New research commissioned by document management provider DocuWare has highlighted the ongoing role of paper in companies’ workflows.
According to the Market Momentum Index: Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) Survey 2025, 61% of IDP workflows still rely on paper, despite years of digital transformation initiatives. In fact, nearly half of enterprises (48%) expect paper volumes to increase over the next year—a surprising finding in light of digitalization trends.
The report, based on input from 600 large organizations across the US and Europe, was conducted by the Association for Intelligent Information Management in partnership with Deep Analysis. It was commissioned by DocuWare to better understand current market dynamics in document processing.
Other findings from the study point to a market in transition, driven by rapid adoption of AI. Around 78% 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% of enterprises are in the process of phasing out legacy systems.
New use cases are also emerging, with 62% 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.
Nonetheless, challenges remain. Data privacy and security were cited as the top implementation concerns, reflecting continued pressure around compliance and responsible AI governance.
This story was originally published as premium content by our sister publication OPI.
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