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Appian vs IBM Business Automation Workflow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.9
Appian boosts profits and digital transformation, reducing costs by 85%; organizations report high adoption and variable ROI satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.5
IBM Business Automation Workflow boosts ROI by lowering costs, enhancing digital transformation, and increasing productivity through automation.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Appian support is efficient and well-rated, but complex issues may face delays, while resources and community are valuable.
Sentiment score
5.8
IBM Business Automation Workflow support is generally effective, but efficiency varies, with on-premises outperforming cloud-based services.
Their customer service is responsive, and the team is very prompt for support.
Appian has a community where I can put my questions.
IBM provides long-term support and maintains a traditionally good customer-vendor relationship.
If the solution is readily available to IBM support team, they provide it instantly.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Appian is scalable for medium to large entities but can face challenges with complex processes, data volumes, and costs.
Sentiment score
7.8
IBM Business Automation Workflow provides scalable solutions with flexible deployment, supporting high transaction volumes and effective enterprise-level use.
Initially, without much coding, I can easily handle five thousand records.
We are implementing load balancing and horizontal scalability.
We can manage the license usage and scale our environment while optimizing license use.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Appian is praised for high stability and uptime, with minimal issues when following best development practices and architecture.
Sentiment score
7.7
IBM Business Automation Workflow offers stability and supports millions daily, overcoming setup challenges through performance tuning and monitoring.
It depends on how it has been designed and how it has been configured.
 

Room For Improvement

Appian users want better UI customization, integration, scalability, flexibility, cost-efficiency, support, collaboration, and enhanced case management features.
IBM Business Automation Workflow requires improvements in usability, integration, support, and advanced features for a cohesive user experience.
If there is a very complex process that includes a lot of data transitioning and memory-centric processes, it consumes a lot of memory.
Many developments are focused on AI, LLM models, and data science.
IBM Business Automation Workflow could be more intuitive, with more advanced low-code features and services definition.
 

Setup Cost

Appian pricing is moderate to high, with cost-effectiveness in cloud solutions and flexibility in its regional licensing model.
IBM Business Automation Workflow is costly but valued for its flexibility, robust features, and transparent, worthwhile investment.
On the pricier side, both Appian and Pega are enterprise-level solutions, placing them on the slightly higher side.
It is not a cheap license but in line with expectations for such software.
 

Valuable Features

Appian's low-code platform accelerates app development with user-friendly tools, automation, and integration, enhancing productivity and efficiency.
IBM Business Automation Workflow enhances app development, usability, and efficiency through integration, RPA, AI features, and robust connectivity.
I can create tables, perform database-related activities, and create multiple tables.
It is easy for me to define the process and create configurable workflows.
We have integrations with different banks, ERP systems, and other human resource management systems by integrating through different systems.
It assisted in making users concentrate on the process flow rather than just features.
 

Categories and Ranking

Appian
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Process Automation (5th), Rapid Application Development Software (5th), Low-Code Development Platforms (4th), Process Mining (6th)
IBM Business Automation Wor...
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of Appian is 6.1%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Business Automation Workflow is 2.2%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Srimanta Pandit - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible, improves operational efficiency, and reduces the time taken to complete processes
The solution’s turnaround time for development is better compared to other tools. The solution enables fast development. The traceability of the processor is good. There is much more governance and regulations on the processers. The tool reduces the time of the processes by 30% to 40%. The solution’s low-code aspect has greatly impacted the development and deployment speed. One of the major reasons we are using the product is that we can reuse the modules. The developers can reuse all the modules. It enables us to make subsequent developments in less time. The prebuilt modules can be deployed within two to three weeks. The tool is very flexible. Compared to other platforms, the Appian product team was agile in quickly customizing things for us.
Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
Customizable features empower seamless workflow automation
The system is fully customizable, very resilient, and fault-tolerant. We have first-line support from IBM, so there are no issues. We have integrations with different banks, ERP systems, and other human resource management systems by integrating through different systems. It provides many ways to integrate, and we are utilizing it effectively.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Management (BPM) solutions are best for your needs.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
30%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
38%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
7%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which do you prefer - Appian or Camunda Platform?
Appian is fast when building simple to medium solutions. This solution offers simple drag-and-drop functionality with easy plug-and-play options. The initial setup was seamless and very easy to imp...
Is Appian a suitable solution for beginners who have no additional preparation?
Appian is actually pretty big on educating its users, including with courses that reward you with certifications. There is a whole section on their company’s website where you can check out the edu...
Is it easy to set up Appian or did you have to resort to professional help?
We had some issues when we were setting up Appian. It was quite surprising, since this is a low-code tool which, in its essence, means it is meant for business users and inexperienced beginners. So...
Which is better, IBM BPM or IBM Business Automation Workflow?
We researched both IBM solutions and in the end, we chose Business Automation Workflow. IBM BPM has a good user interface and the BPM coach is a helpful tool. The API is very useful in providing en...
What do you like most about IBM Business Automation Workflow?
The most valuable feature of IBM Business Automation Workflow is cost management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Business Automation Workflow?
The pricing of IBM Business Automation Workflow is within the expected range for our organization, which is in the enterprise sphere. We ensure everything is economical and well-regulated while mai...
 

Also Known As

Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
Business Automation Workflow
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee
Key Bank, Barclays, Control€xpert, MIR Insurance Brokers, Conqord Oil
Find out what your peers are saying about Appian vs. IBM Business Automation Workflow and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.