As they look to do more with less, companies will spend more on business process management over the next year, according to a Gartner study issued this morning.

In surveying attendees at a pair of Gartner BPM conferences this spring, the research firm found that over half saw their BPM spending rising more than 5 percent over the next 12 months; about a third said it will increase more than 10 percent.

Gartner, which also happens to be pitching an Orlando BPM summit in October, says that the approach is becoming increasingly widespread. "Companies don't see BPM as a luxury," said Gartner research VP Michele Cantara. "Instead, BPM is quickly becoming an alternative and better way of developing solutions and improving processes for many companies."

According to Gartner, the results indicate that BPM isn't viewed as cutting-edge technology. Just 12 percent of respondents categorized their organizations as "aggressive" technology adopters, yet every one of them had BPM projects in the works.

Survey participants were generally bullish on their companies' 2009 revenues -- 42 percent expected growth, compared to 23 percent who predicted a dip -- but they said 40 percent of investments will go into "growth or transformation" initiatives and 60 percent to "business as usual." BPM, according to Gartner, is a way to free up funding for those growth projects.

"Companies that ramp up their BPM investments now will be poised for growth when the economy recovers," said Cantara, who recommends that BPM be used to prioritize existing, suspended and new projects, so that they're ready to go when funding starts flowing again.

Another interesting survey result: 41 percent said that BPM is jointly led by business and IT. When it's not, both are about equally likely to be heading the efforts.