BIC Process Design Alternative

Enterprise BPM without enterprise complexity.

process era is the SME-ready BIC alternative: 9 process views, AI model generation with integrated catalog, CIP with financial impact and an intuitive, group-based permissions system.

Positioning

BIC Process Design (GBTEC) is an established enterprise BPM tool with mature methodology and a strong catalog. process era delivers the same core functions — AI, BPMN, RACI, CIP — in a platform built for the mid-market and at a price the mid-market can afford.

BIC Process Design is often described as the robust, methodically deep BPM suite for large enterprises — with a mature catalog, BPMN 2.0, a RASCI view and a native execution engine.^[1]

In the mid-market, that quickly becomes too much: long implementation projects, high training effort for BPMN modelers, licensing models that make broad scaling expensive. process era delivers the functions mid-sized organizations actually need, in a platform that creates impact in weeks instead of quarters.

When process era is the better choice than BIC

When you want to roll out BPM tooling beyond the methodology team — process era is for business units, not just process officers.
When licensing and implementation costs of enterprise BPM suites don't match your organization's size.
When you want AI model generation that operates directly on your catalog — instead of just generic GenAI.
When your permissions model should be intuitive and group-based (instead of person-bound), especially in a ServiceNow environment.

Head-to-head: BIC vs. process era

Tabular overview. Sources at the bottom of the page.

Comparison of BIC and process era by functional area
Criterion	BIC	process era	Advantage
Licensing model & SME focus	Enterprise-oriented. Modular packages (Process Design, Process Execution, GRC); pricing primarily aimed at mid-to-large organizations.^[1]	User-based SaaS licensing model, explicitly designed for SMEs in the DACH region.	process era
Process views & BPMN primacy	BPMN 2.0 as the central notation, complemented by a RASCI view and execution view.^[1] BPMN is the lingua franca — even when not every stakeholder can “read” BPMN.	9 native views (BPMN, SIPOC, Turtle, Makigami, RACI, Maturity, …) plus Multi-Modeler and Explain feature: every stakeholder sees the notation that fits them.	process era
Catalog functionality	BIC has a mature catalog with an extensive reference library and established methodology.^[1]	Integrated catalog modeling with AI support: catalog elements are automatically derived from process models and kept consistent.	Competitor
AI model generation	With “BIC GenAI”, GBTEC has added AI features; the focus is on model generation from text.	AI model generation with integrated catalog modeling — the AI uses your existing catalog rather than generic language patterns.	process era
CIP / Improvement tracking	In BIC, improvements are primarily captured via comments on the diagram.	Issues with financial impact, owner, status and audit trail. CIP is its own view in the multi-model — not just a comment field.	process era
Reporting	Out-of-the-box reporting in BIC is limited; deeper analyses require additional APIs or external BI tools.	Native reports on maturity, issue status, CIP impact and process coverage. Custom reports configurable.	process era
RBAC / Permissions	Role- and user-based permissions, often configured person-bound.	Group-based permissions and approval system — deliberately modeled on ServiceNow groups. Approvals follow groups, not people: less maintenance when staff changes. (Exact functional scope will be shown in the demo session.)	process era
Cloud / On-Prem	SaaS and on-prem available.	Pure SaaS platform hosted in Germany.	Parity

The most important differences in detail

BPMN as lingua franca vs. multi-model with Explain feature

BIC positions itself “for everyone in the company” — but operationally with BPMN 2.0 as the primary modeling notation. That's methodically clean, but breaks against reality: business units don't intuitively “read” BPMN. process era flips the relationship. Modelers work in BPMN; business units see SIPOC, RACI, Turtle, Maturity or Makigami — automatically from the same data. The Explain feature explains complex paths in natural language.

AI that knows your catalog

BIC GenAI generates models from text descriptions — a standard LLM pattern. process era additionally uses your existing catalog: objects, roles, data flows and applications are known to the AI and referenced consistently. The result: models that don't sound generic but match your company's vocabulary. More on this in the AI Backlog.

CIP with financial impact instead of comment threads

BIC and many enterprise suites capture improvement suggestions as comments. process era turns every suggestion into an issue with owner, status and financial impact. Reporting at the issue level shows which improvements deliver the highest return — process improvement becomes measurable.

Permissions like in ServiceNow

process era uses a group-based model deliberately modeled on ServiceNow's group logic. Approvals run via groups, not individual people — staff changes don't alter a single workflow. For organizations running ServiceNow, this is an intuitive, familiar mechanism.

See process era compared to BIC.

30-minute live demo. No commitment.

Where BIC is stronger

Honest assessment — no comparison is complete without these points.

Mature enterprise features

For very large corporations with complex governance, multi-tenancy and compliance requirements, BIC brings mature functionality proven over many years on the market.^[1]

Established catalog

The BIC catalog with an extensive reference library and long-running roadmap is a real strength — especially for organizations that want to model methodically very deep.^[1]

Native execution engine

Process Execution is natively integrated in BIC (Process Execution module). For organizations that want to execute BPMN models directly, that's a closed-loop toolchain.

Frequently asked questions

Why a BIC alternative for the mid-market?

Enterprise suites like BIC are methodically mature but often oversized for mid-sized organizations — both in license cost and in implementation effort and methodology requirements. process era delivers the functions relevant to SMEs in a platform that creates value in weeks rather than quarters.

Does process era offer governance and compliance functions similar to BIC?

process era supports ISO 9001 / GoBD-compliant documentation, versioning and approval workflows out of the box. For highly specialized compliance requirements (multi-step GRC processes, multi-tenancy for groups with dozens of subsidiaries), BIC remains the more specialized solution.

How does process era's AI differ from BIC GenAI?

BIC GenAI generates models from text — a standard LLM approach. process era combines AI with your catalog: objects, roles and applications from your library are referenced directly, so that generated models match your company's vocabulary instead of sounding generic.

Can BPMN models from BIC be imported into process era?

Yes. process era supports BPMN 2.0 import and export. When migrating an existing BIC portfolio, we assess individually which model parts can be transferred automatically.

How does the per-user licensing model compare directly?

process era is user-based and transparently calculable; we provide a concrete offer in the demo session based on your user structure. BIC works primarily with modularly packaged enterprise licenses, which are often harder to scale for SME structures.