GBTEC’s latest global research reveals a significant gap between ambition and readiness in the adoption of automation and AI. While 78% of organizations plan major AI and automation initiatives over the next two years, fewer than 20% possess the operational maturity required to succeed. The findings, detailed in The 2025 Process Excellence and AI-Readiness Report, highlight process excellence as the essential foundation for sustainable digital transformation. The study, based on insights from 600 senior business and operations leaders across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, underscores that many companies are investing heavily in AI and automation but failing to address underlying operational weaknesses. Only a small fraction—less than 20%—have reached the highest level of process maturity, labeled “AI-powered,” characterized by proactive process management, seamless human-machine collaboration, and intelligent automation. Scott Leddy, Vice President, North America, GBTEC, noted that while more organizations are recognizing the value of process-based transformation, many still underestimate the importance of foundational process management. “Companies are beginning to understand the need to assess their current state before transforming, but too many skip this step and are surprised when automation and AI projects underperform,” he said. The report identifies six key enablers of process excellence, with aligning processes to enterprise architecture standing out as a critical factor. Enterprise architecture provides the framework that connects business processes with IT systems and applications. According to the research, 83% of leaders agree that without process alignment, enterprise architecture becomes little more than costly speculation. Similarly, 85% believe transformation efforts fail without full end-to-end process visibility. Despite growing interest in AI, operational readiness lags. Over the next two years, 61% of leaders plan to adopt agentic AI—autonomous, task-aware AI agents—while 32% aim to deploy them across entire business processes. However, less than half of organizations currently have processes mature enough to support such integration. Alexander Trail, Senior Account Executive, Northern Europe, GBTEC, stressed the risks of misalignment: “Automation initiatives that ignore process management are essentially flying blind. To unlock the full potential of AI, organizations must have clearly defined, documented, and strategically governed processes.” This report marks the first in GBTEC’s global series on process excellence and AI readiness, offering actionable insights for leaders aiming to drive lasting value from their technology investments. For the full report, visit https://www.gbtec.com/whitepaper/global-process-excellence-and-ai-readiness-report-2025/. GBTEC Group is a leading provider of SaaS solutions in Business Process Management (BPM), Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM), Digital Process Automation (DPA), and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). Its no-code and low-code platform enables organizations of all sizes—from SMEs to Fortune 500 companies and public institutions—to design, execute, monitor, and optimize processes. Headquartered in Bochum, Germany, GBTEC operates across the DACH region, Spain, Australia, the UK, the USA, and Saudi Arabia, with around 300 employees. More information is available at https://www.gbtec.com/.