Forrester states business apps are shifting from systems of record to agentic models. AI agents now operate across applications with employee oversight. Front-office apps like CRM will adopt agents faster than back-office systems. Back-office apps require stricter controls due to financial and legal risks. Organizations must redesign workflows, governance, and value measurement around agents. Cross-application workflows offer the greatest opportunity for transformation. Success depends on embedding compliance and security into agent-driven processes. The shift is compared to the move to cloud computing in scale.
What changed
Business apps operated as digital systems of record with manual employee coordination.
What it unlocks
AI agents can now execute, coordinate, and optimize work across functions autonomously.
What you need to act on it
- strong governance, observability, and compliance controls for back-office apps
- clear boundaries between probabilistic reasoning and deterministic control
Sources