The Lowest-Hanging Fruit on the AI Tree, And Why 66% of Companies Are Replacing Their Document Automation

I recently sat down for coffee here in Munich with Dan Lucarini, lead analyst for Doc AI and Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) at Deep Analysis, which just published a brand new “Market Momentum Index” report together with AIIM, the Association for Intelligent Information Management. The insights he shared weren’t just interesting, they were eye-opening.

For years, Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) has been a quiet, back-office workhorse, methodically processing invoices. It was useful, but it was… static. Predictable. That era is over.

Dan’s research confirms what we’ve felt in our bones: we’re at a tipping point. A staggering 65% of companies are actively starting new IDP projects, and of those, an incredible two-thirds (66%) are replacing their existing legacy systems.

This isn’t just an upgrade cycle. This is a revolution. And it’s being driven by one powerful reality.

The Innovator’s Dilemma is Here, and It’s Hitting Hard

The old guard of IDP is struggling. The report puts it bluntly: incumbent vendors are weighed down by "legacy products" and "considerable technical debt." They’re trying to bolt new AI features onto old architecture, and it isn't working.

Customers feel it. The top reasons for switching systems? The old tools are “too limited to meet our current needs,” require “too much external help to maintain,” and are “too difficult to integrate.”

It’s a story of frustration. A story of systems that were built for a world that no longer exists.

But where there is disruption, there is immense opportunity. And this is where our story begins.

A New Architecture for a New Era

When we started Cambrion, we didn’t set out to build a better version of the old tools. We set out to build something fundamentally different. Born in Munich, with a privacy-first mindset, we built an agentic, AI-native platform from the ground up.

And the findings of this report read like a blueprint for why our approach is not just relevant but essential for European businesses today.

The #1 Challenge is Data Security. We Made It Our Foundation.

The number one concern for companies implementing IDP is data security and privacy. This is a challenge that requires more than just a feature; it requires a native understanding of the EU’s regulatory landscape. For us, a company born and built in Munich, being GDPR compliant with EU cloud and on-premise deployment options isn't just a promise; it’s in our DNA.

The Battlefield Has Moved to the Front Office.

IDP is no longer just about invoices. The report shows a massive shift towards automating front-office, customer-facing documents: Licenses, KYC documents, contracts, HR files, and many more are the new frontier. This is where business happens now. It’s unstructured, unpredictable, and often involves external users. A rigid, template-based system can’t handle this chaos. An agentic platform like Cambrion thrives on it, adapting to any document, from any source, instantly.

Integration Isn’t a Hurdle; It’s the Whole Point.

Difficulty integrating was a top-three reason for kicking out old systems. Cambrion’s REST API-centric and highly modular architecture was designed to solve this. We don’t lock you in; we plug you in. This agility is crucial, especially as the report notes that manufacturers are playing the biggest game of "catch-up" in automation. The German Mittelstand doesn't need another silo; it needs a flexible, connected partner.

The "Lowest-Hanging Fruit on the AI Tree"

Perhaps the most inspiring line from the entire report is this:

"Document automation may be the lowest of low-hanging fruit on the AI tree, the place where companies should invest to quickly demonstrate value for their AI investments while other projects take longer to develop."

Document Automation: The Lowest of Low-Hanging Fruit on the AI Tree

This is the call to action. While others talk about AI in abstract, complex terms, this is where you can get a tangible win, fast. This is where you can build momentum. And you don’t have to do it alone.

The way companies find solutions is changing, too. While US buyers lean on GenAI research, the report highlights that DACH companies rank a Proof of Concept (PoC) and the relationship with the vendor as their top priorities. We embrace this. We want to show you, with your own documents, how quickly we can solve your most frustrating bottleneck.

Let’s automate your document processes together.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Dan Lucarini and the entire team at Deep Analysis for their insightful research in partnership with AIIM, the Association for Intelligent Information Management. You can access the team’s full “Market Momentum Index” report here to explore their findings in greater detail.