BPM Study 2025: Efficiency drives companies - AI reaches its limits
A new study by the ZHAW and BOC Group sheds light on how companies manage their business processes, what role AI already plays and which technological and organizational factors are slowing down progress.
The latest BPM study by the ZHAW School of Management and Law in collaboration with the BOC Group analyzes the maturity level of business process management (BPM) in companies in the DACH region. The study examined how organizations manage their processes, the extent to which AI and agentic process automation are used, the goals companies pursue with BPM and the challenges they face in doing so. Over 290 experts were surveyed.
Importance of BPM: efficiency, transparency and digitalization are key
The results show that business process management continues to gain strategic importance and increasingly forms the foundation for AI-based automation. At the same time, companies are facing clearly identifiable maturity limits and implementation barriers. «BPM remains central for Swiss companies and will gain in importance in the future with AI. Our study shows that AI adoption is only just beginning and will only develop its potential on the basis of solid process foundations,» concludes Dr. Tim Geppert, lecturer in process management at the ZHAW School of Management and Law.
The study shows that companies are increasingly using BPM as a central management tool. 75% of the organizations surveyed cite increased efficiency as their primary goal, followed by the creation of transparency and traceability as well as the creation of a basis for the digitalization of processes and business models. In regulated industries in particular, BPM is also seen as a tool for ensuring compliance and governance.
Agentic Process Automation in the early stages - AI use in BPM still hesitant
Many companies see Agentic Process Automation (APA) as the next step in the development of process automation. 49% of experts expect APA to become increasingly important in the coming years. However, actual use is still at a low level: only 6% are currently experimenting with pilot projects. The study classifies APA as an AI-supported further development of workflow automation. APA has the potential to autonomously plan, control and dynamically adapt business processes.
According to the study, the biggest hurdles to the integration of AI in process management are data protection and security concerns (70%), a lack of internal expertise (59%) and high implementation costs. These factors show that AI-supported BPM is not just a technological issue, but requires far-reaching organizational and regulatory changes.
Relevance of BPM tools is increasing significantly across all industries
The survey shows that the use of BPM software is playing an increasingly important role in almost all sectors. This trend is particularly pronounced in the public sector, where 84% of respondents expect BPM tools to become increasingly important. A clear increase in importance is also predicted in IT (71 %), industry (68 %) and the finance and insurance sector (63 %).
The results make it clear that BPM tools are no longer just seen as operational support, but increasingly as a strategic building block for increasing efficiency, digital process control and compliance with regulatory requirements. «Our study proves it: BPM is the indispensable foundation for optimization, digitalization of value creation and regulatory compliance. At the same time, we recognize The AI potential is immense - but we are still at the very beginning when it comes to implementation. That is why it is now crucial to strategically anchor BPM in order to create a database with reliable information (‚golden source‘) and unleash real added value in the age of AI.»
Source: BOC Group
This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/bpm-studie-2025-effizienz-treibt-unternehmen-ki-stoesst-auf-grenzen/
