This IDC study introduces the concept of intelligent process automation (IPA), the dawning convergence that IDC sees between the business intelligence (BI) tools and business process automation (BPA) deployment software markets, from the BPA perspective. Other IDC deliverables look at the trend from the BI perspective and from a perspective that says the market will emerge combined and as a discrete phenomenon separate from their "parents." This model assumes the BPA market will remain separate.

"Both BI tools and BPA deployment software products will continue to be useful standalone," according to Dennis Byron "despite the fact that the convergence of the two is well under way."