Therefore, the focus is shifting to looking at processes rather than the activities of which a process consists. Data communication is another field in which workflow is a natural development. During the 70's, physical standards, datalink standards and network standards evolved into a technology that could reliably transport messages across distances. In the 90's, organizations are discovering that the available data communication infrastructure can be used for much more. Coordination, communication and control of organizational processes are being targeted, so workflow technology fits in well.
Software engineering is another field in which workflow extends the existing line of development.
Computer Programming became a managable activity by the development of high level programming languages and by tools that support the software development process. The majority of technological research is done by vendors, for the direct purpose of bringing workflow tools to the market, of which there are over 100 currently available. The distributed nature of workflow management systems, the integration problems, the database integrity problems, the dynamic behaviour of the system pose new challenges to the technology that supports workflow processes. Related to this work is standardization of tools, definition of suitable application protocols, and representations of workflow processes. Organizational research treats workflow management systems as enabling technology.