Raj Ramesh

February 8, 2005

Dr. Raj Ramesh runs a consulting firm, TopSigma Consulting, that specializes In the business architecture and business process management domains. He has over two decades of experience working with Fortune 500 companies in the Financial and Insurance space. In addition to these disciplines, he is an expert in communicating concepts visually, an approach that has helped executives clearly understand the value and benefits of Business Architecture.

Dr. Ramesh is a video blogger and his short videos are available at www.topsigma.com
TopSigma
Chief Story Teller
Business Architecture (BA)
Business Architecture (BA)
Business Process Management (BPM)
Operational Excellence (OPEX)
Web Services / SOA

Articles by: Raj Ramesh

A Non-Profit Profits From Business Architecture

A Non-Profit Profits From Business Architecture

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

Large companies do not have exclusivity on using the discipline of business architecture. Smaller companies and non-profits can derive tremendous value by leveraging the discipline.

Like many other states, the funding for schools in Illinois has been on the decline.  A concerned group of local citizens in one town wanted to do something about it. They started a non-profit Foundation with the goal of raising funds from the local community; funds that will be used to supplement the loss of revenue from the state.

A major strength of this Foundation is the high degree of enthusiasm amongst its members.  There is no dearth of ideas on how to raise funds and how to spend it.  Proposals for fund raising range from holding bake sales to getting corporate sponsorships.  Likewise, proposals for spending those funds range from educational excursions for students, to buying equipment for the school.

When BPM is Not Done Right

When BPM is Not Done Right

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

Much of today’s Business Process Management (BPM) consideration and effort tends to focus more on the technology aspect.  Truly effective BPM, however, cannot focus entirely on technology. 

In this article, we will explore three aspects of BPM that do not get as much attention as they should: the human-side perspective, the need to implement incrementally, and the place of BPM within the larger context of Business Transformation.

Optimizing the Address Change Process

Optimizing the Address Change Process

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

In this article we will examine a fairly common business process, customer address change, to outline a range of alternative approaches to business process management and improvement, from a low-tech, manual “quick fix” to a service-oriented architecture (SOA) approach.

The Scenario 

How Do You Address Really Big Challenges?

How Do You Address Really Big Challenges?

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

Big Challenges

Suppose you were in charge of distributing $700 billion to financial institutions that have failed, how would you do it? Suppose you were put in charge of fixing the world economy, how would you do that? Suppose you were in charge of eradicating cancer, how would you do that? I submit that the foundational principles of Business Architecture can be used to address such challenges.

Top Down Business Execution

Top Down Business Execution

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

A plan is not enough

A few months back, my wife mentioned that we had not had a family vacation in years, and it’d be good if I can plan something that the whole family would enjoy.

I got to work on it immediately. There are so many wonderful places to visit; so I took a systematic approach to cull down the list to a manageable few destinations. My research included talking to friends, browsing the web, and reading travel books. Finally, I hand the answer – Rome it’ll be. I have always been fascinated with ancient civilizations.

A Systems Approach to Business Process Management

A Systems Approach to Business Process Management

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

The Challenge

I have come across businesses where some problems are chronic. In other words, these problems have existed for a long time but nobody attempts to fix them because they are thought to be “unfixable.” I have also come across businesses where problems are approached with a quick-fix mentality.

SOA And Mashups – What to use when

SOA And Mashups – What to use when

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

Say I am a business manager at an insurance company and my job is to recruit insurance agents. These agents in turn meet the insurance needs of their customers and build their own customer base. If an agent does well, the company does well. With a finite amount of recruiting dollars available, I need to be able to make the best decisions on where to focus my recruiting efforts.

You Say Service, I Say Service

You Say Service, I Say Service

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

How much adaptability and agility do you need in your business? The answer to that question can drive the strategy of business process management (BPM) and service oriented architecture initiatives in your organization (SOA). The question itself is not easy to answer which is why most organizations do not achieve the flexibility they hope to achieve. Sometimes the granularity of the services cannot or are not defined at the right level.

The Business Transformation Imperative

The Business Transformation Imperative

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

Introduction

In today’s ever-changing business environment, it is imperative for enterprises to adapt quickly to not only deal with the change, but in many cases, exploit it for competitive advantage. Change can manifest itself in the form of new technology, new entrants into enterprises’ market space, competitors adapting new processes, changes in customer preferences and demographics, new government regulations, and so on. The rate of change in recent years has been much higher than in the past.

BPM And SOA Are Not A Panacea

BPM And SOA Are Not A Panacea

Author(s):

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

Integration Complexity

This business of running a business has become a lot more complicated and much of it can be attributed to the use of information technology. Technology has indeed fueled growth through automation and increased efficiency, but it has also added a management nightmare in the form of disparate systems that are unable to talk to each other. Now we have whole new specialties (like ITIL and COBIT) devoted to managing IT services, assets and infrastructures. How did we end up in this quagmire?

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