Carl Lehmann is a senior research analyst in the 451 Research Applied Infrastructure & DevOps and Cloud Native research channels within S&P Global Market Intelligence. He leads coverage of process automation and integration in hybrid IT and cloud-native architectures, as well as how hybrid IT affects business strategy and operations. His research covers digital automation platforms (including workflow and business process management suites), robotic process automation technology, process discovery and mining technology, and hybrid integration platforms (including integration PaaS and application programming interface management). Previously, Carl was a principal analyst at BPMethods, where he advised clients on business strategy and process management using the practices in his book “Strategy and Business Process Management: Techniques for Improving Execution, Adaptability, and Consistency," published by Taylor and Francis Group. Carl was also a senior VP of strategy and product management for a B2B integration firm (now OpenText) and served 10 years as VP of research for IT advisory firms Gartner and META Group advising Fortune 500 clients. Carl's career began as a project manager for AT&T and a product manager for Digital Equipment Corporation (now Hewlett Packard Enterprise). He is a graduate of Boston University School of Management.
The APA space is expanding as AI enables autonomous agents to optimize workflows, improve customer experiences and reduce costs. Over the past 18 months, consolidation has reshaped the sector, with major players and new entrants buying innovative technologies. In this report, we discuss key deals, market trends, and potential acquirers and targets.
Today's deal indicates that Salesforce is aiming to enhance its ability to ground responses in accurate data and to expand automation capabilities within specific industry verticals. It also takes Salesforce beyond mere process automation, giving it the ability to compete as a modern AI-based enterprise resource planning platform.
Amid a market shifting from AI hype to targeted process automation, enterprises are embracing agentic platforms that deliver adaptability and closed‐loop performance. Here we examine trends driving the agentic process automation market and highlight vendor advances that will continue to shape it.
At the recent Connect:AI 2025 conference in New York, the company outlined how it is evolving its platform to support a future shaped by AI agents, APIs and human collaboration. We examine MuleSoft's strategy, product updates and direction, including tools for AI-driven development and multi-agent orchestration.
The vendor's agentic AI strategy is focused on embedding AI agents into its platform to automate complex tasks, streamline integration and accelerate processes. Its platform has been fortified to deliver process-aware intelligence that enables AI agents to understand business context and dynamically adapt workflows for greater efficiency.
At PegaWorld 2025 in Las Vegas, Pega unveiled a series of significant and incremental innovations. Notable innovations to its App Studio, Pega Blueprint and the new Agentic Process Fabric use AI to fundamentally change how agentic process automations are designed, developed and orchestrated.
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