New research commissioned by document management provider DocuWare has highlighted the on-going role of paper in office workflows.

 

According to the Market Momentum Index: Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) Survey 2025, 61 per cent of IDP workflows still rely on paper, despite years of digital transformation initiatives. 

 

In fact, nearly half of enterprises expect paper volumes to increase over the next year – a surprising finding in light of digitalisation trends.

 

The report was based on input from 600 large organisations across the US and Europe.

 

AI impact on document processing

 

Other findings from the study point to a market in transition, driven by rapid adoption of AI. 

 

Around 78 per cent of surveyed companies now report being operational with AI in document processing – a sharp rise compared with previous years when projects often stalled at the pilot stage. At the same time, 66 per cent of enterprises are in the process of phasing out legacy systems.

 

New use cases are also emerging, with 62 per cent of IDP deployments now extending to external users. These include customer-facing workflows such as KYC (know your customer) checks, contract management, HR documentation and licensing. As IDP projects become more strategic, generative AI is increasingly shaping vendor discovery and evaluation processes.

 

Data privacy and security were cited as the top implementation concerns, reflecting continued pressure around compliance and responsible AI governance.

 

For more on this story and other globale news from OPI go to; https://www.opi.net/news/region/001-north-america/docuware-study-shows-p...