50,000 payment and is best for companies with more than 100 users.
The system suits small and medium enterprises (up to 250 employees) starting with automation: startups, trading companies and manufacturers with clear, repetitive operations.
Let's look at a few examples.
Alfa-Bank faced long review times for small business loan applications - the process took up to 5 days. ELMA365 streamlined approval routes between the lending team, legal, and security. The system connected to the risk assessment database. This reduced application processing from 5 days to 2 days. The number of approved loans increased by 25%, and customers got online status tracking.
Previously, Gazprom's subsidiaries used different document management systems. This caused confusion: contracts were duplicated, lost, and late-payment fines grew. To fix the situation, the holding deployed Directum RX across all branches: it created a central archive, set up end-to-end approvals and integrated the system with ERP to synchronize finances. Semantic search (for example, "How do I get a pass issued?") sped up working with documents.
Results for the year: - Contract approval now takes 10 days instead of 25. - Late penalties fell by 35% (the system automatically reminds users about deadlines). - Data is stored strictly in line with Roskomnadzor requirements. Both examples confirm that BPM implementation directly affects profit and reduces operational risks.
If processes are slowing down operations, customers complain about delays, and employees are buried in routine work, start implementation. The goal is not to "install a system" but to speed up key operations and reduce costs. Here is an action plan for the first 3 months:
Automate the process that hurts the business most. For example, if the sales team loses 30% of orders because price approvals are too slow, start there.
Gather the process participants. Note who does what, where delays happen, and which documents get lost. Measure the timelines (for example: "Approving a commercial proposal currently takes 5 days").
Translate problems into money: "5 days of approval = 20 missed orders per month = 2 million rubles in lost revenue." This will show you the project's ROI.
Get a trial version of a system (ELMA365, Bitrix24 or Directum RX). Configure the selected process in 2-3 weeks. Onboard 5-7 real users.
Measure the result and scale it. Compare metrics before and after: "Approval time dropped from 5 days to 2 days." If the pilot delivered results, roll the system out to other processes. Do not forget to assign someone responsible for BPM development in the company. Important: run the pilot in 3-4 weeks. If the platform does not deliver results within 30 days, try another one. For example, a building materials manufacturer started by automating product returns. The Bitrix24 pilot took 3 weeks. As a result, complaint handling time fell from 7 days to 8 hours.
After that, the company rolled out BPM to the procurement department and logistics.
No, they are different system classes. ERP manages resources (finance, inventory), while BPM manages workflows: task routes, approvals, and human interactions.
The systems complement each other: for example, BPM automates the purchase approval process using data from 1C.
How long does the system implementation process take?
Implementation timelines depend on complexity: automating 1-2 processes in Bitrix24 will take 1-3 months, while a full ELMA rollout in a large company will take 6-12 months.
A pilot project is usually delivered in 1-2 months.
Can BPM be implemented in-house by your own IT team, without involving a vendor?
For Bitrix24, a strong in-house IT specialist is enough.
For ELMA, Directum RX, or Comindware, it is better to involve certified partners - without BPM methodology expertise, the risk of errors is high.
What is the ROI of implementing a BPM system?
Savings come from shorter process times (20-40%), lower labor costs (up to 50%) and reduced penalties.
Most companies recoup their implementation costs within 1–3 years.
Do you have to know BPMN to work with BPM?
BPMN basics are useful for business analysts and administrators when setting up complex scenarios, but modern process designers are intuitive.
Will employees be able to master the solution quickly?
Definitely - if you choose a platform with an intuitive interface (for example, Bitrix24).
ELMA or Directum RX will require training - 2-4 hours for users, up to 3 days for administrators.
Easy. For example, in Comindware or ELMA, you can set up a new workflow in an hour without a developer.
If the sales team changes the discount approval rules, just drag the stages in the designer.
BPM system ranking for 2025 - we analyze market leaders based on financial and operational value for business. Learn how to properly design and develop BPM here.
