The ARIS Roadshow came to Frankfurt this month, and what a way to finish its European leg: a full venue, a crystal-clear product story, and a room of customers, partners and ARIS team members comparing notes on the same question. How do you actually make AI work inside a real organisation?
A fitting venue
The event was held at Klassikstadt, home to a collection of vintage and classic cars, and the day closed with a guided tour through the collection. It provided " a unique backdrop for a day focused on the future of process automation." as one Community member described it afterwards.
From AI ambition to AI operations
The theme of the day was Let's Get AI Working, and the sessions stayed close to it. Rather than more discussion of what AI could eventually do, the focus was on how to operationalise it inside existing enterprise architecture: keeping agent decisions bounded by clear process context and governing that work so autonomy doesn't turn into risk.
A point made by nearly every speaker, in one way or another, was that AI agents are only as reliable as the process context they're given. Without solid process models, current process mining data and clear business rules, agents can drift outside the boundaries they're meant to respect. Sessions from Bentley, Airbus, Fraport and Suva each made some version of this point. The organisations getting real value from AI are treating process understanding as a foundation, not an afterthought.
A statistic from Boston Consulting Group's session stayed with a lot of people in the room: AI spend is approaching 2% of corporate revenue, yet a large share of organisations still report limited measurable return. That gap isn't really a technology problem. It's a context problem, and it's exactly the space process practitioners already work in.
Digital twins, guardrails and where people fit in
A few themes ran through the day's keynotes: digital twins as a way to gain real operational visibility, the need for guardrails so AI can operate safely rather than freely, and a consistent point that human judgement and institutional knowledge still need to sit inside how decisions get made. None of the speakers were arguing for full agent autonomy. The aim is agility built on governance, not governance traded in for speed.
Practitioners in the room
What stood out most, though, was who attended. Many customers sent entire teams consisting of senior leaders and hands-on practitioners, and that mix showed up across the room: decision-makers sitting alongside the people who build and run the processes.
The room was also genuinely international. Presentations were given in English and German, since roughly half the audience was German-speaking, and attendees came from a wide mix of countries and languages.
The conversations between sessions
Ask anyone who attended and they'll likely mention the networking breaks first. Current and former ARIS colleagues, partners and customers who had been working together virtually for months finally met in person. Some had been collaborating on the same projects for a while without ever being in the same room.
Where this goes next
Frankfurt also showed a product story coming together: a clearer line from digital twin, to process context, to structured agent deployment, with a roadmap beginning in October. Partner engagement is picking up as well, with early signs that the wider ecosystem is aligning around the same direction.
If you weren't able to join in Frankfurt, there are still ways to be part of this:
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Local ARIS User Groups remain one of the best places for practical, peer-led exchange. Save the date for the Super Group Meeting on 19th November. You'll be able to join remotely or in person in a variety of locations.
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If you're based in the Middle East, the final 2026 Roadshow events will be hosted in Riyadh and Dubai at the beginning of November.
Making AI work doesn't start with more technology. It starts with understanding how your business actually operates, and with a community willing to compare notes on how to get there.
Did you attend any of this year's Roadshow events? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!