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it_user865488 - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager and Technical Leader at Exus
Real User
Low-code characteristics lead to fast development cycles
Pros and Cons
  • "Call Web Service Smart Service - Web service integrations with other systems are super simple and fast to create, supported by low code menus."
  • "Write to Data Store Entity - Saving data in SQL databases is done easily using entities. Entities (CDTs in Appian terminology) define relationships and target schema tables via XSD files."
  • "Even though the company has made great improvements in online documentation, featuring rich material which includes case studies of real-life use cases, the material could definitely be better in quality and coverage of use cases."
  • "A point of improvement would be the SAIL forms. The built-in tool used to generate forms does not have debugging support (to view local variables as they change on live preview, and step-by-step valuation) which is a big drawback for form development. Moreover, the script language used to build SAIL forms does not support inheritance or lambda expressions (functions as arguments of other functions), which makes the code base more verbose."

What is most valuable?

  • Process Designer - If properly used, the executable flow itself helps you understand the business flow.
  • Call Web Service Smart Service - Web service integrations with other systems are super simple and fast to create, supported by low code menus.
  • Write to Data Store Entity - Saving data in SQL databases is done easily using entities. Entities (CDTs in Appian terminology) define relationships and target schema tables via XSD files.
  • SAIL interfaces - Writing code that creates forms requires coding skills in Appian SAIL, a proprietary language. The forms are mobile-ready and components can be reused in forms and reports.

What needs improvement?

Even though the company has made great improvements in online documentation, featuring rich material which includes case studies of real-life use cases, the material could definitely be better in quality and coverage of use cases.

Another point of improvement would be the SAIL forms. The built-in tool used to generate forms does not have debugging support (to view local variables as they change on live preview, and step-by-step valuation) which is a big drawback for form development. Moreover, the script language used to build SAIL forms does not support inheritance or lambda expressions (functions as arguments of other functions), which makes the code base more verbose.

Last but not least, I am missing a team collaboration solution. Only one person at a time can work on objects. This is not a big issue really, because, if you follow the Appian best practices, all objects are pieces that fit single-person workloads.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The platform is super stable in BPMS and rules execution. 

Issues can appear in the following ways, related to development and design choices:

  1. The underlying database is facing locking or performance issues. The instability of the database is very quickly propagated in the flows and forms executions (Appian engines/application server) and the platform can become non-responsive, experience deteriorating performance, or create numerous exceptions in running processes.
  2. If the platform is used for data-intensive tasks, especially in deep nesting of data manipulation rules, the performance can quickly be affected and may also lead to exceptions.
  3. If you don't follow the Appian best practices, and your application is scaling up, then on pick times the performance will be bad or exceptions may occur. This situation can be avoided by identifying potential issues by running the health check diagnostic tool.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is very good, but there are limits imposed by the underlying hardware and the JVM's heap size. Notably, even with a configuration having multiple application servers, the Appian engines installation is always one. However, the capacity of the topologies is very high and will not be an issue for companies with up to 10 applications per installation and up to 4000 active users per day. Appian provides a sizing document and Professional Services to help with decisions on the subject.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is considered good, and various levels of support can be selected.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to Appian, there was a Java-based BPMS solution, but Appian was valued for its low-code characteristics that lead to the fastest development cycles in the industry. It was also valued for the scalability, the flexibility on development, the level of support, and the increasing developer base.

How was the initial setup?

Appian has two offerings for its customers, on-premise and Appian Cloud (PaaS). In the case of PaaS, setup is very minimal and straightforward. For the on-premise product, the initial setup is pretty straightforward in most cases but requires a level of systems expertise, especially if you are setting up a high-performance production machine.

After some initial use, tuning the database is advisable. For mission-critical applications, an initial round of stress testing may be a good idea for identifying potential bottlenecks in your applications. Setup can also be tricky if you try to migrate from very old installations which used a different topology. If this is your situation, you may need support from Appian Professional Services.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The alternative we evaluated was Pega BPM.

What other advice do I have?

If licensing cost is not a problem, then Appian is definitely a go, either as a stand-alone platform or with the PaaS offering in the Appian Cloud. When it comes to speed of development, system integrations, BMPS workflows, and digitization of manual processes, Appian is possibly the best choice there is.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Gold partner.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1727346 - PeerSpot reviewer
Practice Leader - Digital Process Automation at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Easy to develop, low-code, and has a good user interface
Pros and Cons
  • "Appian has many valuable features, the first being the ease of development—rapid development. Second, the process of learning the product and tool is faster when compared to its peers in the market. It's closer to low-code, and while it's still not very easy, it's more low-code than other products in the industry. Appian has a good user interface, a seamless model user interface, which comes without additional coding. It can also integrate with multiple systems."
  • "There are four areas I believe Appian could improve in. The first is a seamless contact center integration. Appian does not have a contact center feature. The second is advanced features in RPA. The third would be chatbot and email bot integration—while Appian comes with chatbot and email bot, it's not as mature as it should be, compared to the competition. The fourth area would be next best action, since there is not much of this sort of feature in Appian. These are all features which competitors' products have, and in a mature manner, whereas Appian lacks on these four areas. I see customers who are moving from Appian to Pega because these features are not in Appian."

What is our primary use case?

There are multiple use cases of Appian. A banking customer uses it more for agent onboarding; we are working on contract management for a manufacturing customer; and we are working on an incident management system for an airport. There are almost seven to eight use cases, as of now. 

We don't use Appian, we are partners and we implement this solution for customers. I'm working on both on-premises and cloud-based deployment. Appian's deployment is hybrid. 

What is most valuable?

Appian has many valuable features, the first being the ease of development—rapid development. Second, the process of learning the product and tool is faster when compared to its peers in the market. It's closer to low-code, and while it's still not very easy, it's more low-code than other products in the industry. Appian has a good user interface, a seamless model user interface, which comes without additional coding. It can also integrate with multiple systems. 

What needs improvement?

There are four areas I believe Appian could improve in. The first is a seamless contact center integration. Appian does not have a contact center feature. The second is advanced features in RPA. The third would be chatbot and email bot integration—while Appian comes with chatbot and email bot, it's not as mature as it should be, compared to the competition. The fourth area would be next best action, since there is not much of this sort of feature in Appian. These are all features which competitors' products have, and in a mature manner, whereas Appian lacks on these four areas. I see customers who are moving from Appian to Pega because these features are not in Appian. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Appian for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability and performance are good. Appian is focusing a lot on this because they recently came out with a Kubernetes system acquisition, which is providing them the ability to scale as well as an expansion model that can be as stable as required. The performance is very good, as this solution is available across multiple cloud systems. 

As far as maintenance, it's pretty straightforward because Appian, as a company, comes with very mature hotfixes when required, as well as seamless upgrades. As long as you do not do any customizations—which is not recommended—it is pretty easy and straightforward to maintain, and does not take much effort. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Appian is definitely easy to scale, especially if you understand the requirements. It's a good architecture. 

Of our customers who use Appian, I would say most of them are medium-sized. Next would be large-sized, and then there are not many small-sized customers. Medium- and large-sized companies mostly go for Appian. 

How are customer service and support?

I would rate the technical support of Appian about a seven out of ten because there is definitely room for improvement when compared to the other product support we are seeing. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a simple process. If it's on cloud, it does not take much time. If it's on-premise, you have to have all the required hardware. It takes around four hours. 

What about the implementation team?

We implement this solution for customers. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Appian is very flexible in their pricing. In general, Appian's pricing is much, much lower when compared to competition like Pega or other products. Appian also has a flexible licensing model across geographies. Pega usually goes with a single licensing cost—which is a US-based cost—for all global customers, and it's costly. Whereas Appian has a different regional licensing cost model and it can be cheaper, depending on geography. So Appian's licensing is very flexible, and cheaper when compared to other competition. 

The pricing is pretty straightforward. If you're going for a cloud-based deployment, there are no additional costs because you're just going to be on the cloud. However, if you're going to deploy it on-premise, you would need to install software, so you might have to procure your own database and servers and everything. The current recommendation, and what most customers are going for, is the cloud because it's easy to maintain. There aren't really any costs except for the licensing. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Pega and Appian are both good BPM platforms. The area where Appian has the advantage is that it's really low-code. It takes much less effort when compared to Pega, both for developing and for setup and implementation. Within about 30 days, maximum, you can build out a product in Appian, whereas it will take you much longer in Pega. However, in regard to the four areas in which I believe Appian is lacking, Pega has all those features in a mature manner: seamless contact center integration, advanced features in RPA, mature chatbot and email bot integration, and next best action.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Appian an eight out of ten. 

If you are looking for a fast, rapid rollout of applications and you have multiple medium-scale and small-scale processes that you want to roll out at a faster pace, with ease of maintenance, then Appian is a good product to go with. Appian can also be leveraged for large-scale implementation—for example, financial service customers, for loan origination or claims organization—but you would really need to understand your requirements in order to achieve this with Appian. Whereas with Pega, it has framework for loan originations and everything, which Appian doesn't come with. Appian is a plain vanilla product, and if you go for a large-scale core implementation, then you should have enough information and requirements to capture it. Appian is best suited to mid-scale and small-scale processes and a rapid rollout. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Appian
February 2025
Learn what your peers think about Appian. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1583955 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Consultant
Features a robust rules engine for building applications
Pros and Cons
  • "Compared to other code tools that I've seen, Appian has a more robust rules engine"
  • "I wouldn't say their response time is long, but it could be quicker."

What is our primary use case?

We use Appian for business process management.

What is most valuable?

I like how quickly you can build applications. The low code aspect of it is really useful to get things out to market quickly. Compared to other code tools that I've seen, Appian has a more robust rules engine.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been an Appian consultant for three years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Appian virtually has a 99.99% uptime rating. It's very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Appian is very scalable. There's a lot of options for bigger enterprises, like high availability. It's enterprise-grade for smaller to mid-sized businesses.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have used their tech support, honestly, I'd probably give their support a rating of eight out of 10. They work pretty hard to try to figure out what's going on if there's an issue.

I wouldn't say their response time is long, but it could be quicker. 

How was the initial setup?

There's a one-time setup fee. I think they usually set it up for you. For the typical business user, it's straightforward as they don't have to do anything.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing can be a little confusing to customers. Clients sometimes have to lay out their whole set of use cases and get them approved for specific types of licensing— it's on a case-to-case basis. I think that they're very actively working on improving this, but it can be quite difficult to work out the licensing.

What other advice do I have?

Other than the pricing concerns, it's a really great platform. 

If you're considering using Appian, my advice is to work with people that have experience building solutions with it, because that's going to lead to fewer problems down the line.

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give Appian a rating of nine. It's a great business management platform.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1744788 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Publishing Solutions at a media company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Technical support is excellent, but it is quite expensive

What is our primary use case?

We use Appian for some exam results, and related material, as well as some publishing solution material.

What is most valuable?

The workflow designer is the most valuable feature.

It's pretty good as it stands at the moment.

What needs improvement?

In terms of usability, there is a learning curve.

Licensing fees could be reduced.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Appian for a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Appian is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Appian is scalable.

In our company, we have approximately 100 users.

Appian's use may be expanded in the future. It's a bit of a niche on the exam side right now.

How are customer service and support?

According to my understanding, the technical support team is quite impressive.

It's fine; there's no need to improve technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are also working with Salesforce.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is fine once you get your head around it, but there is a steep learning curve.

We have developers to maintain this solution.

What about the implementation team?

We were able to complete the installation ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price could always be better.

The full user license is quite expensive. It's cheap if all you want them to do is look at things, but if more people use an Appian app to update their information, it becomes more expensive.

Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis.

What other advice do I have?

You must consider what your use cases will be and ensure that there is a fit, because it is not a cheap option, you must ensure that you get a good return on investment.

I would rate Appian a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Advanced App Engineering Sr Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Used to automate processes that were previously done manually
Pros and Cons
  • "I find the BPM the most valuable feature."
  • "Appian could include other applications that we could reuse for other customers, CRM for example."

What is our primary use case?

We use Appian to automate processes that we are currently doing manually. We are working on an agile project. We have 500 people using this solution, most of which are operational.

This particular project started with four cases, or four processes. Next year we plan on doubling this and implementing eight more cases.

How has it helped my organization?

Prior to Appian, when we were handling a particular process manually, it took 40 days to resolve. After Appian was implemented, it took only seven days. The improvement in time is amazing.

What is most valuable?

I find the BPM the most valuable feature. It is easy to develop as it is a local solution. Appian is quick to understand and develop.

What needs improvement?

Appian could include other applications that we could reuse for other customers, CRM for example. This would make implementation quicker.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Appian for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We had some concerns with the stability of Appian when we had a lot of cases. During normal operation it is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability depends on how much you want to embrace the capacity of Appian. If you have a lot of cases, 150,000 for example, the stability will not be good because the memory required is so heavy that the RAM that you need is backed in. If you pass a certain number of cases, and the processes are complex, the situation is not suitable for Appian.

How are customer service and support?

I have had no concerns with customer service. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Appian was straightforward. We have an architect on our team who did the deployment. The deployment depends on the environment. For us, configuration took a day and to deploy no more than an hour.

We use one person, the architect, to maintain the program.

What was our ROI?

The ROI has been good. Profits increased because of this solution, this is why we are going to implement eight more cases next year.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost can be improved, however it is not too high for the customers here in Spain.

What other advice do I have?

My advice before starting to implement this solution you need to consider what you want to do in Appian because everything is not possible. Sometimes when you think BPM process, you think that the interface application is the same, but it's not.

I would rate Appian an 8 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Solution Design Expert - BPM at Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Real User
Amazing support, stable, and regular feature updates and improvements
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's most valuable features are the regular periodic and quarterly updates, they are very useful updates. They keep improving the solution more often, and that helps the platform or code always be up to date with the latest features."
  • "The solution could improve by being more responsive when dealing with large quantities of data. Additionally, they can make the decision or rules engine better. It cannot handle too many rules or too many decisions at once."

What is our primary use case?

Appian can be used to helps organizations build applications and workflows.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable features are the regular periodic and quarterly updates, they are very useful updates. They keep improving the solution more often, and that helps the platform or code always be up to date with the latest features.

What needs improvement?

The solution could improve by being more responsive when dealing with large quantities of data. Additionally, they can make the decision or rules engine better. It cannot handle too many rules or too many decisions at once.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Appian for approximately six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is amazing. They have high availability when attending to tickets. The extent to which they go to support you is amazing. They go down deep into the issue you are facing and get you to the right expertise. You can access support through forums and the telephone which they respond quickly with details on a solution.

How was the initial setup?

The standalone and distributed environment installations are straightforward. There are clear instructions, documentation, and support available. However, the installation into a distributed environment can be more challenging.

What about the implementation team?

I have had assistance from Appian support for the implementations.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The license is a bit expensive and the pricing model is sometimes confusing for new users or business users. It is difficult for them to know what volume of usage they will have to be able to purchase the best-suited license at the beginning.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Appian an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Enterprise Architect at Mobiliser
Consultant
Top 5
Fast to build simple to medium complexity solutions
Pros and Cons
  • "Form building capabilities and well thought out process modelling are key points to this product."
  • "Authoring tool is slow to use resulted in limitations on how quickly solutions can be built."

What is our primary use case?

Process Automation and Forms Digitisation, implementation of organisational wide processes rather than use of COTS.

How has it helped my organization?

Appian was not selected by any of the organisations I've worked with to date for production use.

What is most valuable?

Form building capabilities and well thought out process modelling are key points to this product.

What needs improvement?

Support for complex models really needs significant improvement

Flexibility in the architecture is not there

Management or reusable assets is extremely limited and poorly designed

Business rules are not aligned to industry best practices

Authoring tool slow to use resulted in limitations on how quickly solutions can be built

Integration to project SDLC (such as testing methods, build systems etc needs work)

For how long have I used the solution?

Trial/evaluations only.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This product is targeted to mid size companies and not highly scalable complex processes.

How are customer service and support?

Customer Service:

Average, although a small responsive team Appian has been fast growing stretching their ability to service customer needs.

Technical Support:

Reasonable, stronger than say IBM or Oracle technical support but it is still critical to engage in a full POC activity with this product to ensure it fits your needs before proceeding with an implementation. The closed nature of the platform means there is limited to no help outside of that technical support team which is already stretched based on the ever increasing customer base.

What other advice do I have?

Compare this product closely to open source options, IBM and Pega. For simple solutions using simple models Appian may be sufficient and would provide better ROI than investing in building a team to support a more complex tool but for complex models I'd look for a stronger tool-set.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user427839 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user427839Works at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User

I am sure this comparison between Appian and Pega is going to be extremely beneficial for me to do evaluation.

reviewer1529571 - PeerSpot reviewer
Acquisitions Leader at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Provides us with real-time data on all connected systems
Pros and Cons
  • "It provides us with real-time data on all connected systems in terms of how they're integrated with each other and how they are performing in a workflow manner."
  • "The graphical user interface could be easier to use. It should be simplified."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution to provide us with real-time data on all connected systems — for a continuous process workflow.

Within our company, there are roughly 45 people using this solution — mostly developers. We have two admins that handle all maintenance-related issues.

How has it helped my organization?

Appian has enabled us tо аutоmаtе busіnеss рrосеssеs much faster sо thаt оur usеrs саn rерlісаtе thеm аnd use them on a daily basis to improve their productivity. 

What is most valuable?

The most important and the most notable feature is that it provides us with real-time data on all connected systems in terms of how they're integrated with each other and how they are performing in a workflow manner.

What needs improvement?

The graphical user interface could be easier to use. It should be simplified. When we're dealing with a large number of complex applications, the user interface is not the best. There could be a simpler design especially when it comes to providing a view on handling large users/user groups. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Appian for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is very stable and robust. The updates definitely work. I've never had to roll back an update.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It works very well actually across systems. It can work across multiple complex systems, as well. There's no problem when it comes to scaling up and scaling out. Still, the interconnections, in terms of provisions of real-time data, can be a little clunky as the current graphical user interface has some issues.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was fairly simple and straightforward. It's pretty much plug-and-play.

Deployment time depends on the environment and the use case. It can take anywhere from two weeks to six weeks.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When it comes to connecting multiple systems, Appian fares much better compared to Pega.

What other advice do I have?

First, you have to understand the business logic behind all of your systems before you start developing and interconnecting the systems, and the process flows across the systems. That's the best advice I have.

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of eight.

In terms of the traffic, the user interface should be improved so that it provides real-time data for complex connections between systems. If that is improved, I would give this solution a higher rating. Otherwise, it's a very stable and very robust product.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Appian Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: February 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Appian Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.