Introduction 

We are excited to announce that, as we reach the middle of the year, we have achieved significant milestones and impressive enhancements for IBM Business Automation Workflow (BAW) 25.0.0.0 and IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation (CP4BA) 25.0.0. This release unites information, processes, and users to help automate digital workflows on-premises or in the cloud. By integrating AI-driven tools, IBM BAW helps businesses streamline operations, improve decision-making, and boost productivity.

Here are more details of the key highlights  of  this new release: 

1. Enhanced container support with authoring environment and advanced workflow capabilities

• IBM BAW on containers now includes an authoring environment alongside runtime, supporting the CNCF platforms Rancher, Tanzu, and OpenShift (OCP). This enables a seamless DevOps experience for containerized deployments.
• This improved container support also introduces powerful new workflow features made possible by the alignment and reuse of the BAW component across IBM BAW and IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation (CP4BA).

2. AI-Powered workflow automation

• Introducing the Workflow Assistant powered by watsonx enables end users to efficiently manage and work their tasks by filtering and querying them, generating summaries, managing teams, and creating content such as emails, feedback, and descriptions.

• For generative AI activities in workflows, you can now deploy generative AI on your own infrastructure using IBM Cloud Pak for Data, ensuring full control over data privacy and compliance. Support for on-demand and custom foundation models is also included.

3. Audit logging for continuous monitoring and FISMA readiness

• Workflow in IBM CP4BA 25.0.0 now supports audit logging to help meet the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) requirements. It records user and system activity in a standardized format (Cloud Auditing Data Federation (CADF)) for secure tracking and long-term retention. Audit logs integrate with SIEM tools like IBM QRadar® to automate threat detection, accelerate incident response, and support compliance across workflows.

4. Improved workflow design experience

• Maintain and redeploy a single version of a case project while working on new versions to increase productivity.

• Enhanced content management document views supporting additional customization options and drag-and-drop document upload to enhance end user efficiency and ease of use

5. Improved task and case management for end users to work more efficiently

• Searching task instances across multiple process instances based on business data criteria allows you to find what you need way faster. View now both task and process business data in your task lists.

• For better visibility and auditability, you can now track the full history of tasks in a process, including task lifecycle events, reassignments, and business data changes.

• Personalized search lists and active filter indicators streamline task navigation.

6. Expanded integration capabilities

• Expose workflows as MQ services using AsyncAPI definitions, enabling asynchronous, loosely coupled interactions with external systems - leveraging the reliability, durability, and quality of service provided by IBM MQ.

7. Seamless migration of in-flight workflow instances

• Migrate inflight process and case instances from IBM BAW Traditional to IBM CP4BA using existing process and case instance databases (Db2, Oracle, SQL Server) with no data loss.

Here is a detailed Blog on the AI Capabilities with use cases: https://community.ibm.com/community/user/blogs/bibin-baby/2025/06/18/ai-powered-ibm-business-automation-workflow

Conclusion

The new AI capabilities in IBM Business Automation Workflow are transforming how organizations streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and boost productivity. With advanced features like IBM Workflow Assistant and Gen AI for Processes, businesses can unlock new efficiencies and smarter decision-making. Embrace these innovations to stay competitive and optimize your workflows for the future.

For a complete list of What's New in BAW 25.0.0.0 and IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation (CP4BA) version 25.0.0.0, visit our release documentation below: 

• IBM BAW: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/baw/25.0.0?topic=information-whats-new-in-25000
• IBM CP4BA: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/cloud-pak-business-automation-250