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Appian vs SAP HCM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Appian
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (7th), Process Automation (6th), Rapid Application Development Software (5th), Low-Code Development Platforms (4th), Process Mining (6th)
SAP HCM
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (3rd), Talent Management (3rd), Cloud HCM (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Appian and SAP HCM aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Appian is designed for Business Process Management (BPM) and holds a mindshare of 6.1%, down 6.4% compared to last year.
SAP HCM, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud HCM, holds 13.1% mindshare, down 17.0% since last year.
Business Process Management (BPM)
Cloud HCM
 

Q&A Highlights

MK
Apr 17, 2023
 

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.
Renelia Villanueva - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient payroll processing with comprehensive attendance management
I am currently heading the payroll benefits and HRIS team here in Manila. We are using SAP HCM on-premises, and we implemented SuccessFactors focusing on Employee Central and GMPM SAP HCM has helped a lot due to the always changing government regulations pertaining to taxation, social security…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of interface, it's very good. In terms of infrastructure, it's amazing and already using multiple tools behind the scenes. It's a low-code platform, so it's very easy to implement."
"Appian also has very flexible local integration."
"It's a stable product."
"Call Web Service Smart Service - Web service integrations with other systems are super simple and fast to create, supported by low code menus."
"The most valuable features are the low coding and low code data."
"Process Modeling enables creation of business process workflows. You can create complex business workflows in a visual manner, and it is also easy to debug/monitor."
"This is the most complete solution of its kind."
"The application is mobile-friendly, allowing me to use it across any device, whether mobile, laptop, or desktop."
"SAP HCM is a competitive and comprehensive tool that covers major programs in the enterprise and supports the global process."
"It has the best data management features."
"It is a scalable solution. There are three administrators maintaining the solution: an HR person, a payroll person, and one backup."
"Technical support is excellent."
"We are satisfied with the reporting by SAP HCM."
"SAP HCM has a good performance."
"The tool's best feature is SAP SuccessFactors."
"It's very suitable for large, multi-geography companies but also very suitable for medium companies with multi-geography operations."
 

Cons

"We'd like improved functionality for testing new devices."
"It needs better integration with our existing application ecosystem."
"We would like to have more granular control for interface styling."
"If we could calculate the amount of data that will be realized, it would help us a lot."
"While Appian is generally flexible, it's rigid in some ways. It takes longer to do something that isn't available out of the box."
"Appian could improve their customer-facing initiatives."
"Offline capabilities and responsive capabilities could be better. The mobility features of Appian platform are still evolving."
"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."
"SAP is not ready to sell the license on time and delays the progress of projects. It's better to work with a competitor like Oracle. Those that are selling the product just go through powerpoints and don't have the knowledge necessary to sell. They can't answer any questions."
"There's still room for improvement. We need end-to-end systems. Only the HR team uses HCM, but employees don't have access to their data. With Employee Central, employees can see their ratings, increment cycles, and other details, making things more transparent."
"HCM could improve compatibility, making it more accessible via web applications and graphical interfaces."
"We are able to optimize a lot of processes but there is always room for improvement."
"It takes a long time to apply an update patch to the system."
"It needs a lot of end user training as it is not intuitive at all."
"It would be very helpful for our company if a new version was released with the ability to contain all of the things that we have newly introduced in our company."
"SAP HCM needs to improve its UI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"BPM done right is a huge value proposition for almost any company, and with Appian's low code rapid development model, the ROI can be huge, while the break-even point should be accelerated tremendously."
"The pricing can be a little confusing to customers."
"The solution offers a monthly subscription model. That's what we use. I recall it being about $90 a month. They do have different tiers."
"The price of this solution is a little high here in Mongolia."
"You can't really test the software properly without actually buying the license first."
"The licensing will be on a monthly basis. We are estimating that cost to be around $2000 to maybe $3,000 per month. We don't foresee any costs above that."
"Licensing of Appian is less expensive when compared to other BPMs in the market."
"I'm sure it is cost-effective, but right now, we're just toying around with it. So, I don't have any hard numbers."
"The solution is a little expensive and we are charged per user for the license. The solution can be paid monthly or annually."
"You pay per license. There not any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"The terms on which you buy licenses might change due to the way they license in a particular product."
"In my view, this product is a waste of money for SMB because there are much better products available and licensing is an issue."
"Licensing is pretty complex. SAP does not have a straight forward way of licensing, and it differs from client to client."
"The cost depends on the size of the organization. Compared to others, I'd say Oracle is number one, followed by Workday and SAP HCM."
"The product is expensive."
"I believe HCM is a little expensive, but I don't know the exact price because I'm involved with the sales team. However, I think the price must be reasonable because many organizations are migrating their current ERPs to SAP. It's excellent software, and the price is competitive."
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Answers from the Community

MK
Apr 17, 2023
Apr 17, 2023
Hi Michael, My top reasons to consider SAP SuccessFactors would be: 1. Robustness of the Core Employee Central. 2. GDPR Compliance and Audit tracking capability for transactions given the healthcare industry regulations. 3. Scalability of the solution, especially if your organization is spread over multiple geographical locations. 4. Vast support ecosystem and string tech capabilities. 5. La...
See 2 answers
Ashwin Bhadouria - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 27, 2023
Hi, is HCM the only requirement with the organization, or are other solutions also required? As far as HCM is concerned, SAP is comprehensive and can be tailored as per requirements. Thanks - Ashwin
Vasu Narasimha - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 17, 2023
Hi Michael, My top reasons to consider SAP SuccessFactors would be: 1. Robustness of the Core Employee Central. 2. GDPR Compliance and Audit tracking capability for transactions given the healthcare industry regulations. 3. Scalability of the solution, especially if your organization is spread over multiple geographical locations. 4. Vast support ecosystem and string tech capabilities. 5. Lastly, leverage SAP S/4HANA.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
30%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Retailer
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...
What do you like most about SAP HCM?
SAP HCM is the one of the best ERP for an organization with a small to large scale business. It has the most efficient payroll functionality. Regards : SAP HR classes in pune
What do you like most about SAP HCM?
HCM is a very important module that each organization should want to use. It will help any organization to calculate and control the cost of their human resources.
What is better, SAP HCM or SAP SuccessFactors?
When it comes to user experience, SuccessFactors is unquestionably superior, as it provides end users with a new experience and an advanced user interface. Additionally, the entire concept of SF is...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
SAP Human Capital Management
 

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
City of Cape Town, ADAMA Agricultural Solutions Ltd., TransAlta Corporation, Keolis, PT XL Axiata Tbk, National Football League (NFL), Plan International, Yoh, A Day & Zimmermann Company, China Talent Group (CTG TMO), Umicore S.A., Butterfield Bank, Skrill Group Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, Apache, Automation Anywhere and others in Business Process Management (BPM). Updated: March 2025.
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