How to Nail Business Automation in the Agentic Age with Micha Kiener, CTO at Flowable - Modern CTO Recap

Podcast: Modern CTO

Published: 2025-12-22

Duration: 55 min

Summary

Micha Kiener, CTO at Flowable, discusses the evolution of business automation through agentic technologies and reflects on his transition from CEO to CTO, emphasizing the importance of orchestration in integrating various systems and processes.

What Happened

In this episode, Joel Beasley interviews Micha Kiener, who shares his journey from being a CEO to a CTO, revealing that his passion lies in product innovation. Micha reflects on the evolution of his career, starting with founding his first software company at the age of 14. He recalls how he self-taught himself programming and secured his first gig by demonstrating the security vulnerabilities of software, trading his services for a faster computer instead of money.

Micha dives into the current landscape of business automation and how Flowable’s orchestration platform is designed to digitalize and streamline end-to-end processes across various business units and systems. He explains that while many companies are automating individual tasks, they often lack the necessary orchestration to pull everything together. Micha emphasizes the need for a horizontal layer to integrate systems, people, data, and AI agents, ensuring a seamless workflow that maximizes efficiency and potential.

Key Insights

Key Questions Answered

What led Micha Kiener to transition from CEO to CTO?

Micha explains that as a founder, he initially took on multiple roles, including product innovation and development, marketing, and sales. However, as the company grew, he recognized the need for more structure and management capabilities, prompting him to focus on his true passion, which is product development. This desire to return to product-centric work led him to become a CTO.

How does Flowable's platform enhance business automation?

Micha describes Flowable as an intelligent business orchestration platform that digitalizes end-to-end processes across various business units and systems. The platform integrates multiple systems without requiring data duplication, allowing for seamless operation across CRM, ERP, and compliance systems. This orchestration aims to create efficient user journeys that involve various stakeholders.

What are the common pitfalls companies face in automation?

Micha notes that while companies might start automating single tasks, they often lack overall orchestration. This leads to working in silos where individual automations do not connect or communicate effectively. Without a strategic approach to integrate these automations into a cohesive end-to-end process, companies miss out on maximizing their potential and efficiency.

What role does orchestration play in business automation?

According to Micha, orchestration is crucial in ensuring that various systems, data, and people work together effectively. He highlights that without a horizontal layer to manage these integrations, companies struggle with triggering processes and maintaining control over their operations. Orchestration allows for a unified flow across different channels, enhancing the automation experience.

How did Micha first identify the need for orchestration in business processes?

Micha's insights on orchestration emerged from his experiences implementing end-to-end solutions for money transmission in the early 2000s. He realized the necessity of moving beyond coding individual processes to developing a more descriptive modeling approach. This foundational idea evolved into the creation of the first process and case engine, highlighting the importance of orchestration in managing complex regulatory environments.