I recently joined the rich community of BPM Professionals at BPM.com thanks to Peter Schooff! My first post was bit provocative, agreed – it was partly by design, but also the intent was to stir up change in the BPM World!
The post drew quite a few RTs, favourites and comments in the twitter world from notable people like John Rymer of Forrester, Allen Jackson of Pega, Clay Richardson also from Forrester, Scott Francis of BP3, Shelley Sweet from i4Process and more.
And, then there is this strong line-by-line rebutal from Scott Francis of BP3. Looks like I made a new online friend :-)! Ok, thanks to Scott, who triggered me to Google more on this topic and I ended up in this pile of BPM is dead posts, with no hard work!
- April, 2014, pretty recently, Gartner’s Elise Olding published this post titled “BPM is dead, Long Live Big Change“
- Jan 2013, my new found blogger friend Scott Francis, wrote a post titled “Is BPM Dead? Appian says no” . I am not counting this one!
- March 2012, Theo Priestly from BPMRedux posts “What the F**K is BPM? starting with a bold statement BPM Must Die.
- May 2010, Boris Lubinsky on InfoQ wrote an article titled “Is standalone BPMS really dead?
- September 2008, Peter Fingar’s story on BPTrends was titled “BPM is dead, Viva La BPM“
With so many posts and article on “BPM is dead” only one thing comes to my mind “unfulfilled promises” of BPM! Change! Period!
Frequently asked questions
1. Is BPM still relevant in 2026?
Absolutely. BPM has evolved from rigid suites into agile, AI-powered workflow platforms. In 2026, BPM drives digital transformation by combining process automation, low-code development, and intelligent routing. Platforms like Kissflow represent this modern, adaptive approach to process management.
2. What are the biggest BPM trends in 2026?
Key 2026 BPM trends include AI-driven process optimization, hyperautomation, citizen development, process mining integration, and composable architecture. Kissflow aligns with these trends by offering low-code flexibility, AI capabilities, and scalable cloud deployment.
3. Will AI replace BPM software?
AI enhances BPM rather than replacing it. AI adds intelligent routing, predictive analytics, and anomaly detection to BPM workflows. Kissflow integrates AI features while preserving the human-centric process design and governance that enterprises require.
4. How is low-code changing the future of BPM?
Low-code transforms BPM by empowering business users to build and modify workflows without developer dependency. Kissflow's low-code platform enables citizen developers to own process automation, dramatically reducing backlog and accelerating time-to-value.
5. What is hyperautomation and how does it relate to BPM?
Hyperautomation combines BPM, RPA, AI, and integration tools to automate end-to-end business processes. BPM provides the orchestration layer that coordinates these technologies. Kissflow serves as a central platform for managing hyperautomation workflows.
6. Will process mining replace traditional BPM?
Process mining complements BPM by providing data-driven visibility into how processes actually run versus how they were designed. The insight feeds continuous improvement within BPM platforms like Kissflow, making optimization evidence-based rather than assumption-driven.
7. How should enterprises prepare for the next generation of BPM?
Enterprises should adopt flexible, cloud-native BPM platforms, invest in citizen developer programs, and prioritize composable process architecture. Kissflow's unified platform approach future-proofs BPM investments by combining workflow, case, and app development capabilities.
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