Show HN: ProcessMaker.IO is a workflow engine in the cloud. Need candid feedback
Our project is at: https://www.processmaker.io/
We built a high performance workflow engine in the cloud aimed for developers. It originally was intended as a BPMN focused engine but you can also create complex workflows programatically without any BPMN diagramming tools. Think of it as a platform that goes well beyond ITTT or Zapier. This platform means we can do services orchestration and serverless programming (using our script tasks which currently support LUA) as well as human enabled workflows (think of using forms and approvals, etc). We have SDKs in most major languages and we're aiming specifically at developers as the target audience. This would be perfect for ISVs looking to embed complex workflows in their product but not have to build the workflow features themselves.
The problem I'm seeing is that understanding workflow from the beginning is a hard concept. The on-boarding process for a developer to understand the value and to immediately get started is something we're trying to get over. We have various use case examples and video demos that show how you could use it, but I still don't feel comfortable yet with the 1st time experience.
So I'm sharing in hopes that anyone can provide feedback/thoughts? Or even if you have questions on how things are done (which would help us with our messaging). Docs are updated and you can sign up and fire up a workflow engine right away to play with (it's free right now so we can get people playing with it). It's at www.processmaker.io and any suggestions/advice for improving the messaging on the website is also really appreciated.
The project is in public Alpha right now, so if something isn't working right, please bring it up so I can have the team fix it up!
Thanks all. I love the concept but I don't want (and the company I work for seriously doesn't want to) to run our processes in the "the cloud". Seriously. I'll look at this seriously when there's an onsite version. Open source is better. I'll gladly pay for support. For your type we actually have an open source full bpm solution at www.processmaker.com. It's a full bpm workflow suite that you can run on premise. Open source and enterprise support available. Pm.io is purely a lightweight workflow engine specifically for isvs and developers for embedding functionality. Now we are considering also providing on premise and private cloud deployments for enterprise customers for this specific platform too. OT: Hi trevvr, I'm curious to know why cloud is out of the question for you. Is it a matter of security or other? I'm a cloud guy (for lack of a better term) and trying to understand use-cases when cloud is not a sensible option. Thanks in advance for any insight. A lot of it may be information leak worry. You want just your data to be stored and some workflow engines require more than what is needed to make a decision. We actually are releasing a use-case video that shows how to keep your data local and still be able to use a workflow engine in the cloud keeping your data local while making decisions and orchestration external. Ah, I knew the logo looked familiar. In our case we're covered by regulatory and contractual obligations along with the info-leakage scenarios. Have you been working on this for 17 years? Why does the copyright statement in the footer say 2000-2017? Ah no. The company is that old and our main product is at processmaker.com. The copyright that you see is tied to the company name. Probably something we should correct/clarify This project is brand new and we were working on it now for almost a year just now releasing it into the public.