Why hyperautomation isn't just another buzzword
I've been in enterprise software long enough to watch trends come and go. Remember when "cloud" was revolutionary? Now it's just... infrastructure. That's exactly what's happening with hyperautomation—it's transitioning from buzzword to baseline expectation.
But here's what makes hyperautomation different: it's not about individual tools getting better. It's about how multiple technologies—RPA, AI, low-code, process mining—work together to fundamentally change how organizations operate.
The hyperautomation software market reached $720 billion in 2023, and for the third consecutive year, 80% of Gartner clients are increasing or sustaining their hyperautomation investments. This isn't experimental technology anymore—it's strategic infrastructure.
Let's cut through the noise and talk about what's actually coming.
The technologies reshaping hyperautomation
RPA is getting a brain
Robotic Process Automation started as glorified screen recording—bots that mindlessly clicked buttons in the same order every time. That's changing fast.
What's next: The global RPA market is projected to grow from $28.31 billion in 2024 to $211.06 billion by 2034, at a 25% CAGR. But it's not just growth—it's evolution.
Future RPA bots will:
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Use machine learning to handle dynamic systems that change layouts
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Understand natural language instructions instead of requiring step-by-step programming
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Make contextual decisions based on what they "see," not just what they're programmed to do
In other words, bots are graduating from following scripts to actually understanding what they're doing.
AI will drive context, not just automation
Today's AI mostly does one thing: pattern recognition. Future AI will understand intent, recommend actions, and predict outcomes before problems occur.
The shift: Currently, 65% of organizations deploying automation are introducing AI capabilities like ML, NLP, and intelligent document processing. By 2027, that'll be the minimum expectation—not a differentiator.
The real breakthrough? AI that doesn't just process documents but understands what they mean. An AI that reads a contract and knows "this clause creates financial risk" or "this delivery date conflicts with three other commitments."
Low-code platforms will finally scale enterprise-wide
Right now, low-code is often relegated to departmental "shadow IT" projects. That's about to change.
The numbers:
Why the explosion? Because IT can't keep up with demand, and business users are tired of waiting. Kissflow's low-code foundation positions it perfectly for this shift—enabling both developers and process owners to build and manage apps in parallel.
Process mining will become a core input (not an afterthought)
Too many companies guess at what to automate. Process mining changes that by visualizing exactly how work flows through your organization—including the inefficiencies you don't know about.
The future: Instead of automating based on how you think work happens, you'll automate based on how it actually happens. Process mining will feed directly into automation platforms, highlighting bottlenecks and suggesting optimizations in real-time.
What to expect in the next five years
1. Unified automation platforms will win
The current fragmentation of automation tools is unsustainable. Nobody wants to manage separate platforms for workflow automation, RPA, AI, and analytics—each with different licensing, governance, and skill requirements.
The trend: Businesses will increasingly prefer platforms that combine these capabilities in one place. Kissflow already offers this unification across functions—providing workflow automation, integration capabilities, AI features, and analytics without forcing you to stitch together five different vendors.
Gartner predicts that by 2024, organizations transitioning to more-connected automation strategies will adopt at least three process-agnostic types of hyperautomation software. The smart money is on platforms that integrate these from day one.
2. From task automation to goal automation
Current automation focuses on individual tasks: "Approve this invoice." "Send this email." "Update this spreadsheet."
What's coming: Future systems will optimize for business outcomes. Instead of automating invoice approval, the system will ensure faster closing cycles across the entire finance department. It'll recognize that speeding up invoice processing doesn't matter if payment reconciliation is still a bottleneck.
This shift from task-level to goal-level automation is massive. It means your automation platform needs to understand your business objectives, not just execute individual steps.
3. Automation-driven insights will replace static reports
Right now, data from automated processes mostly sits unused. Future platforms will turn every automated interaction into intelligence.
The impact:
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Decisions will be real-time, based on behavior trends, not quarterly KPIs
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AI will send alerts before problems become crises
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You'll optimize processes continuously based on actual performance data
Kissflow is already built for this—capturing data from every automated process and feeding it into analytics that help you make smarter decisions.
4. Greater autonomy for business users
The era of "submit a ticket to IT and wait three months" is ending.
The reality: Nearly 60% of custom apps are already created by employees outside IT departments, and 41% of businesses have active citizen development programs.
By 2027, expect business users to have even more freedom to build, test, and deploy apps—with IT managing governance and integrations in the background.
Kissflow's low learning curve and embedded governance framework are built precisely for this shift. Process owners can solve problems without waiting for IT, while IT maintains control over security, compliance, and data.
5. Governance by design (not as an afterthought)
As automation spreads, managing risk becomes critical. By 2024, over 70% of large enterprises will have more than 70 concurrent hyperautomation initiatives. Without governance, that's a compliance nightmare.
What's coming: Future platforms will embed audit trails, access controls, and compliance checks natively into every automated flow. You won't have to bolt on governance—it'll be part of the foundation.
Kissflow already does this. Every workflow includes built-in audit logging, role-based permissions, and policy enforcement. As automation scales, governance scales with it.
Why Kissflow is positioned for this future
We're not trying to predict the future—we're building for it:
Supporting both low-code and no-code users: Whether you're a citizen developer or an IT professional, Kissflow meets you where you are. 70% of first-time users with no prior app development experience learn low-code platforms in one month or less, and Kissflow is designed for exactly this audience.
Emphasis on ease of use: While competitors add features, we focus on usability. The most commonly used positive word in customer reviews of low-code platforms is "ease of use"—and that's our north star.
Extensibility across teams: You don't need to rip and replace your existing tools. Kissflow integrates with your current tech stack, allowing you to build, refine, and scale automation over time.
In a future where hyperautomation drives digital operations, Kissflow serves as the operating system for enterprise agility. Not the tool that does everything—the platform that connects everything.
The risks of waiting
Here's what keeps me up at night on behalf of our customers: the companies that wait.
Gartner expects that by 2024, organizations combining hyperautomation with redesigned processes will lower operational costs by 30%. That's not a future prediction anymore—it's happening now.
Meanwhile, companies that stick with manual processes or basic automation are falling behind. Not in some abstract competitive sense, but in measurable ways:
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Their cycle times are 3-5x longer
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Their error rates are significantly higher
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Their teams spend time on repetitive work instead of strategic initiatives
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They can't scale without proportionally increasing headcount
The gap between automation leaders and laggards is widening—and it's happening faster than most executives realize.
What you should do now
If you're reading this, you're probably evaluating your automation strategy. Here's my advice:
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Start with pain points, not platforms Don't ask "Which hyperautomation platform should we buy?" Ask "Which processes are breaking under current load?" Then find the platform that solves those problems.
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Prioritize time-to-value over feature lists A platform with 100 features you'll never use isn't better than one with 20 features you'll use daily. 72% of low-code users build and launch apps in under three months—that's the speed you should expect.
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Plan for citizen developers By 2025, 50% of all new application users will come from business teams outside IT. Your platform needs to support them without creating chaos.
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Demand governance from day one Don't assume you'll "add governance later." By then, you'll have 50 uncontrolled workflows scattered across departments. Start with a platform that has governance built in.
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Test integration before you commit 66% of companies say digital transformation is the main reason for adopting low-code platforms. That means your automation platform needs to integrate with everything else you're doing. Test those integrations early.
The bottom line: The future is already here
Hyperautomation isn't something that's coming—it's something that's happening. The question isn't whether your organization will adopt these technologies, but whether you'll be early enough to gain competitive advantage or late enough that you're just catching up.
The intelligent document processing market alone is growing from $2.30 billion in 2024 to $12.35 billion by 2030. The RPA market is exploding from $28.31 billion to $211.06 billion by 2034. Low-code platforms are scaling from $28.75 billion to $264.40 billion by 2032.
These aren't predictions—they're investments that companies are making right now. The future of work is automated, intelligent, and democratized. The platforms that win will be those that make these capabilities accessible without sacrificing governance or control.
Kissflow has already anticipated this direction. We're not chasing every trend—we're building the foundation that makes hyperautomation practical, scalable, and sustainable for real enterprises with real constraints.
In a future where hyperautomation drives digital operations, you need more than tools. You need a platform that grows with you.
