Gartner defines business process automation (BPA) tools as software that enables the design, execution and monitoring of business processes involving diverse sets of systems and humans. BPA tools provide an environment for developing, running and monitoring business processes that incorporate process models (and other business, decision and data models) enabling automation of business operations. BPA tools play a crucial role in streamlining business processes, thereby increasing efficiency, reducing human error and enabling better decision making across various functions and industries.
Gartner defines enterprise low-code application platforms (LCAPs) as platforms for accelerated development and maintenance of applications, using model-driven tools for the entire application’s technology stack, generative AI and prebuilt component catalogs. Enterprise LCAPs target software engineering teams responsible for custom application development and maintenance. Enterprise LCAP features include support for the collaborative development of all application components; runtime environments for high performance, availability and scalability of applications; application deployment and monitoring with detailed usage insights. Enterprise LCAP platforms feature governance controls and success management through self-service capabilities and APIs, developer documentation and training, and service-level agreements for platform operations. Enterprise LCAPs provide the foundation for developing a wide range of application types and application components, including complex front ends, business process automation and distributed data sources.