What’s the difference between a BPMS and a workflow tool? Between a DMS and a CMS? Between ERP and custom applications? With so many acronyms in enterprise software, how do you decide which system is the best fit?
Each of these systems was originally developed for a specific purpose within an organisation. Over time, as software vendors tried to capture more market share, they began adding features that blurred the lines between categories. This overlap makes it difficult for many professionals — especially those outside of IT — to figure out what they have, what they need, and what will actually solve their business challenges.
Why Would I Use a Document Management System in the Paperless Age?
Let’s start with Document Management Systems (DMS). While businesses are moving away from paper, they still rely heavily on digital documents. These documents — whether financial (purchase orders, invoices), HR-related (employment contracts, written warnings), or legal (NDAs, agreements) — are central to how organisations operate.
A document might be a one-page form or a hundred-page contract, but it must be complete, version-controlled, signed, and accessible when needed. Many of these documents are subject to legal or regulatory retention requirements.
That’s where a DMS comes in. A DMS is designed to:
- Store and index documents
- Track versions
- Enforce access control
- Ensure compliance with legal retention policies
- Retrieve unaltered documents on demand
Many DMS platforms now include features like scanning and OCR (optical character recognition) to digitise physical documents. Some also offer basic workflow functionality to route documents for approval or sign-off — though this workflow capability is usually limited in scope.
How Does a Content Management System Differ from a DMS?
A Content Management System (CMS) is broader in scope. While a DMS focuses on formal documents, a CMS manages a wide range of digital content — including images, videos, design assets, and web content.
In large organisations, particularly at the enterprise level, managing corporate assets like brand logos, digital artwork, and HTML templates is a big task. These assets often feed into marketing campaigns, websites, and product materials. Approval processes, version control, and consistent publishing workflows are essential.
A CMS helps manage this lifecycle: draft → review → approve → publish. Think of it as the system behind your company’s website or digital marketing ecosystem, rather than your contracts or financial records.
You Have an ERP System — But What Does That Mean?
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is one of the most widely used — and misunderstood — software acronyms in business.
In general, ERP refers to a suite of integrated modules that share a central database. These typically include:
- Finance and accounting
- Human resources
- Procurement and supply chain
- Manufacturing and planning
- Asset and inventory management
Well-known ERP vendors include SAP, Oracle, Sage, and SYSPRO. Each vendor offers a different mix of modules, and customers often select only the ones relevant to their business. This makes comparing ERP installations tricky — two companies may both “run SAP”, but use completely different modules.
How Does an ERP System Relate to a DMS?
Here’s a simple example: your ERP system holds the supplier record and manages the payment transaction, but the actual contract with that supplier — the legal agreement — is stored in the DMS.
Both systems support different facets of the same business process.
What Is Workflow, and Why Do All the Vendors Say They Have It?
Workflow, in simple terms, is a sequence of steps required to complete a business task. For example, a purchase order might need multiple approvals before it’s sent. A workflow engine automates that routing.
Most mature systems today — whether ERP, DMS, or CMS — have built-in workflow capabilities. However, these are usually designed to automate actions within their own environments. A DMS workflow helps manage document approval. An ERP workflow might automate invoice matching. But these workflows are typically limited to the boundaries of the system they’re part of.
So What Is a BPMS — and Why Might You Need One?
Business Process Management (BPM) is a discipline for improving organisational efficiency by managing and refining business processes.
A Business Process Management System (BPMS) is the software that supports this methodology.
A simple way to explain it: a BPMS is a workflow engine on steroids.
Unlike the embedded workflow features in other systems, a BPMS is designed to:
- Orchestrate complex workflows across multiple systems
- Handle structured and unstructured data
- Manage processes that involve multiple stakeholders, departments, or applications
- Integrate with external systems securely
- Provide user interfaces tailored to the process being managed
For example, onboarding a new employee may require actions in HR (contract), IT (equipment), finance (payroll), and compliance (vetting). A BPMS can orchestrate this across departments and systems — something a DMS or ERP workflow engine can’t easily do.
Do You Want to Orchestrate Processes Across Systems?
That’s where BPMS comes in. A modern BPMS is built to:
- Connect to various systems (ERP, CRM, DMS, etc.)
- Respect each system’s security and permissions
- Coordinate and track complex, cross-functional business processes
- Provide consistent visibility and control
It’s not just about documents. It’s about bringing structure, automation, and clarity to business processes — whether they’re document-centric or data-driven.
In this way, BPMS becomes the glue that binds your various enterprise systems into a coherent, streamlined operation.
Not sure which system is right for your business?
Let’s talk. We’d be happy to help you make the right choice for your needs.
