You may automate business processes and manage workflows with the Camunda BPM tool. Allow us to demonstrate its benefits, potential drawbacks, and available substitutes using our expertise from developing several intricate Camunda-based proof-of-concept systems. These days, workflow and business process management are crucial. Businesses can save time and money by executing BPM (Business Process Management) projects, which increase efficiency for operations involving back-office staff by 30 to 50%, according to a Forrester analysis. The productivity improvements for knowledge workers range from 15 to 30 percent.
In summary, managing your workflows effectively is one of the finest methods to outperform your rivals. You can do that a lot more easily with the use of good software, such as Camunda. This is what we have discovered.
What is Camunda?
A lightweight workflow and decision automation engine called Camunda lets users design and implement process models in several forms. It is effective and includes several capabilities that let users design and control automated workflows. With Camunda, organizations can continuously reduce complexity and boost productivity by orchestrating operations across people, systems, and devices. With Camunda, developers and business users work together with BPMN to model end-to-end processes and execute complex automation at the size, speed, and resilience needed to maintain competitiveness. With Camunda, hundreds of businesses—including Vodafone, ING, and Atlassian—design, coordinate, and enhance mission-critical operations to hasten digital transformation.
Camunda versions
Camunda comes in two variants:
- Camunda 7 product. There is a premium version called Enterprise Edition in addition to the free Community Edition. However, Camunda 8 has mostly taken the role of the latter.
- Camunda 8 is a completely new commercial product that Camunda developed from the ground up. It provides two premium subscriptions starting at $49/month and three pricing tiers, including a limited-time free version.
Which edition to choose?
Camunda 8 is theoretically the more potent choice. But you should use the Community edition of Camunda 7 to create both of your Camunda-based proofs of concept (PoC), and we believe it has all the functionality you need. It offers you everything you need in a BPM system, but it might be a little more difficult to install because it might call for a few workarounds here and there.
Not to mention, Camunda 7’s Full Support will continue until at least April 2027, so you won’t have to worry about falling behind.
Camunda Low-code by any name
CEO and co-founder of Camunda, Jakob Freund, wowed his audience by winning the low-code challenge. You don’t require programmers since low-code BPMS allows you to construct programs without the need for programming. How could anything go wrong, he joked. “Amazon wouldn’t be running their whole platform on low-code if low-code BPMS made sense.”
Ironically, though, there was no doubt that the Camunda Modeler was a low-code product—and with a polished implementation to boot—when Daniel Meyer, the company’s CTO and another co-founder, took the stage and demonstrated it.
As all BPMS products do today, the Modeler offers a low-code visual approach to workflow construction, but it goes one step further by integrating BPMN notation into the visual editor itself, enabling modelers to create BPMN-compliant models with only a cursory understanding of the standard. The way Camunda asks developers to link the models to the functionality they need to automate is where it is blatantly high-code. Camunda prefers to use Spring Boot—a lightweight version of the well-liked Spring Java framework—to implement this kind of functionality since it makes it easier to create production-quality Java apps that stand alone.
The original purpose of Camunda was to allow users to interact with Java directly; during CamundaCon, this was the main factor in users’ decision to use Camunda. However, on rating websites like IT Central Station and TrustRadius, Camunda typically scores worse on the simplicity of constructing such supporting apps when compared to BonitaSoft, another popular open-source BPMS on the market.
Features of the Camunda
Does your development team require any capabilities from Camunda’s platform in order to enhance workflow automation more effectively than with comparable products? Before you delve further into what to anticipate from Camunda, have a look at this extensive list of features.
Built on popular business standards
Standardized notations and procedures are used by business users. However, the average software developer isn’t often aware of how these standards operate or why adhering to them is necessary.
Camunda facilitates developers’ compliance with standards such as:
- Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)
- Decision Model and Notation (DMN) Case Management Model and Notation (CMMN)
Developers and business users may work together more effectively to create business process management (BPM) solutions that users genuinely care about with the aid of Camunda. You may now comprehend workflow automation across enterprises in a developer-friendly manner.
Even for the particular notation style that your team chooses, Camunda offers tailored solutions. Manage human jobs, coordinate RPA bots, and automate business processes with the BPMN Workflow Engine.
Useful integrations
Java and Spring Boot can be seamlessly integrated with Camunda’s workflow automation solutions. Developers should find it simpler to integrate Camunda repositories with current tools, given there are 110 of them listed on GitHub as of late April 2022. If the list does not include the tools that your business uses, that is acceptable. Tools may always transfer data safely by creating REST APIs.
Visual diagrams for improved collaboration
It’s common for developers and corporate executives to express the same ideas in distinct languages. The internal order submissions app may get a request for automated functionality from a member of the sales team. You may reply that before releasing any new functionality, you’ve instructed your Java developers to investigate microservices orchestration frameworks. It will take some time to incorporate the upcoming changes into your continuous integration process. That person may be a great salesperson for your company, but they may be unaware of what you just said.
Camunda facilitates better teamwork by removing obstacles to communication through the creation of visual diagrams. When plans are visible to all, intentions become more apparent, and feedback is more constructive.
Different tools working together for success
The Camunda platform can be divided into independent tools with distinct functions. Among the most beneficial instruments are:
Camunda Modeler: A modeling tool that establishes a framework for long-term business-IT alignment using diagrams based on visuals. BPMN 2.0 and DMN standards are followed by its automated processes, decision tables, and human workflows.
Cawemo: Your business team can use the non-technical Cawemo to convey their thoughts if they find Camunda Modeler to be a bit too technical. Every concept is communicated in a form that is understandable to all, thanks to Cawemo’s direct integration with the Camunda stack. See free examples of how Cawemo models may control the process of ordering a pizza or scanning a QR code by clicking this link. One of the best ways to see how automated business processes can benefit your company is to watch the features in action.
Zebee: Camunda is powered by the Zebee workflow automation engine. Zebee’s fault tolerance, language independence, horizontal scalability, message-driven architecture, and support for publish-subscribe make it an effective platform.
With every platform update, Camunda adds additional functionalities. Users can still access version 7, although Camunda Platform 8 is the most recent version available.
Saving time on process management
Process management can be very time-consuming, especially when handling modifications along the way. On PeerSpot, Camunda users gave the Camunda Platform high marks in this regard. At an insurance company, a Product Owner stated, “It has saved a lot of time.” Giving more specifics, it is said, “It’s easy to see how the process is configured.” It is easier to assign responsibilities to different people and more visible for us to understand how changes can be made. The transfer took a lot longer in the past since you had to engage with the subject matter expert on a particular process. These days, understanding the procedure and how it is implemented is a lot more fluid.
Given the value placed on IT staff time, Camunda’s capacity to increase productivity is a potent advantage.
Expert Opinion about Camunda
Having tested and utilized a wide range of process orchestration platforms over the years, Camunda is a strong contender in this competitive market. Its conformance to global standards such as BPMN, CMMN, and DMN distinguishes it and guarantees that enterprises can depend on it for precise and effective process modeling and business process management implementation. Its open-source nature, which encourages innovation driven by the community, is where it excels.
Like any instrument, though, it has its share of peculiarities. Though it has many integrations, there are times when they seem incomplete, and the learning curve can be quite steep at first. Camunda is a compelling option for businesses that want deep process insights and have intricate process flows. However, those with less complex requirements or those seeking an instant plug-and-play solution may need to consider their options.
When should you use Camunda?
You can achieve great things in your company with the aid of the Camunda platform. Think of using it whenever you’d like to:
- Boost teamwork so developers can create products that address important issues.
- Rather than beginning from scratch, extend the lifecycles of applications by improving their functionality.
- Create process definitions that adhere to accepted industry practices.
- Take a free look at an open-source, self-managed automation platform. (Custom pricing is available from Camunda Cloud for clients seeking a SaaS option.)
- Use microservices in place of antiquated legacy systems so they can swiftly adjust to changing requirements.
- Simplify intricate job lists and decision trees to provide quicker customer service.
- Become a part of a vibrant user community with a lively forum that assists businesses in determining the key characteristics of the solution.
How increased productivity results from process automation through Camunda
Teams can become considerably more efficient in their job completion and collaboration when they use Camunda’s process orchestration capabilities, which ease the automation of complicated processes and save time. As stated by Piotr M., a Digital Transformation Solution Manager at Altkom Software & Consulting, “We found that using a working process model improves the effectiveness of project team collaboration.” What was important to tech services company employee Rodrigo C., a BPM consultant, was Camunda’s developer-friendliness. The entire Camunda Platform makes it simple for us to measure the life cycle of all pertinent processes, he said. Developer modeling tools, process engine configuration tools, and business analyst tools are all included in the Camunda Platform. Then there’s Optimize, which helps with process management and ongoing enhancement.
According to Marco L., a business process manager at the Brazilian government organization SEAD, “It enables us to collaborate across areas.” “[Camunda] allows us to continue working, whether or not we are distant. It is simple to use and to model. It’s an excellent tool for first-project communication.
The staff software engineer at the shop said that Camunda made it possible to create reusable components that could be applied to different projects. As a result, they were able to reuse eighty percent of the content they had created on the Camunda Platform, resulting in a measurable increase in productivity. “The reusable nature of the microservices and connectors reduced the development effort drastically for that use case,” he stated.
These instances demonstrate how Camunda supports several productivity fronts, such as enhanced teamwork, quicker time to market, and onboarding. Managing business processes can be difficult. Process management tasks that are complex and time-consuming can be made easier with the help of Camunda Platform’s orchestration and process automation.
Camunda BPM – challenges and problems
You also need to take into account Camunda’s limits. The following are some of the most significant problems we encountered when utilizing this technology:
- Although Camunda is a strong workflow engine, it’s still only a foundation; therefore, additional software development will still be necessary.
- This is a tool that should only be used internally by your organization. You’ll need to think about security (SSO, Yaml) if you want to share it with others, make it available outside, or even utilize it inside the business but with varied access ranges. For instance, in order to guarantee appropriate security, we’ve created our abstraction layer for the current API in our project.
- Front-end development is necessary; while Camunda theoretically generates a front-end component, it falls short in practice. Most of the time, you’ll need to create a unique solution.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our goal is to automate processes that would take too long to complete by hand. However, Camunda serves more than just this goal; in a microservices design, it may also be used to coordinate communication throughout microservices. After reading this Camunda review in detail, it’s evident that the platform works particularly well for companies with intricate operations. It is a dependable option because it adheres to the BPMN, CMMN, and DMN standards and has an open-source heart. Go ahead and try it if it meets your needs.
