Enterprise Workflow Automation Guide & Software

Enterprise workflow automation is the process of using software to create, run, and monitor a series of tasks that make up business processes. These processes can span across departments and typically follow a repeatable structure. The goal is to reduce manual work, eliminate delays, and improve consistency.

It’s closely related to Enterprise Service Management (ESM), which applies Service Management principles to the entire organization, not just IT. Automating workflows is a core part of scaling ESM initiatives, as it connects services and tasks across departments.

Any medium to large organization that relies on repeated approval chains, documentation, and task coordination across teams can benefit from this approach. 

According to McKinsey, 70% of organizations are at least piloting automation technologies in one or more business units or functions. Whether you're managing new employee onboarding, software access requests, or procurement approvals, automation improves response times and clarity.

Why is Enterprise Workflow Management important?

Managing workflows at the enterprise level is about visibility, consistency, and coordination. Teams often rely on email threads, spreadsheets, or disconnected tools to manage tasks. Over time, that leads to delays, duplicated work, and missed steps.

Enterprise Workflow Management gives structure to routine processes. It makes responsibilities clear, connects stakeholders automatically, and provides a consistent method to track progress.

For organizations adopting ITSM or ESM platforms, Workflow Management helps scale those systems beyond the IT department. It creates a repeatable way to deliver internal services, align expectations, and reduce friction.

5 key benefits of implementing enterprise workflows

• Standardization across departments: Teams follow consistent procedures, reducing confusion and rework.
• Shorter resolution and response times: Approvals, escalations, and handoffs happen faster.
• Better visibility and reporting: Managers can track progress, spot delays, and identify bottlenecks with data.
• Improved compliance and audit readiness: Automation logs activity and approvals, making it easier to verify processes.
• Scalability: As your organization grows, automated workflows help keep service delivery stable and predictable.

Enterprise workflow types

These are some common categories of enterprise workflows:

• Approval workflows: Used when a task or request needs formal review (e.g., expense reports, purchase requests).
• Onboarding workflows: Guide the steps to bring a new employee, vendor, or customer into your organization.
• Enterprise Incident Management workflows: Coordinate tasks and communication during IT or operational issues.
• Service request workflows: Handle internal requests like hardware, access, or information.
• Change Management workflows: Standardize the process of requesting and reviewing changes to services or infrastructure.

How to get started with enterprise workflow automation?

A successful Enterprise Workflow Management strategy requires planning and communication. Here’s how to approach it:

1. Define the process: Identify a specific process with a high volume or high impact, such as employee onboarding or software provisioning. Map out the current steps, stakeholders, and pain points.
    
2. Select a platform: Choose a workflow automation tool that integrates with your systems and offers transparency into task progress. Look for low-code or no-code builders if you want to make adjustments without developer support.
    
3. Build the workflow: Use your platform to create the process steps, set rules for transitions, and assign task owners. Include conditions, approvals, and notifications where needed.
    
4. Test and adjust: Run the workflow in a controlled setting. Gather feedback from users and update steps, language, or conditions as needed. Expect to revise your workflows over time.
    
5. Monitor and improve: Once live, monitor performance. Look at metrics like completion time, bottlenecks, and skipped steps. Use the data to improve efficiency or catch errors early.

5 examples of workflows for enterprises

Here are a few processes that work well with enterprise workflow automation:

1. IT access requests - This workflow handles access to software, systems, or devices. It starts with a user submitting a request, which is then automatically routed for approval based on department, role, or sensitivity of the resource. If approved, tasks are assigned to IT for provisioning. The system can log the change, update access records, and notify the requester once access is granted.
    
2. Employee onboarding - When a hiring manager confirms a start date, the system automatically triggers a workflow that spans HR, IT, security, and facilities. Tasks include collecting signed documents, provisioning accounts in core systems (email, VPN, HRIS), assigning equipment delivery, and granting building access. Each team sees only their relevant tasks, and the platform tracks completion deadlines to keep everything on schedule before the employee arrives.
    
3. Software purchase approvals - If an employee requests paid software, the workflow kicks off with an automated check against the software catalog to verify whether the tool is approved. If not, the request routes to IT security for risk assessment, then moves to department leads for budget approval. Finance is automatically notified to allocate funds and initiate vendor payment. Once purchased, the license is assigned and logged in the asset system.
    
4. Contract renewals - This workflow tracks key vendor contracts. When a renewal date is within 60 days, the system notifies the owner, assigns a task to legal for review, and triggers optional supplier performance evaluations. If the contract is renewed, documents are uploaded and linked to the vendor record. If not, offboarding workflows are initiated to remove access or switch services.

Using InvGate as your Enterprise Workflow Management software

InvGate Service Management is built to automate and coordinate workflows across departments like IT, HR, Facilities, and Finance. It helps organizations define request types, assign tasks, set approval chains, and monitor execution — all from a central platform.

You can automate workflows such as:

• Routing access requests through approval and provisioning steps.
• Coordinating new hire onboarding across multiple teams.
• Escalating incidents based on priority, category, or SLA.
• Managing service changes with built-in risk and documentation reviews.
• Scheduling notifications and follow-ups for unresolved requests.

Even more, thanks to its no-code configuration, each team can design and adjust its own processes without relying on developers or adding technical overhead. And it comes with pre-built templates, so you don’t need to start from scratch. 

The platform is fully configurable, so teams can define workflows that match their structure and responsibilities. Every step — from intake to resolution — can be made visible, trackable, and repeatable.

When integrated with InvGate Asset Management, you can also bring in asset data to improve service accuracy. For example, you can link tickets to specific devices or licenses, confirm inventory during requests, and automate tasks tied to hardware or software, all within the same ecosystem.

4 enterprise workflow automation best practices

Automating enterprise workflows can add value quickly, but scaling without a plan often leads to confusion or underused features. These best practices can help you build automation that’s useful, reliable, and maintainable:

• Involve stakeholders early - Bring in the people who use or manage the process regularly, not just leadership. Their insight helps uncover edge cases, undocumented steps, or common workarounds. Involving them early also increases adoption and reduces resistance when the workflow goes live.
   
• Train users with real examples - Show how the workflow looks in practice. Use annotated screenshots or short demos to explain what each step does and what to expect. If people know how to interact with automated processes – when they’ll get notifications, what info they need to provide – they’re more likely to use the system consistently.
   
• Keep workflows simple at first - It’s tempting to automate every exception or rare scenario up front. Resist that urge. Focus on the standard process first, then layer in conditions, parallel paths, or escalations later based on usage patterns and feedback. We recommend you start with manageable processes that are repetitive, relatively stable, and easy to document. Onboarding or low-value purchase approvals are good starting points. Starting with a manageable use case helps teams learn the platform and show value without overwhelming stakeholders. Remember: complexity is easier to add than to remove.
   
• Review and iterate regularly - Business needs shift, and workflows should evolve with them. Set a cadence – quarterly, biannually, or after major organizational changes – to review usage metrics, feedback, and process changes. Even small updates can improve clarity and performance.