Most BPM vendors promise to "automate approvals." What they actually deliver? Rigid workflows that assume approvals happen instantly, break the moment someone's out of office, and create compliance nightmares when audit trails span email threads, ITSM tickets, and verbal hallway conversations.
Here's what they miss: approvals live in the real world. Somewhere between overflowing inboxes, competing priorities, and humans who actually need context to make informed decisions about granting system access.
Traditional BPM tries to force human judgment into automated boxes. When reality doesn't cooperate—requests need escalation, approvers need more information, policies change mid-workflow—these rigid systems crumble.
That's where Kinetic comes in.
Approvals Lost in Email Black Holes
Requests route to the right person's inbox, where they compete with 200 other messages for attention. No automated escalation. No intelligent reminders. Just hope that the approver checks email before your SLA expires.
Stakeholders Who Ghost Your Workflows
Finance approves access requests on Tuesdays. Security only reviews on Fridays. That VP who needs to sign off? Currently on a two-week international trip with sporadic email access. Traditional BPM workflows assume linear, predictable human behavior. Real humans rarely cooperate.
Manual Handoffs That Obliterate Audit Trails
Initial request lives in ServiceNow. Approval happens via email. Follow-up conversation occurs in Slack. Actual provisioning gets documented in a spreadsheet. When audit asks "who approved this access and why," you're reconstructing the paper trail from memory and chat history.
Context-Free Approval Requests That Guarantee Delays
"User requests admin access to Production Database." Why? For how long? What's the business justification? Has their manager approved? What's the risk level? Traditional workflows deliver requests without the context approvers need to make informed decisions—forcing clarification loops that add days to every request.
Intelligent Routing Based on Risk and Role
Standard access requests route to team leads. Elevated permissions trigger security review. Sensitive system access requires VP approval. Policy changes? Update routing rules once, apply everywhere. No hardcoded approval chains that break when org charts change.
Context-Rich Approval Experiences
Approvers see exactly what matters: requester's current access levels, business justification, risk classification, similar requests from the same team, and relevant compliance policies—all in one view. No more "what am I approving and why?" confusion.
Escalation That Actually Works
First approver doesn't respond in 24 hours? Workflow escalates to their backup. Both approvers unavailable? Routes to department head with full context. Approver needs more information? Request pauses, requester gets notified, workflow resumes when clarification arrives. Automation handles the complexity, humans make the decisions.
Cross-System Orchestration
Request originates in your portal. Approval notification reaches approvers via email, Slack, or Teams. Approved access automatically provisions in Active Directory, cloud platforms, and application-specific permission systems. Status updates visible in real-time across every system. One workflow, multiple touchpoints, zero manual coordination.
Self-Service Without Chaos
Employees request access through intuitive portals. IT sets guardrails—who can request what, who must approve, what documentation is required. Employees get transparency into request status. IT maintains control without becoming a bottleneck.
Consumption Pricing That Scales
Pay for approval workflows that run, not for seat licenses for every occasional approver. Include department heads, finance reviewers, security stakeholders, and compliance officers without budget panic. Broad participation becomes an advantage, not a cost center.
