See how DHL Group orchestrates the enterprise with Bizagi
BOAT brings together RPA, BPA, low-code, and iPaaS to eliminate fragmented automation and reduce technical debt from overlapping tools.
The real value comes from orchestrating end-to-end processes across systems, data, and teams to deliver visibility, control, and greater enterprise-wide impact.
Key capabilities to look for include modular design, process insight through analytics, seamless enterprise connectivity, and embedded AI.
Increasingly, there is an overlap in capabilities between RPA (Robotic Process Automation), BPA (Business Process Automation) and low-code application technologies. This overlap can lead to technical debt once one technology is sidelined for another. It also makes it difficult to understand which offering is the right one for your next project.
Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (BOAT) is a Gartner term defined as ‘a class of software technologies that enables enterprises to automate and orchestrate end-to-end business processes while connecting multiple enterprise systems of record via any applicable integration method.’
BOAT doesn’t include anything the market hasn’t seen before but is a term inclusive of four converging technologies that are used for process optimization: LCAP, BPA, RPA and iPAAS.
LCAP:
A low-code application platform (LCAP) is a development platform that allows non-technical users to build, test and deploy business applications.
BPA:
Business process automation (BPA) involves the automation of complex business processes.
RPA:
Robotic process automation (RPA) uses software bots to complete repetitive, rules-based tasks typically performed by humans.
iPAAS:
Integration platform as a service (iPAAS) is a cloud-based solution used to integrate data from different business systems and applications into one interface.
Modularity
True modularity means self-contained components you can reconfigure, swap, and reuse without disrupting what's already running. Without it, every process change becomes a rebuild, with teams having to recreate the same logic over and over instead of assembling it. Look for platforms where a component built for one process can be dropped into the next, not just reusable code snippets buried in a developer's project file.
Discovery and insight
You can't orchestrate what you can't see. Process mining and analytics capabilities turn assumptions about "how work actually happens" into evidence. This lets you find bottlenecks, manual workarounds, and shadow processes, and prioritize automation efforts based on data, not guesswork.
Enterprise connectivity
Orchestration success depends on how well a platform connects people, processes, AI, systems, data, and bots. A platform that only integrates with a handful of systems just moves the silo problem somewhere else. Look for broad, native connectivity, not a roadmap promise, but proven integration depth across the systems your enterprise runs on.
Embedded AI
AI bolted on is not the same as AI capabilities built into the orchestration layer. AI Agents that take action inside a process, AI Workers that operate autonomously across systems change what automation can do, not just how fast it runs. This is the difference between AI that answers questions and AI that gets work done.
There’s no denying that automation alone can deliver significant business value to an organization. Automating individual tasks helps businesses save money and put people’s time to better use. But orchestration delivers wider benefits by creating end-to-end visibility and control across entire enterprise operations. It eliminates siloed automation efforts and reduces the strain placed on IT from having to manage multiple tools with overlapping capabilities.
Most organizations don't move from siloed tools to full orchestration overnight. It tends to look like this:
1. Siloed automation
Individual teams automate individual tasks with point tools. Fast wins, no visibility, growing technical debt.
2. Departmental automation
A team or function standardizes on a platform. Better control locally, but processes still break at handoffs between departments.
3. Cross-functional orchestration
Processes are connected end-to-end across systems and teams. This is where BOAT delivers its real value: visibility, control, and measurable enterprise impact.
4. Autonomous orchestration
AI Agents and AI Workers take on execution and decision-making within orchestrated processes, with humans managing by exception rather than by task.
Most enterprises evaluating BOAT platforms today are somewhere between stage 2 and 3. Understanding where you sit on this curve is the fastest way to decide what to prioritize next and what a platform needs to support to get you there.
DHL Group wanted to increase connectivity across their worldwide operations to maximize the potential of RPA bots and improve internal and external user experiences. By orchestrating its tech stack using Bizagi, the logistics company achieved end-to-end automation of 24 processes, saving 350 FTEs per year.
In the webinar introducing the concept of BOAT, Gartner analyst Saikat Ray said ‘that the future of automation is autonomous and intelligent’. And we are already seeing AI-driven automation take a stronghold in the industry as businesses continue to incorporate AI Agents and AI workers into their processes to enhance human productivity.
Bizagi’s orchestration platform coordinates multiple automated workflows, ensuring seamless integration across systems, departments, and applications. Want to know more about what our platform can do? Visit our demo library.
