Business Rule Engine offers a remarkable 50% reduction in processing time and up to 60% cost savings on rule management. Imagine seamlessly updating compliance rules or automating underwriting processes without heavy IT involvement.
For business owners, CTOs, and decision-makers, understanding the transformative power of BREs can unlock new levels of operational excellence and profitability.
Definition and Examples of Traditional Rule Management Systems
Traditional rule management systems (TRMS) are software solutions that define, store and manage business rules. These systems have a central repository where rules are encoded in a structured format and applied across multiple business processes.
Examples of Traditional Rule Management Systems
- Manual Coding and Hardcoded Rules:some text
- In many older systems, business rules are hardcoded into application code. This means software developers have to make changes, resulting in slow updates and high maintenance costs.
- Example: An old insurance claims system where claim approval rules are embedded in the application’s code and a developer has to change the code whenever a business rule changes.
- Rule-Based Decision Tables:some text
- Decision tables are a tabular way of representing business rules. They outline conditions and actions in a matrix format.
- Example: In a loan approval system, a decision table might specify different loan approval criteria based on credit score ranges and income levels.
- Workflow Management Systems:some text
- These systems use pre-defined workflows to enforce business rules. Each step in the workflow is a rule or a set of rules that must be followed.
- Example: A customer onboarding process in a bank where each step (e.g. KYC verification, credit check, document submission) follows specific business rules managed within the workflow system.
Limitations and Challenges of Traditional Rule Management Systems
Traditional rule management systems have several limitations and challenges that can impact business operations and agility.
Challenges with TRMS
- Inflexibility and Complexity:some text
- Traditional systems lack the flexibility to adapt quickly to changing business environments. Updating rules requires significant coding and testing.
- Managing rules embedded in code can lead to errors and inconsistencies making it hard to ensure accuracy and compliance across all business processes.
- High IT Dependency:some text
- Changes to business rules require IT intervention which can slow down the process of updating. This dependency can be a bottleneck especially in industries where business rules change frequently, like insurance and finance.
- Business users like analysts and managers can’t modify rules directly, leading to delays and increased operational costs.
- Integration Issues:some text
- Integrating traditional rule management systems with modern applications and platforms is challenging. Many legacy systems are not designed to work seamlessly with contemporary technologies, making it hard to achieve interoperability.
- Example: An old underwriting system in an insurance company may struggle to integrate with modern CRM or customer service platforms, making it ineffective.
- Maintenance and Scalability:some text
- Maintaining a traditional rule management system is resource intensive. Each rule update or addition requires careful handling to avoid disrupting existing processes.
- Scalability is another concern as these systems may not handle large volumes of transactions or complex rule sets efficiently, leading to performance issues and operational inefficiencies.
In summary, while traditional rule management systems have automated business processes, their limitations show we need more agile and user-friendly solutions like Business Rules Engines (BREs).
Business Rules Management System vs Traditional Rules Management System
Architecture and Operation
Business Rules Engines (BREs) and traditional rule management systems differ in architecture and operation. BREs decouple business rules from application code, allows real time rule execution and seamless integration with other systems. This is in contrast to traditional systems where rules are embedded in the codebase.
User Accessibility
BREs are designed for user accessibility, business users and analysts can create, modify and manage rules through simple interfaces. Traditional systems rely heavily on IT professionals to make changes, resulting to slower updates and higher operational costs. This user-friendliness in BREs allows business users to respond quickly to market changes and regulatory updates.
Integration and Scalability
BREs have better integration capabilities, can connect with modern applications, databases, and platforms via APIs. This integration ensures rules are applied consistently across different systems. Traditional systems struggle to integrate with new technologies, making them ineffective and scalability challenged.
Governance and Lifecycle Management
BREs have governance features, version control, audit trails and lifecycle management of business rules. These features provide transparency and accountability in rule management, making it easier to track changes and maintain compliance. Traditional systems lack these advanced governance features making it hard to manage rules over time.
Benefits of BREs in Business Rule Management
Agility and Flexibility
Business Rules Engines provide agility by allowing business rules to be updated rapidly without code changes. This flexibility allows organizations to respond to new business conditions, regulatory changes and market demands. Ability to modify rules and business logic by non-technical users in real time is a big advantage over traditional systems.
Operational Efficiency
BREs simplify business operations by automating decision-making. This automation reduces manual effort in rule execution, results to faster and more consistent outcomes. By centralizing rule management, BREs eliminate duplication and ensure rules are applied uniformly across all business processes.
Cost Savings
Implementing BREs can bring significant cost savings. Reduced dependence on IT for rule updates means lower maintenance costs, more resources for other critical tasks, and faster time to market.
Also, the automation of BREs minimizes human error, reduces cost of manual intervention and correction.
Compliance
BREs ensures business rules comply to regulatory requirements. Centralized rule management allows for easier auditing and monitoring, provides a clear record of rule changes and its impact to business decisions. This is critical for industries like insurance and finance where compliance is key.
Higson’s Business Rule Management System Success Story
Higson has transitioned several clients from traditional rule management systems to rules engine based business rules management systems. One of which is an insurance company that implemented Higson’s BRE for its claims processing.
It resulted in a 50% reduction in processing time and cost. Business rules engine ability to handle complex rules and integration with existing systems was key.
Do you need to modernize your traditional decision management systems?
Reach out to us and request a personalized use case of rule engines for your business.
