12 top business process management tools for 2025

BPM lineup for 2025

The BPM vendors and their products listed below were reviewed here a year ago. A mere 12 months later, they are very different, offering new capabilities that allow both business and digital transformation teams to move faster with better process knowledge than ever before.

While I provide considerable detail for each vendor, this report is not a product evaluation or a product comparison. The goal is to provide an unbiased look at the leading BPM tools and how these vendors have incorporated AI capabilities into their offerings and strategies.

A word of caution: Online lists of top BPM vendors and their products vary widely. There is little consistency in selection criteria among most of these overviews. Plus, with more than 300 BPM products available, assessing their unique and overlapping features to determine the best fit for your company is a daunting task.

The BPM vendors and products featured here are both proven and widely available worldwide. Keep in mind that the strengths and weaknesses of these BPM vendors change as products are enhanced and certain features are transformed through AI enablement.

Here is the 2025 overview of top BPM vendors, listed in alphabetical order.

AgilePoint

AgilePoint was founded in 2003 in Mountain View, Calif. Since its inception, the vendor has been building products focused on business and digital transformation, process automation, and low-code and no-code application generation. AgilePoint's recent focus is on incorporating generative AI (GenAI) into its products.

Core BPM products

While most AgilePoint BPM offerings are AI-enabled to provide flexibility and low-code and no-code application generation, some products are based on traditional programming technologies and require manual intervention at different steps in their operation. AgilePoint's BPM platform includes the following products:

• AgilePoint Process Designer. The core tool for designing and optimizing processes with simulation, testing and real-time workflow change.
• AgilePoint NX. Low-code/no-code application development and generation platform for repetitive task automation.
• AgilePoint App Builder. Helps create custom applications with low-code workflow automation.
• AgilePoint Analytics Center. Performance monitoring and predictive analytics.
• AgilePoint AI and Machine Learning Integration. AI-enabled automation with natural language processing (NLP), predictive analytics and cognitive AI integration services.
• AgilePoint Process Mining. Process modeling, analysis and improvement recommendation.

AgilePoint's Automation Fabric product supports a full range of BPM capabilities such as process analysis, modeling, streamlining, low-code application generation, process management and performance analytics. Rapid solution development is provided by component reusability and GenAI capabilities embedded into several AgilePoint products. This modularity also allows for faster, more focused changes that also increase flexibility.

While it can use GenAI, AgilePoint can't directly generate chatbots. However, it can integrate with Amazon Lex and other tools that specialize in chatbot generation. The platform can generate both AI assistants and AI agents.

Recent improvements

AgilePoint made the following changes to their AI-based BPM product group:

• AI-enabled automation by NLP, machine learning and GenAI capabilities to deal with complexity and scope.
• AI-enabled systems consider trends and history to predict the future outcomes of decisions or actions.
• Intuitive drag-and-drop menus make modeling easier.
• Expanded collaboration support and improved communication abilities.
• New prebuilt integration offerings that connect software systems or services.
• Layered governance framework improves process lifecycle management.
• Improved scalability can increase workloads without affecting performance.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

AgilePoint BPM products generate AI chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents using third-party AI vendor tools.

Takeaways

AgilePoint is focused on adaptability, creativity and user empowerment with a long-term commitment to predictive and GenAI-based product enhancements. Its low-code application generation capabilities are highly rated, as are the product's integration capabilities.

Strengths

• Low-code platform.
• Extensive integration capabilities.
• Workflow automation.
• Advanced governance and security.
• Prebuilt connectors and templates.
• Reporting and monitoring.
• Adaptability for digital transformation.

Weaknesses

• High learning curve.
• UX and interface complexities.
• Dependance on IT professionals for complex applications and workflows, and advanced function development.
• Ineffective analytic capabilities.

Appian

Started in 1999, Appian is a global BPM firm with headquarters in McClean, Va., and offices in the U.S. and abroad, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Australia and Japan. Appian's product line, named Appian Platform, includes low-code and no-code application development, AI process automation, intelligent document processing and process intelligence offerings.

Over the years, Appian has made significant changes in its offerings with the latest being an expanded use of AI technologies and improvements in multiple product areas. The result is a highly flexible and scalable product capable of handling large-scale deployments and dynamic workloads. In addition, simulation capabilities are available to allow teams to test the flow and efficiency of new business operation designs prior to their move to low-code or no-code application generation.

Core BPM products

Appian products support process modeling, workflow definition, analysis, redesign and application generation; data integration from multiple sources; real-time monitoring and analytics; case management; social collaboration; predictive analytics forms; screen and report building; and continuous process monitoring and management. In addition, Appian modeling supports activity decomposition -- that is, breaking complex activities into lower levels of detail so teams gain an in-depth understanding of the work, activity flow, data flow and digital support. This is achieved using subprocesses, activity chaining and task management.

Appian BPM Platform products include the following:

• Appian low-code automation. Allows users to design, simulate, build, deploy and manage low-code applications; this product includes decision management.
• Appian RPA. Supports the automation of processes with repetitive, rule-intensive tasks using both low-code and no-code application generation.
• Appian AI. Inserts AI capabilities, including built-in tools from third-party providers, into applications and workflows.
• Appian Process Mining. Includes algorithms that monitor performance and mine performance information to identify issues and recommend actions.
• Appian Integration hub. Provides tools and prebuilt templates to enable Appian systems to integrate with third-party vendor applications.
• Appian Case Management. Coordinates data, process and people across processes.
• Appian Cloud. Provides a secure, flexible, scalable and high-availability cloud environment.

Recent improvements

• Increased use of AI, including the Appian AI Copilot, to provide greater operational insights into processes.
• Enhanced product operations with GenAI.
• Improvements to the Appian process modeling tool suite.
• Improved process mining, analysis and optimization driven by advanced data-driven decision-making.
• Prebuilt package applications for multiple government service areas and industries, including financial services, insurance and energy/utilities.
• Improved low-code and no-code application generation capabilities.
• Increased use and management of robotic tasks.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

The foundation of Appian's AI application generation is the Appian AI Copilot, an advanced chatbot designed to increase efficiency and productivity. Features include the ability to do the following:

• Create interfaces from PDFs.
• Create sample data.
• Generate test cases.
• Take advantage of NLP.
• Assist developers to automate routine tasks.
• Use GenAI to provide real-time analysis, create insights, streamline the development process, create low-code and no-code solutions, and generate interfaces.
• Improve creativity by quickly trying new approaches to problem solving.

Additional chat-related activities include Appian's Record Chat that embeds a chatbot in an application to enable users to interact with the chatbot to expedite access to insights and answers to questions.

Takeaways

The move to integrate AI-based capabilities into its product lines is part of a long-term strategy by Appian to make its products more versatile and scalable. The ongoing effort to add AI, RPA and NLP capabilities to visual modeling has added considerable capability and flexibility to the vendor's products.

Strengths

• Enterprise-wide business transformation.
• Ease of use with simple drag-and-drop model building.
• Low-code and no-code application generation that generates applications from business models.
• Workflow analysis that includes workflow monitoring and improvement recommendations.
• Scalability that can handle complex applications and large user groups.
• Flexibility to support continuous business process improvement.

Weaknesses

• High cost.
• Limited mobile application development.
• Integration challenges.
• Complex business process modeling -- adding Business Process Model and Notation symbols to business models.
• Steep learning curve with a lack of tutorials.
• Limited customization options.

Bizagi

Founded in 1989 in Bogota, Colombia, Bizagi moved its headquarters to Tysons, Va., in 2021. Doing business in more than 50 countries, Bizagi has offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. In its Fall 2024 release, Bizagi made several AI enhancements to its Digital Business Platform, including replacing its RPA bots with AI agents embedded in orchestrated business processes.

Core BPM products

Bizagi's core BPM products and their capabilities are focused on optimizing business processes and driving digital transformation. These capabilities include the following:

• Bizagi Process Modeler. An Intuitive tool for visual process modeling, simulation and optimization.
• Bizagi Digital Business Platform. Enables low-code and RPA application generation.
• Bizagi Studio. Supports the construction and management of processes.
• Bizagi Xchange. Provides access to a library of templates and other tools to speed up development.
• Bizagi Process Mining. Analytical tools that monitor processes and process analytics to recommend corrective or improvement information.

Keep in mind that application development is a multistep process with each step having to be started manually.

Recent improvements

Key improvements for 2025 are focused on adding AI capabilities, including the following:

• File input improvements to allow AI agents to process files from Excel, Word, PDFs and images to provide improved insights.
• Use of predefined AI agents in Bizagi Studio to streamline AI integration.
• The ability to execute AI agents from form actions, enhancing workflow automation.
• Integration of GPT-4 capabilities to improve the speed available in Ada and AI agents.
• Embedding of AI agent into processes to replace RPA bots.

The Bizagi modeling tools use drag-and-drop model building and can support activity decomposition by taking models to lower levels of processing detail. Text can be added to define activities, applications and data. Activities in process models can be moved in a model while connectors remain attached to both "from" and "to" activities.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

Both AI assistants and AI agents are custom-built using third-party AI tools.

Takeways

Bizagi is focused on evolving its products to better support intelligent automation, improved accessibility and cloud-first solutions. This includes supporting digital transformation through agile, highly collaborative products that help drive automation, business evolution and change transparency.

A part of this vision addresses the need for rapid business change support along with the ability to enable a flexible response to scope and automation needs. Bizagi's AI-enabled BPM platform and low-code/no-code application development saves development time and improves quality.

Strengths

• Flexibility addressing complex business processes.
• Process optimization and analytics.
• Process modeling and design.
• Predictive analytics: AI-powered analytics provide enhanced real-time decision-making.
• AI-enabled chatbots and virtual assistants provide personalized customer interaction and response.
• Routine task automation handled by AI agents.
• Advanced customer interaction and data analysis uses machine learning to process large amounts of complex data.
• Prebuilt connectors to OpenAI and Azure AI Services.
• Advanced AI security and governance applied at multiple levels.
• Scalable for local on-premises work and cloud deployments.
• Low-code process automation.

Weaknesses

• Somewhat limited out-of-the-box features.
• Customer and technical support have been reported as sometimes being slow.
• Simulation and optimization weaknesses.
• Reporting and analytics capabilities weaknesses.
• Steep learning curve -- machine learning capabilities need to be improved.
• ERP and RPA integration can limit seamless integration and should be improved.

IGrafx

Founded in 1991, iGrafx is headquartered in Tualatin, Ore., with offices in North America, France, Germany and Japan. With the October 2024 release of its AI assistant called Pai, the vendor's completed its multiyear conversion of BPM products to GenAI. To date, iGrafx is mainly focused on the financial, telecommunications, manufacturing, healthcare and insurance markets.

Core BPM products

The iGrafx BPM product platform, iGrafx Process360 Live, consists of individual product modules that provide support for a different aspect of BPM work. They include the following:

• IGrafx Process Mining. Provides analytics to monitor, discover and report issues in process operations.
• IGrafx Process Designer. Supports business and digital automation modeling, analysis, solution design, low-code and no-code development, testing and deployment planning.
• IGrafx Process Simulation. Enables model workflow, simulates operations, iteratively improves design, predicts situational outcomes, identifies bottlenecks and other issues, and recommends improvements.
• IGrafx Process Repository. A data storage tool that doesn't use AI.
• IGrafx Process Governance. Provides process governance, management and improvement reporting.
• IGrafx Process Optimize. Process and workflow analysis to find and recommend ongoing improvements to sustain optimization.
• IGrafx Risk and Compliance Manager. Maps and models processes; designs, simulates and optimizes process models; performs risk analysis; and monitors compliance against rules and limits.
• IGrafx University Learning Hub. Doesn't use AI; education is provided through training courses, videos, workshops and more.

The vendor offers an end-to-end BPM suite of capabilities, from process analysis and current state modeling, through redesign, simulation, performance analytics, application modeling, and low-code application generation and use. Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents are generated internally and through integrated third-party AI tools and can be embedded in workstreams. The platform, which includes low-code or no-code application generation capabilities, supports integration with other tools, customization, and scalability that can handle rapid changes.

Recent improvements

Enhancements to Process360 Live include new AI and BPM capabilities that streamline processes and improve operational efficiency and effectiveness. Improvements include the following:

• Modern intuitive diagramming interfaces to expedite modeling.
• Simulation and analysis to find bottlenecks, problems and redundant work.
• Process owner identification.
• Performance monitoring, problem analytics and corrective action recommendations.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

Process360 Live can generate customized AI assistants, but not chatbots. However, external chatbots and AI assistants can be embedded or linked in the workflow and managed as part of a generated process redesign offering.

Takeaways

Because the iGrafx BPM product platform just completed a major transformation using GenAI as its foundation, its testing approach and testing quality are unknown. Until the platform is put through a published stress test, there is only limited live use data to work with.

Strengths

• Comprehensive BPM process lifecycle support.
• Advanced process simulation and reporting.
• Accelerated decision-making.
• Consolidated repository access.
• Visibility into operations and end-to-end workflow activities.
• AI-enabled optimization across processes, workflows and activities.

Weaknesses

• Complexity increases the need for technical training and the time needed to become an experienced user.
• Tech support issues include slow responses for noncritical needs.
• Drawbacks of the BPM approach include visual complexity, data synchronization and process issues.
• Insufficient documentation can make it challenging to integrate with existing IT systems.

Kissflow

Launched in in 2012 in Chennai, India, Kissflow is headquartered in Wilmington, Del., and has customers in 121 countries. Its BPM platform is a cloud-based, AI-enabled group of products designed to automate and optimize client business operations. A conversion to GenAI-based capabilities is ongoing.

Core BPM products

Kissflow BPM includes the following products:

• Kissflow App Builder. Low-code and no-code rapid application development.
• Kissflow Process Builder. Visual process modeling to design workflows.
• Kissflow Decision Tables. Rule definition and program-based decision activity modeling.
• Kissflow Portals. Supports the design and development of external portals.
• Kissflow Boards. For project management and task tracking.
• Kissflow Form Builder. Automated custom form design and creation.
• Kissflow AI Workflow Automation. RPA-type of tool that automates repetitive rules-centric activities.
• Kissflow Analytics. Data analysis, advanced reporting, predictive modeling, outcome forecasting and decision support.

Recent improvements

• Streamlined application creation process.
• Improved global search capabilities.
• Streamlined workflow management audit logs.
• Improved field lookup in customization.
• Enhanced security.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

Kissflow products can generate chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents. These AI tools can be used as standalone tools or in workstreams.

Takeaways

Kissflow is a comprehensive BPM platform offering the ability to design and build processes with generative and conversational components, while using older tech applications. One of Kissflow's aims is to use AI to simplify its platform for citizen developers who might not have a detailed level of BPM or application generation experience.

Strengths

• Workflow automation with low-code and no-code customization.
• Design, development and implementation of applications.
• Ability to generate chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents.
• Ease of use with a focus on users with limited technical backgrounds.
• Customizable prebuilt templates for common processes.
• Wide range of integration capabilities.
• Collaboration flexibility.
• Advanced analytics and reporting to track performance and make more informed decisions.
• Cloud-based infrastructure with data encryption, backups and compliance with company and Kissflow standards.

Weaknesses

• High learning curve.
• Customer support delays or difficulties in problem resolution.
• Solution performance can be slow.
• Accessing old or large amounts of data can be a problem.
• Integration complexities with inconsistencies when integrating some third-party tools.
• Training and support.

Microsoft

Microsoft's BPM product, released in November 2016 as Microsoft Flow and renamed Microsoft Power Automate in November 2019, has been evolving since its debut. Today, the platform is being rebuilt as an AI-centric group of advanced offerings designed to compete effectively against other major advanced BPM and application generation tools.

The Power Automate Platform operates globally across more than 20 countries.

Core BPM products

The core BPM product group is the Microsoft Power Platform, which consists of the following products:

• Microsoft Power BI. Data analysis, data integration and dashboards.
• Microsoft Power Apps. Application development and integration.
• Microsoft Power Automate. Workflow low-code and no-code automation and the integration of large numbers of applications using prebuilt templates.
• Microsoft Power Virtual Agents. Chatbot creation.
• Microsoft Dataverse. Data storage and management.

The Microsoft BPM product line is a combination of AI-based and AI-enhanced offerings. Also, some products, such as Visio and SharePoint, have components that remain based on traditional BPM features and have no or limited AI components.

Recent improvements

Improvements in 2024 and heading into 2025 include the following:

• A move to modify the product line to be AI-centric.
• Seamless integration with Microsoft 365.
• AI automation provides low-code and no-code application generation.
• Mobile application accessibility.
• Process mining and reporting.
• Enhanced security with privacy controls.
• Enhancements to Microsoft Copilot AI assistant to improve user experience and productivity.

Microsoft has maintained a commitment to innovation in BPM tool capabilities. With the addition of the Copilot AI assistant, the vendor joins the list of the top BPM and application generation product lines. Both conversational and generative AI capabilities are used to enhance traditional BPM products and reduce manual intervention used to control complex processing activities.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

Copilot AI assistant is an advanced GenAI tool available through Microsoft Outlook, Windows or Microsoft 365 Applications. Copilot offers a wide range of capabilities, including support for general inquiries, interactive research, document editing and more.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents can be generated through Microsoft Power Virtual Agents, Microsoft Power Automate and Microsoft AI Builder. AI Builder is a low-code tool to create custom AI models to automate processes, get insights from data and optimize operations. Power Automate focuses on workflow automation.

Chatbots can be built into applications or stand alone, with the following capabilities:

• Can be embedded in other Microsoft applications.
• Creates content, document summaries and improvement suggestions.
• Engages in real-time dialogue with a user to find information and answer questions.
• Supports advanced analytics and decision-making.
• Provides real-time guidance in application definition.
• Prebuilt templates to help expedite application definition.
• Uses continuous learning through feedback from users.
• Automates repetitive tasks.
• Aids in generating formula for applications.
• Data integration.

Takeaways

Intelligent automation and cloud-native management are the driving forces of Microsoft's BPM offering. Integrating cloud computing, AI, big data and analytic services, alongside the application of RPA to automate repetitive, rules-centric tasks aims to provide faster and continuous business transformation.

Power Automate offers a wide range of features, from advanced analytics to collaboration tools -- and the platform continues to evolve. Power Apps and AI Builder tools integrate AI and workflow models to generate low-code and no-code applications that support capabilities like object detection, test reorganization and form processing.

Strengths

• Integration with other Microsoft products.
• Application design for traditional and AI products.
• Low-code/no-code capabilities.
• Simulation.
• Simplicity, driven by a focus on citizen developers.
• Scalability and flexibility.
• Flexible data analytics.
• Strong compliance and security capabilities.
• Continuous innovation.

Weaknesses

• Limited out-of-the-box features.
• Navigation between tools can be challenging.
• Integration with third-party vendor products can be difficult.
• Power Automate tool complexity can require a longer time commitment from developers.
• Performance in complex, high data volume situations can be a problem.
• Custom large applications and special requirements might be challenging.
• As these tools are designed for cloud-based environments there can be difficulties when dealing with offline environments.
• Reporting and analytics limitations.
• Lacks full process modeling capabilities.

Newgen Software Technologies

Newgen was founded in 1992 to provide digital support for enterprise content management and BPM. Headquartered in New Delhi, the company has offices in multiple locations in India and the U.S. with additional offices in the U.K., Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Singapore and Canada.

The company focuses on transformation, with the aim of helping companies increase the speed of their digital efforts and running flexible operations. Intelligent process automation is a big push. Newgen's BPM platform, called NewgenOne, was released in 2021 and is continuously updated. In August 2024, the vendor added advanced GenAI capabilities with the integration of NewgenOne Marvin.

Core BPM products

The NewgenOne Platform provides rapid point-and-click application generation, using conversational and GenAI capabilities in the design and construction features; software can be built using low-code or no-code application generation. NewgenOne Marvin uses GenAI to pull information from processes and documents to quickly design applications. Products and capabilities include the following:

• Newgen Process Modeling. Designs business processes, workflows and activities.
• Newgen Business Process Automation. Centrally manages business rules, streamlining business processes and complex automation through RPA.
• Newgen Dynamic Case Management. Manages communications in a dynamic environment.
• Newgen Contextual Content Services. Sends custom messaging to customers and manages content generated in business processes.
• Newgen Process Orchestration. Optimizes end-to-end workflows.
• Reporting and analytics. Analyzes work to optimize processes and provide reports and recommendations using drill-down dashboards.

Recent improvements

The redevelopment of Newgen's BPM platform and its update in 2024 are evidence of the vendor's commitment to innovation and include the following capabilities:

• Comprehensive intelligent process automation.
• GenAI-enabled process and workflow discovery, analysis and modeling.
• Low-code and no-code application generation for business and technical designs.
• Automated metadata classification and extraction.
• Speech-to-text translation.
• RPA generation of applications to automate repetitive tasks.
• Improved project governance and security.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents can be generated from NewgenOne BPM products and used separately and as part of both NewgenOne offerings. Prebuilt chatbots and AI assistants in the NewgenOne Marvin platform can be easily integrated into low-code application development projects.

Takeaways

Newgen's vision for the future of BPM is based on AI to make digital transformation more effective and efficient.

Strengths

• Low-code and no-code platforms offer a rapid development environment, reducing much of the application coding.
• AI-enabled design and development reduce time and effort.
• GenAI underlies many of the digital capabilities, helping developers to choose the best tools for the task.
• AI and data science enable data-driven decision-making and process optimization.
• Advanced governance and security guarantee business operations and digital support capabilities comply with policy and law.

Weaknesses

As with other BPM and digital products, operational weaknesses will be discovered over the project and use lifecycles. Some of these weaknesses include the following:

• Software complexity requires considerable knowledge and experience, making training and mentoring important requirements.
• Integrating with legacy applications can be difficult.
• Customization can be limited and difficult.
• Customers have noted problems with vendor response.
• Implementation costs related to complexity, training and documentation.
• User interfaces can occasionally be nonintuitive.

Nintex

Nintex was founded in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia, and moved its headquarters to Bellevue, Wash., in 2013. Its comprehensive process automation platform, Nintex Automation Cloud, is a mix of AI products and traditional technologies. The transition to GenAI-enabled offerings, begun in 2018, has been a gradual process – the 2024 release of an AI version of its Workflow Generator is the vendor's most recent milestone.

Core BPM products

Nintex products include the following:

• Nintex Workflow Generator. Used to create workflows from verbal descriptions.
• Nintex Process Capture. Builds process models using text AI prompts.
• Nintex Assistant. Intelligent chatbot that uses NLP to help users understand processes and find information quickly.
• Nintex AI Form Generator. Creates customizable forms from verbal input as part of Nintex Forms.
• Nintex AI Form Translator. Translates forms into different languages, making them accessible worldwide.
• Nintex Automation Cloud. Supports workflow automation in a cloud environment.
• Nintex for SharePoint. Workflow automation for SharePoint users.
• Nintex for Office 365. Workflow automation for Office 365 environments.
• Nintex Process Manager. Support process modeling.

Recent improvements

The following product improvements are focused on productivity, manual effort reduction and process visibility:

• Increased integration capabilities.
• Easier to use interfaces.
• Improved security.
• Continued integration of GenAI in process and workflow model creation.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

Nintex BPM uses its Chatbot Builder to create custom AI assistants and AI agents that, as noted, can generate content from NLP prompts, including forms, workflow, modeling and data tables.

Takeaways

Nintex is committed to using generative and conversational AI to make their products accessible to users with limited technical skills. The company is open to collaborating with customers and partners to drive innovation. This is in response to increasing demands for automation, AI enablement and digital transformation.

Strengths

• Easy to use.
• Simplified interfaces.
• Low-code and no-code application generation capabilities.
• Scalability.
• Mobile accessibility.
• Customization.
• Advanced analytics.
• Services and product support.
• Process modeling and documentation.
• Security.
• Platform integration.

Weaknesses

• Steep learning curve and user experience issues due to complexity.
• Integration issues.
• Automation problems.
• Focus on large companies.
• Reliance on third-party vendors.
• Limited noncloud development.

Oracle

The Oracle BPM Suite 11g product was released in 2007. Since then, the vendor has enhanced its BPM platform multiple times, with the latest large upgrade integrating GenAI capabilities into components of its product line. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the BPM group has offices worldwide.

Core BPM products

Oracle's AI-enabled BPM products consist of multiple special-purpose modules that enhance process automation, decision analytics and user collaboration. AI enablement is via GenAI; however, some offerings heavily imbued with AI and other legacy technology offerings require manual intervention to access AI.

Oracle BPM products include the following:

• Oracle BPM Studio. Graphical software development using drag-and-drop model creation and standard symbols to generate low-code and no-code applications.
• Oracle BPM Process Composer. Web-based business analysis, simulation and process optimization.
• Oracle BPM Workspace. Centralized workflow management.
• Oracle BPM Process Spaces. Collaborative workroom.
• Oracle BPM Process Analytics. Reports on process performance using real-time dashboards.
• Oracle BPM Process Accelerators. Prebuilt best practice templates as a starting place for common activities.
• Oracle BPM Business Rules. Rules definition and management.

Recent improvements

A six-year product transformation to rebuild the BPM tool suite around GenAI capabilities was completed in May 2024, with the release of Oracle Database 23ai. The new infrastructure the product group is based on is named GenDev, as in generative development.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

The Oracle BPM platform generates chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents using Oracle Digital Assistant and Oracle Database 23ai products. These products can be used standalone or as an integrated component of a solution workstream.

Takeaways

Oracle's BPM management team envisions using both GenAI and new versions of AI as they become available to provide greater intelligence, adaptive capabilities and the creation of more efficient and flexible tasks, workflows and processes.

The need for service-oriented architecture (SOA) technology expertise to support complex integrations, maintenance and performance tuning make an otherwise solid product suite more complex, a little less flexible and largely off limits to citizen developers.

Strengths

• The integrated AI-based BPM product line provides advanced automation, interactive communication and decision-making based on machine learning technologies.
• User-friendly collaboration capabilities and integration with Oracle's SOA Suite enhance flexibility and scalability capabilities for technical experts.
• AI-based performance analytics and process monitoring provide insight into the operation, which -- along with simulation and predictive analytics -- identify operational improvement opportunities.

Weaknesses

• Technical complexity, requiring a skilled staff and significant training.
• BPM modeling, solution design and development and deployment geared toward IT developers and technology professionals.
• Can be difficult for citizen and nontechnical developers to use.

Pegasystems (Pega)

Founded in 1983, Pegasystems -- better known as Pega -- has become a leading provider of low-code and no-code BPM products and AI powered decision offerings. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Pega has more than 40 offices around the world, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Core BPM products

The products in the Pega Infinity platform support traditional and AI capabilities and include the following:

• Pega Platform. Provides process modeling, low-code automation and AI-powered decision support.
• Pega Intelligent Automation. Combines BPM, RPA and AI to provide digital application generation for workflows for end-to-end process automation.
• Pega RPA. Automates repetitive, rules-based task work with low-code application generation; no-code application generation is also supported.
• Pega Customer Decision. Provides AI-enabled, real-time decision analytics.
• Pega GenAI Blueprint. A tool that assists with workflow management and task design.
• Pega Process Mining. Provides workflow analytics to visualize and assess processes.

Buyers should be aware that application generation is a combination of manual and automated tasks. While AI assists in many of these tasks, task initiation is generally manual.

Recent improvements

A recognized leader in BPM, Pega has a 40-year history of product evolution and performance. Recent product improvements have been designed to help customers streamline business and digital operations while helping them move from legacy technologies to digital AI technologies. Today, Pegasystems is rapidly expanding its use of generative and conversational AI technologies to enable a wide range of capabilities in its products.

Improvements include the following:

• Infinity 24.2 updates introducing new GenAI features across the product suite, including enhancements to GenAI Blueprint, GenAI Coach, Customer Decision Hub, and Customer Services and Sales Automation product lines.
• New large language models, including Amazon Bedrock and Google Cloud's Vertex AI.
• Hyperautomation that can isolate exceptions and personalize engagement.
• AI governance.
• Enhancing edge computing capabilities with automation, AI and machine learning.
• Extended reality capabilities to create immersive, real-world experiences.

Pega's Intelligent BPM (iBPM) product integrates AI capabilities, rules and robotics to determine process and drive business outcomes for complex business operations.

IBPM supports AI-based decision-making, process monitoring, predictive analytics and solution recommendation along with knowledge management, process mining and flexible GenAI capabilities.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

Pega uses chatbots in a variety of ways to expedite business operations, as well as to design and redesign applications as changes are required. The vendor's Intelligent Virtual Assistant is a conversational AI tool to create and deploy chatbots and AI assistants. The chatbots can handle customer inquiries, guide users through processes and automate routine tasks.

Pega's GenAI Coach provides guidance to users within the application, including analyzing workflows and offering advice on best practices.

Takeaways

Pega offers a comprehensive group of BPM transformation products that work together to deliver flexibility and significant capabilities. Pega states that it's futureproofing its products by staying ahead of new technologies and trends in AI capabilities. It will be interesting to see how the vendor uses AI to reduce complexity -- the suite's chief drawback.

Strengths

• Infusion of GenAI capabilities into Pega products.
• Process redesign with low-code or no-code application generation capabilities, including the generation of RPA.
• Advanced AI-based analytics.
• Simulation capabilities.
• Dynamic case management to deal with unstructured data.
• Scalability.
• Security advancements.

Weaknesses

• Complexity can result in a steep learning curve.
• Can be challenging to upgrade.
• Integration with legacy applications.
• Complex UI customization.
• Limited AI/machine learning customization.
• Rule management complexity.
• Complex analytics.

Progress Software

Founded in 1981 as Data Language Corp. and renamed Progress Software in 1987, the vendor is headquartered in Burlington, Mass., with offices in the U.S., Europe and South America. The vendor enhanced its BPM capabilities with the acquisition of BPM vendor Savvion in 2010 and Corticon, a rules management and decision analytics firm, in 2011, laying the groundwork for its shift to AI and machine learning.

Core BPM products

Progress Software uses both conversational and GenAI in its BPM products including the following:

• Progress OpenEdge BPM. Built on the Progress OpenEdge application development platform, OpenEdge BPM supports application modeling, analysis, solution design, and both low-code and no-code application generation.
• Progress MarkLogic Server. Built to handle complex data and control management, data integration and data security across a company, the MarkLogic multimodal database was acquired in 2023.
• Progress Corticon. Integrated with AI capabilities, Corticon provides business rules management and automated decision-making.
• Progress Kinvey. A cloud service to develop applications.
• Progress Telerik and Progress Kendo UI. AI-based UI tools to build applications.
• Progress DataDirect. A suite of data connectivity products that controls data access, integration, connectivity and security.
• Progress Moveit. Secure file transfer, sharing and file transfer analytics.
• Progress Flowmon. AI-powered network traffic, flow and threat detection with network intelligence and threat response.
• Progress Podio. Project management and team collaboration provider acquired in Sept. 2024.
• Progress Sitefinity. AI-driven tools for content creation and management.
• Progress Fiddler Everywhere. Web debugging with AI web traffic analysis and debugging.

Recent improvements

New versions of the OpenEdge application development platform were released in 2023 and 2024. Improvements include the following:

• Increased performance management.
• Security enhancements through data masking.
• Real-time messaging and data integration.
• Diagnostic improvements.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

The creation of new chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents is supported, as is the ability to use both AI assistants and chatbots in applications and process workstreams.

Takeaways

Progress Software has focused on providing flexibility, efficiency and ease of use. This includes integrating AI and machine learning into their BPM tools to enhance automated decision-making and predictive analytics, as well as simplifying low-code and no-code application generation with the goal of making applications self-optimizing, adaptive and interoperable. Custom offerings and complex workflows can require manual intervention, as is often the case with the major AI-enabled BPM automated tool suites.

Strengths

• Advanced workflow management with model simplification and AI-based analytics.
• Seamless integration with other Progress Software products and application systems.
• Real-time monitoring with visibility into performance.
• Improved scalability and security.

Weaknesses

• The tools are complex and require a long learning curve.
• Integration with other systems can be complex and difficult.
• Costs can be high.

UiPath

Founded in 2005 in Bucharest, Romania, UiPath now customers in more 100 countries. Originally named DeskOver, the company was renamed UiPath in 2015 as it evolved from a major RPA vendor to a BPM automation vendor. Headquartered in New York, UiPath released its first GenAI offering in 2023 with the Ada AI Assistant and multiple AI Agents.

Core BPM products

UiPath products and capabilities include the following:

• UiPath Studio. A drag-and-drop visual modeler that supports process modeling, workflow automation, simulation and solution optimization.
• UiPath Robot. A digital AI agent that performs control and government tasks.
• UiPath Orchestrator. A digital console that tracks application configuration and deployment with performance monitoring and governance.
• UiPath Process Mining. Accesses process monitoring information and runs it through different algorithms to make certain operation is optimal.
• UiPath Automation Cloud. Cloud-based capability deals with scalability, security and solution deployment.

Application development is a multistep process with each step having to be started manually.

Recent improvements

UiPath strongly supports product innovation and evolution and has made the following recent improvements:

• AI-enabled low-code application generation.
• Creation of special-purpose AI assistants and AI agents to help drive optimization and cloud flexibility.
• AI-enabled low-code application generation and other AI product-based change and enablement.
• Transition from an RPA frontrunner to BPM vendor.
• Enhanced ability of UiPath's Studio and Orchestration to support process automation, analytics and performance monitoring.
• Easier design, deployment and integration of no-code apps via UiPath Apps and UiPath Assistant.
• Enhancements to UiPath Data Service and UiPath Integration Service for low-code application generation.

Chatbots, AI assistants and AI agents

UiPath AI assistants can use and generate other AI assistants. Integrating with external products like Google Dialogflow, Microsoft Bot Framework and IBM Watson allows UiPath to generate a variety of chatbots.

Takeaways

With a foundation as a major RPA vendor, UiPath made the jump to BPM application modeling, generation and process management and then to AI product integration.

UiPath's vision of the future is to help customers create fully automated business operations using RPA, AI and BPM. Continuous process optimization, advanced performance monitoring, intelligent decision-making, predictive analytics and automated response to legislation, opportunities and operations optimization needs are all part of UiPath's AI-centric approach.

Strengths

• The integration of AI capabilities to improve intelligence in the automation process.
• Advanced AI and machine learning are embedded into automation workflows.
• UiPath BPM tools address all phases of automation.
• Ability to scale support for all sizes of automation projects.
• Low-code and no-code application generation.
• Easy-to-use modeling capabilities.
• Broad library of prebuilt applications components and templates.
• Advanced AI-enabled process monitoring with real-time analytics.
• Integration flexibility.
• Cloud-based and on-premises product deployment.
• Advanced security and compliance governance.

Weaknesses

• Complexity requires considerable training --there is a steep learning curve.
• Technical understanding, including programming skills, is required of all users.
• Integration with legacy and other applications can be difficult.
• Using these tools can be resource-intensive in larger companies due to complexity.
• Products require regular monitoring and maintenance to remain optimal.
• Limited AI capabilities.
• Limited advanced analytics capabilities.

Daniel Morris is an independent consultant specializing in business process management. He has co-authored six books and over 100 articles on business transformation.