What's new in 25.0.0

Learn what's new in 25.0.0, general availability (GA) in June 2025.

For more information about features that are deprecated or removed in 25.0.0, see Deprecated and removed features.

Upgrade to the newest interim fix as soon as possible. An interim fix needs you to either install a new deployment from scratch or upgrade an existing 25.0.0 deployment.

Each interim fix is a code update to resolve security vulnerabilities. The interim fix readme file lists all the defects that are fixed and provides pointers on how to install it. For more information, see the Cloud Pak for Business Automation download document External link opens a new window or tab.

Tip: All external links, which are links to content that is hosted outside of IBM® Docs, open in a new window. External links are flagged in the What's new with an external link icon (External link opens a new window or tab). You do not have to right-click an external link to open the page in a new tab or window.

The following sections help you to see where the changes are made and where the new features are added.

What changed in interim fix 2 - October 2025

The following changes are introduced in 25.0.0-IF002.

Changes to dependent software

The following table highlights the major changes that Cloud Pak for Business Automation 25.0.0-IF002 brings compared to the IF001 version.

Table 1. Differences between dependent software in 25.0.0-IF002 and 25.0.0-IF001.
Dependent operator catalogs 25.0.0-IF002 25.0.0-IF001
Cloud Pak foundational services 4.15 4.14
Platform UI (Zen service) 6.2.2 6.2.1
Support for OCP multi-architecture clusters

An OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) multi-architecture cluster supports compute machines with different architectures, including ppc64le for Power, s390x for IBM Z, and amd64/x86 for AMD. A CP4BA 25.0.0-IF001 deployment can be assigned to nodes that match the appropriate image architecture. For more information about assigning pods to nodes, see Placing pods on particular nodes.

IBM Automation Document Processing now supports PingDirectory server and IBM Security Directory Server

PingDirectory is a high-performance, extensible Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory that provides seamless data management over a distributed system. Use the cp4a-prerequisites.sh script to configure your CP4BA deployment with a PingDirectory server, which can simplify administration, reduce costs, and secure information for large numbers of users. New information Learn more...

What changed in interim fix 1 - August 2025

The following changes are introduced in 25.0.0-IF001.

Changes to dependent software

The following table highlights the major changes that Cloud Pak for Business Automation 25.0.0-IF001 brings compared to the GA version.

Table 2. Differences between dependent software in 25.0.0-IF001 and 25.0.0 GA.
Dependent operator catalogs 25.0.0-IF001 25.0.0 GA
Cloud Pak foundational services 4.14 4.12
Support for a PingDirectory server
PingDirectory is a high-performance, extensible Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory that provides seamless data management over a distributed system. Use the cp4a-prerequisites.sh script to configure your CP4BA deployment with a PingDirectory server, which can simplify administration, reduce costs, and secure information for large numbers of users. New information Learn more...
Restriction: Document Processing does not support a PingDirectory server. For more information, see Known limitations.
Mutual authentication for LDAP connections

You can now use mutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS) to configure the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) connections after you install your CP4BA deployments. mTLS offers a higher level of security than standard TLS, and is often used in a zero trust environment to verify users, devices, and servers within an organization.

When mTLS is enabled, a successful mutual connection is established between Identity Management (IM) and the LDAP server. However, basic authentication (username and password) is still required to login to IM. For the LDAP mutual TLS authentication to work, you must allow your LDAP server to import the CP4BA signer certificate otherwise the session is immediately cancelled. For more information, see Configuring mutual TLS authentication between IM and an LDAP server External link opens a new window or tab.

IBM Storage Fusion recipes now support backup and restore for Automation Decision Services and Operational Decision Manager

You can now use IBM Storage Fusion recipes for Automation Decision Services and Operational Decision Manager to back up and restore data from your storage systems, helping you maintain and migrate data between environments while saving time and preventing potential data loss. New information Learn more...

Performance test results

Performance tests for a new version are often not available at GA. Testing the performance enhancements made in 25.0.0 GA, the capabilities reported the following results.

Table 3. Performance test results of 25.0.0 GA
Capability Noteworthy performance results
Operational Decision Manager

Tests used an average throughput of around 20,000 transactions per second (TPS) on a small ruleset.

25.0.0 CP4BA deployments including Operational Decision Manager made improvements of 3% compared to 24.0.1, and 8% gains compared to 24.0.0.
Automation Decision Services

When calls are made with the Bearer Token or the Zen API Key in 25.0.0 performance is improved compared to 24.0.1.
Business Automation Workflow
  • First-time loading is improved in Workplace when users switch pages.
  • Throughput is improved for concurrent inbound REST calls.
  • The overall footprint of the 25.0.0 CP4BA deployment is smaller compared to 24.0.1.

Supported operating environments at GA

The following SOE changes are introduced in 25.0.0.

Software Product Compatibility Report (SPCR)

The system requirements information is available through the SPCR website.

You can generate specific reports for each release that include the supported operating system, server virtualization environments, and software prerequisites. New information Learn more External link opens a new window or tab.

  • To find information on the supported versions of Red Hat® OpenShift® Container Platform, open the rendered report for 25.0.0 and go to the Containers tab.
  • To find information on the supported databases, open the rendered report for 25.0.0 and go to the Supported Software tab, and then click Databases.

For more information about the system requirements of the Cloud Pak foundational services, see hardware requirements External link opens a new window or tab.

Changes to dependent software

The following table highlights the major changes that Cloud Pak for Business Automation 25.0.0 brings compared to the version you can upgrade from.

Table 4. Differences between dependent software in 25.0.0 and 24.0.1-IF002.
Dependent operator catalogs 25.0.0 GA 24.0.1-IF002
Cloud Pak foundational services 4.12 4.11
Platform UI (Zen service) 6.1.3 6.1.1
OpenSearch 2.19.1 2.17.0

Install

The Cloud Pak for Business Automation download document External link opens a new window or tab provides pointers on how to install the new version and the command to download the 25.0.0 cert-kubernetes repository. The following changes are introduced in 25.0.0.

A change to how the CP4BA operators handle network policies

To align with Cloud Pak foundational services, and to remove the need to give cluster permissions to the CP4BA operators, network policies are no longer applied on the Red Hat OpenShift cluster during the installation. Instead, the CP4BA deployment script generates templates to manage access to the services (ingress and egress) for your CP4BA deployment. Your cluster admin then needs to review the templates and apply the wanted network policies on the cluster. New information Learn more...

Postgres replaces MongoDB

For Decisions and Document Processing capabilities, MongoDB is no longer a supported database. EDB Postgres replaces MongoDB embedded and PostgreSQL replaces the option to use an external MongoDB. An external PostgreSQL database for a CP4BA production deployment removes the need to purchase an extra license for an external MongoDB.

Support of Amazon RDS for Db2®

You can now choose to use an Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for Db2 as a database option in your CP4BA deployment. Amazon RDS makes it simple to set up, operate, and scale Db2 deployments in the cloud. New information Amazon RDS User Guide External link opens a new window or tab.

Important: When you set up an RDS Db2 instance for your Cloud Pak for Business Automation deployments, use an Amazon Route 53 to configure a custom DNS name. An AWS Route 53 creates a consistent endpoint for your CP4BA data source configurations, and introduces stability across database operations. For more information, see AWS Route 53 Developer Guide External link opens a new window or tab.
Configure Flink for high availability

You can set the new flink.job_manager_replicas custom resource parameter to more than 1 to enable high availability (HA) for Flink deployments. The job manager pods continue to progress even if a transient error is encountered and one pod crashes. The pods restart from the last successful checkpoint with HA enabled. New information Learn more...

Upgrade

The following support is provided in 25.0.0.

Upgrade from Cloud Pak for Business Automation 24.0.1-IF002

You can upgrade your Cloud Pak for Business Automation (CP4BA) 24.0.1-IF002 production deployments to 25.0.0.

Important: If a CP4BA 24.0.1 deployment includes Automation Decision Services or Document Processing, then upgrading involves migration of data from MongoDB to either EDB Postgres or an external PostgreSQL database.

For earlier versions than 24.0.1, you must upgrade them to 24.0.1-IF002 or later before you upgrade to 25.0.0. New information Learn more...

Upgrade to the newest interim fix when it becomes available

Interim fixes are code updates to resolve security vulnerabilities. An interim fix readme file lists all the defects that are fixed and provides pointers on how to install it and how to upgrade to it.

You can upgrade to the newest Cloud Pak for Business Automation 25.0.0 interim fix from 24.0.1-IF002 or later.

The upgrade includes a check of the Cloud Pak foundational services to make sure that the version is less than or equal to the version in the 25.0.0 interim fix. If the Cloud Pak foundational services is a greater version in the CP4BA 24.0.1 deployment, you cannot upgrade to 25.0.0.

Tip: Check the next interim fix of 25.0.0, which probably includes a version of Cloud Pak foundational services that you can upgrade to.

For more information, see the Cloud Pak for Business Automation download document External link opens a new window or tab.

Security and compliance

The following changes are introduced in 25.0.0.

Audit logging for continuous monitoring and FISMA readiness

Cloud Pak for Business Automation can now use an Audit Logging service to meet Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) requirements. The service logs user activities and system events in a Cloud Auditing Data Federation External link opens a new window or tab (CADF) standardized format, and provides retention and protection of the data.

By default, the Audit Logging service is not enabled to minimize the impact logging has on the cluster footprint. You can configure the CP4BA custom resource (CR) to enable the Audit Logging service (sc_audit_logging.enabled) for selected CP4BA capabilities to construct and send audit records. You can then go a step further and forward the records to a comprehensive Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tool, like IBM QRadar®. New information Learn more...

Workflow automation new features and enhancements

The following enhancements are introduced in 25.0.0.

Artificial Intelligence in workflow automations
  • Use the guided experience with the new IBM Workflow Assistant powered by watsonx.ai™ to find, understand, and complete tasks in Workplace. The assistant helps you filter tasks, ask questions about tasks, create task summaries, manage teams, and generate content such as emails, feedback, and descriptions. New information Learn more...
  • You can now configure the generative AI feature to connect to a watsonx.ai provider with the IBM watsonx.ai software in IBM Cloud Pak for Data. The watsonx.ai software is deployed in your own hardware, giving you full control over data privacy, compliance with regulatory requirements, and which text generation foundation models are supported for your generative AI tasks. New information Learn more...
  • Generative AI activities now support deploy on-demand foundation models and custom foundation models. New information Learn more...
Build workflow automations more easily in Designer
  • You can now maintain and redeploy one version of a case project while you continue to work on a new version. New information Learn more...
  • New enhancements to Content Management document views improve the experience and support additional customization options, such as drag capabilities to add documents from the file system. New information Learn more...
Work efficiently with tasks, processes, and cases
  • The search list UI in the Cases solution layout page now has new search features, including creating personalized searches, streamlined views, and active filter indicators. New information Learn more...
  • You can now search task instances across multiple process instances based on business data criteria. You can also view both task and process business data in your task lists. New information Learn more...
  • For better visibility and auditability, you can now track the full history of tasks in a process, including task lifecycle events, reassignments, and business data changes. New information Learn more...
Integration enhancements with external systems

You can expose capabilities of your workflow automations as MQ services. MQ services enable your external clients to trigger processes or service flows by using MQ messages with an asynchronous and loosely coupled interaction. Each MQ service is defined by an AsyncAPI definition. New information Learn more...

Move your inflight instances in any database from Business Automation Workflow to Cloud Pak for Business Automation

You can now migrate your process and case databases (Db2, Oracle, or SQL server) from Business Automation Workflow Traditional (Standard edition) to Cloud Pak for Business Automation and continue to run and complete your inflight instances without data loss. New information Learn more...

Decision management new features and enhancements

Automation Decision Services
  •  Technology preview  Using the search feature available in the data model editor, you can now find where your custom data types are used within a decision service. From the list of results, you can go directly to the decision artifacts that use a specific type and make updates in a few clicks. You can also pin search results, making it easy to access them from anywhere in your decision service. New information Learn more...
  • The following numeric data types are now supported for more precise data definitions: Byte, Short, BigInteger, Float, Double, and BigDecimal. New information Learn more...
  • You no longer need to delete old external libraries and re-import a newer version. You can now specify the version of external libraries that you want to use directly in Decision Designer. New information Learn more...
  • New string functions provide a powerful way to manipulate strings and implement pattern matching tasks. String functions can help you better leverage the power of generative AI. Learn more...
  • By default, deploying a decision service archive is prevented when an archive with the same ID and version exists in the target deployment space. You can now set a query parameter to allow the deployment of archives that share a DecisionService value. New information Learn more...
Operational Decision Manager

The following list provides highlights of the new Operational Decision Manager features in Cloud Pak for Business Automation. For more information about all the new features in Operational Decision Manager 9.5.0, see What's new External link opens a new window or tab.

  • Support for Java™ 21 and Eclipse 4.34.
  • Improved Rule Execution Server console user interface.
  • New security Decision Center REST APIs.

Content services new features and enhancements

Reduced downtime during Content Platform Engine upgrade

You can now use new default values for parameters to reduce the amount of time it takes to upgrade Content Platform Engine. New information Learn more...

Business insights new features and enhancements

The following enhancements are introduced in 25.0.0.

Group data in a chart by a Boolean type

You can now group data in a chart by using a Boolean value of true or false. For example, you might want to display all the customers with an approved loan request. To do that, go to a chart that monitors customer metrics and group the data by a Boolean expression like 'approved loan request' equal to true. The chart with this 'group by' property then shows only the customers with an approved loan. New information Learn more...

Export the current data of a chart into CSV or TSV files

You can now export the data that you see in a chart into a file, either in the comma-separated values (CSV) format or the tab-separated values (TSV) format. New information Learn more...

Dashboard filters

You can now create filters for your dashboards, which apply to all the charts in your dashboard that use the same monitoring source. You can turn these filters on and off easily to toggle between different views. For example, adding a filter on a data value of country="Spain", displays the data that is related to Spain in all the charts. If you then change the value of the filter to "Germany", all the charts are updated with data that is related to Germany instead of Spain. New information Learn more...

OpenSearch security plug-in

The OpenSearch security plug-in is now available, which enhances security and access control for OpenSearch Dashboards. You can configure the plug-in with the REST API or from within the OpenSearch pod. New information Learn more...