Like flossing, business process automation can be an easy habit to overlook. The benefits are clear, yet some late adopters hesitate to embrace this transformative routine. However, the reality is that each day without process automation is a day of lost efficiency—a luxury that CIOs and business leaders can no longer afford.
The global BPA market is projected to grow from $13 billion in 2024 to $23.9 billion by 2029, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.6 percent. Meanwhile, approximately 66 percent of businesses have automated at least one business process as of 2024.
The statistics are even more striking when you consider productivity gains: employees estimate that automating tasks might save them 240 hours per year, while company leaders feel that automating tasks could save them 360 hours per year. With only 21 percent of global employees engaged at work in 2024 and Gallup estimating $438 billion in lost productivity globally due to low engagement, automation presents a critical solution to modern workplace challenges.
Where does your organization stand? Are you one of the reluctant few still pondering the impact of business process automation?
Business process automation refers to the use of technology to automate complex business processes beyond simple record-keeping or data manipulation. It involves streamlining workflows, reducing manual intervention, and improving operational efficiency through technologies like AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and digital process automation tools.
Recent studies reveal unprecedented adoption rates:
The stakes have never been higher. With customer acquisition costs continuing to rise, losing operational efficiency due to poor processes isn't just disappointing—it's financially devastating.
"The goal of automation is not to dehumanize operations but rather to reprioritize them such that the most effective elements of human creativity can shine at all levels of an organization." - Steve Smith, Forbes Councils Member
Business process automation software brings about transformative operational benefits for organizations. Automated processes are largely hands-off, eliminating the need for personal oversight of task progression while simultaneously facilitating the identification and correction of errors and bottlenecks in workflows.
The efficiency gains are measurable and significant:
Moreover, task switching costs 40 percent of productivity, which may be decreased by automating most processes, highlighting automation's role in eliminating workflow interruptions that plague manual operations.
When business processes are manually executed, there's significant waste of resources. Business process automation minimizes operational costs, thereby increasing profit margins through optimal resource utilization and waste elimination.
The financial impact is substantial:
Automation also helps businesses manage vendor contracts efficiently and renegotiate terms favorably, creating additional cost savings opportunities.
Maintaining data and documents can be a nightmare with manual or digitized processes. Moving data manually is time-consuming and increases error probability. When automation is implemented, it streamlines document management completely, making it effortless.
Key improvements include:
These enhancements increase employee productivity significantly by eliminating tedious manual document handling tasks.
Automated business processes uniquely boost customer experiences through consistent service delivery and enhanced response capabilities.
First, BPA software helps meet service level agreements (SLAs) consistently. Products and services become available to customers in a timely manner, with quality levels held steady through standardization and greater efficiency.
Second, innovation in process automation, such as chatbots powered by artificial intelligence, allows companies to resolve customer cases quickly and accurately. AI will boost the disruption of skills required at work. 82 percent of leaders say employees will need new skills due to the growth of AI, but the customer service improvements are immediate and measurable.
Automation dramatically improves process visibility through customizable dashboards and real-time monitoring capabilities.
Benefits include:
Two-thirds of respondents in a McKinsey survey reported improvements in quality control, customer satisfaction, employee experience, and reduced operating costs due to automation, demonstrating the comprehensive visibility benefits.
Lack of compliance with industry and legal regulations proves costly for organizations everywhere. Process automation software helps businesses maintain compliance with ease through comprehensive audit trails.
Every automated process run creates logs recording:
These logs prove invaluable during business process audits and demonstrate regulatory compliance, reducing legal risks and potential penalties.
A significant advantage of business process automation is higher employee morale and job satisfaction. Automation provides a friction-free environment enabling efficient work completion.
The employee experience improvements are substantial:
Faster approvals mean teams spend less time waiting and following up with managers. Process transparency helps high performers receive deserved recognition, while freed bandwidth motivates employees to innovate and improve work methods.
Modern organizations are automating processes across every department and function:
AI adoption in Business Process Automation is projected to grow from 74 percent in 2024 to 94 percent by 2029, indicating that these automation capabilities will become even more sophisticated and widespread.
AI-powered automation is revolutionizing business processes through:
According to Gartner, the market of the software that enables hyperautomation will reach up to $1.04 trillion, with a CAGR of 11.9 percent. This represents the integration of multiple automation technologies to create end-to-end automated business processes.
Low-code platform adoption is expected to increase from 24 percent in 2024 to 55 percent by 2029, making automation accessible to business users without extensive technical expertise.
Track these key performance indicators to optimize your automation initiatives:
Don't automate inefficient workflows. Instead, optimize processes before implementing automation to maximize benefits.
29 percent of organizations encounter employee training and resistance issues during automation implementation. Proper change management is essential.
17 percent of organizations deal with management engagement issues, highlighting the importance of leadership support throughout automation projects.
While nearly 9 in 10 employees trust automation solutions to deliver error-free results, human oversight remains crucial for complex decisions and exception handling.
Professional Services
Manufacturing
Healthcare
Financial Services
Implementing comprehensive business process automation doesn't have to be overwhelming or technically complex. Kissflow's low-code workflow automation platform empowers businesses to create, customize, and optimize automated workflows without extensive technical expertise or lengthy implementation cycles.
With Kissflow, you can transform manual processes into streamlined automated workflows in minutes, not months. The platform's intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows you to design workflows that match your specific business needs, ensuring consistent delivery of your automated processes across all departments and functions.
Key features that accelerate automation adoption include automated task assignments that eliminate manual handoffs, real-time progress tracking that provides complete visibility into process status, customizable approval workflows that maintain governance while increasing speed, and integrated communication tools that keep all stakeholders informed automatically.
Whether you're managing invoice approvals, coordinating employee onboarding, automating customer support workflows, or tracking project milestones, Kissflow eliminates the technical barriers and manual overhead that often prevent successful automation initiatives.
The platform's comprehensive reporting capabilities provide the metrics visibility you need to measure automation success and continuously optimize your processes. This data-driven approach helps you identify bottlenecks, measure the ROI indicators that matter most to your business growth, and scale successful automations across your entire organization.