Process Mining: Using Data to Optimize Business Processes in 2026

Process mining has emerged as one of the most powerful tools in the BPM toolkit. In 2026, process mining has moved from specialized technique to mainstream operational capability.

What Is Process Mining?

Process mining analyzes event logs from enterprise systems to reconstruct, visualize, and analyze actual process execution. Every system event leaves a digital footprint — process mining connects these footprints to show actual paths including variations, bottlenecks, and compliance deviations. Unlike traditional process mapping, which captures what people believe happens, process mining reveals what actually happens — and that gap is where the most valuable improvement opportunities lie. Celonis and other platforms have made this capability broadly accessible.

Key Process Mining Capabilities

Process discovery automatically generates visual process maps from event data. Conformance checking compares actual execution to intended models. Performance analysis identifies bottlenecks and measures cycle times. Root cause analysis identifies factors correlating with process problems. Predictive process analytics forecast future outcomes, enabling proactive intervention.

From Analysis to Action

Process mining's value lies in the actions it enables. When integrated with low-code platforms like Informat, mining insights can be rapidly translated into process changes — closing the loop from analysis to action in days rather than months.

Conclusion: Seeing Processes as They Are

Process mining provides objective, comprehensive visibility into how processes actually work. Organizations that adopt process mining as a core BPM capability will achieve levels of performance that intuition-based approaches cannot match.