As cloud computing continues to gain traction in the federal sector and beyond, it is important to note that the most critical benefit of the cloud, especially when it comes to Business Process Management (BPM), is to help agencies execute more effectively.

More specifically, BPM in the cloud allows any government agency to meet demands for cost reduction, transparency and accountability – all key goals for the Obama Administration.   Agencies are embracing the “effectiveness revolution” when it comes to BPM in the cloud for the following reasons:

• It’s Low Cost: Government agencies can benefit from a complete BPM Suite that allows them to gain control over critical processes, increase efficiency and reduce operating costs, at low subscription pricing.

• It’s Low Risk: Agencies are exposed to less risk since the BPM solution is hosted in a secure environment.

• It’s High Value: Agencies can quickly build and deploy process-based applications that offer the flexibility and control necessary to deliver improved efficiency and transparency.

Beyond these core benefits, BPM in the cloud allows federal agencies to better execute on key functions including case management, human resources, acquisition/procurement, grants management and micro-purchasing.

We don’t want to tip our hats too much to some exciting news, but stay tuned for an exciting podcast on BetterGov blog about a major federal agency giving the Appian Anywhere solution a key stamp of approval.   See, it’s not only us who thinks BPM in the cloud is changing government for the better!

Tags: , BPM software

If this is what your weapons system looks like, you need to attend the DAU!

You can’t talk federal IT today without discussing the need for business transformation. Ever wonder where DoD folks go to learn how to transform the acquisition process? Well, they go back to school – to the DAU, Defense Acquisition University. The DoD’s award-winning corporate university is located just down Route One a piece, headquartered at Ft. Belvior just south of Alexandria, VA.

The mission of the DAU is to provide training, career management and services to enable the entire acquisition community to make smarter business decisions. By doing so, timely and affordable services are delivered to the warfighter. Since 2008, the DAU has been using Business Process Management (BPM) tools from Appian to help accomplish its mission.

Back in 2008, DAU started using BPM to simplify, automate and manage their micro purchase and training request system. Users submit via a simple web-based form, business rules and approvals are automatically followed, and every user receives email notifications. Here’s how Mark Whiteside, Performance and Resource Management Director at DAU described it back then:

”We saw automation of micro purchases as an important first step in financial process improvement,” he explained. “We anticipate expanding our use of Appian to other key process areas to the point where ultimately it will act as the central business system for the DAU.”

Boy, have they ever expanded their use! Here are the processes Appian’s BPM supports today for DAU:

• Suspense tracking
• Hiring requests
• Faculty application process
• Contracts
• Receipt/Acceptance of goods
• Case management

This is what business transformation looks like in the DoD. If you want more info, you can either enroll in the DAU, or just drop us a line at BetterGov – we’ll hook you up!

Tags: , DAU, Process Management

How often do you hear a high-level government executive discuss Star Trek, future technologies and the need for IT to be about decision making in the same breath?  Or hear a CEO discuss how process automation has trumped the slide rule as the necessary technology to get us to Mars?

These are all concepts to reinforce the value of process improvement for government, and how it drives overall effectiveness.  Essentially, Business Process Management (BPM) is becoming a ‘must have’ technology for government.

Check out the last installment of our video series from the “Hottest IT Trends in Diplomacy and Defense” event hosted by Bisnow from last week.  Once again, we feature clips of Keith Seaman, Acting Director, Defense Business Systems Acquisition Executive (DBSAE) Business Transformation Agency (BTA), and Matthew Calkins, CEO of Appian.  Except this time, we are showcasing a bit of a sci-fi twist.

Tags: , BPM for Federal Acquisitions, Business Process Management

Please join us tomorrow, July 22nd at Noon EST for a live discussion with CEO, Matthew Calkins, Director of Product Management, Malcolm Ross, and guest speaker Matt Brook, Head of Infrastructure at Pinnacle People.  We have some exciting news to share with the Appian community on the latest growth figures for Appian, new product features around Data Management, and a great success story by Matt Brook from Pinnacle People.

Registration is open on Appian Forum for all Appian customers and partners.

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Tags: , Appian, Pinnacle People, Smart Services

When one thinks of the Department of Defense (DoD), the idea of discipline immediately comes to mind. Soldiers, troops and entire battalions need to conduct their duties with the utmost discipline in order to achieve mission success.

Why, then, does the average acquisition take 91 months to reach the warfighter? That simply seems outrageous in the face of the military’s focus on discipline and effectiveness. One reason is the challenge the DoD faces with legacy ERP systems that just keep living forever — because “once you name a cow, you can’t kill it.”

The DoD has now begun talking about using its disciplined approach to better manage business processes and get actionable IT solutions to the warfighter in a more efficient manner. To learn more, check out our exclusive video with Keith Seaman, Acting Director, Defense Business Systems Acquisition Executive (DBSAE) Business Transformation Agency (BTA), and Matthew Calkins, CEO of Appian. The two discussed this topic in detail at last week’s “Hottest IT Trends in Diplomacy and Defense” event sponsored by Appian.

Tags: , Bisnow, BPM for Case Management, BPM for Federal Acquisitions, BPM for Program Management, BPM software, Business Process Management, Department of Defense, Process Improvement for Government

Appian has reported another six months of strong performance in the first half of 2010. In that time, we signed 28 new-name customers. This is a company record, and it far outpaces anything we have seen reported for competitor BPM offerings across a 6-month period. New customer acquisition drove 58% and 43% sequential quarterly bookings growth (Q1 10 over Q4 09, and Q2 10 over Q1 10, respectively). At a time when global economies remain tight, and corporate budgets even tighter, Appian is selling what people are willing to pay for: fast, high-impact results.

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Tags: , Appian, Appian 6, Appian Cloud, BPM, BPM for Government, BPM in the Cloud, Business Process Management, Gartner, IDC, SaaS BPM

It is common knowledge that government agencies have historically been ineffective at efficiently on-boarding, off-boarding and processing security clearance for employees and contractors. The overall process is mostly manual, paper-based, takes far too long, and when security clearances are involved, the delay can be a major hindrance to achieving project goals.

Fortunately, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), part of the U.S. Treasury Department, is leading the “effectiveness revolution” in government by automating this process with the Appian BPM Suite, as well as Appian consulting services, to create OCC’s Personnel Administration and Security System (PASS). This new enterprise system streamlines on-boarding, off-boarding and security processing for all OCC employees and contractors.

To-date, OCC has used a number of disconnected systems – Microsoft (MS) Excel, MS Access, and Lotus Notes databases – to manage security actions. Clearly, this move towards using BPM will not only better automate hiring and security processing for the OCC, it will also allow the agency better achieve its mission.

Be sure to check out the official press release here. This announcement is just one more reminder that the government is addressing this age-old challenge head on in full force.

Tags: , Appian, BPM and Human Capital, BPM software, Business Process Management, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

As the leader in “BPM for Government,” Appian has a bird’s eye view of that market’s accelerated growth. The latest example is this morning’s announcement of a significant Appian contract win with the Dept. of Treasury/Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). It is a multi-million dollar award for a Case Management application for Security Processing.

The federal government is increasingly looking to BPM to solve process issues, like Security Processing, that are of broad applicability across agencies and departments.

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Tags: , Appian, Appian 6, Appian Cloud, BPM, BPM for Government, BPM in the Cloud, Business Process Management, Case Management, SaaS BPM

Earlier this week, Bisnow hosted its “Hottest IT Trends in Diplomacy and Defense” event, which showcased a candid conversation with State CTO Charlie Wisecarver about a number of topics including the IT consolidation challenges at the State Department – this was essentially the “Diplomacy” portion of the event.

Consolidating IT systems at a major government agency like the State Department is no small task. Check out our exclusive video of Charlie Wisecarver below discussing this major initiative at the Bisnow event earlier this week and learn what the State Department is doing to reduce costs and become more effective.

And, stay tuned for the “Defense” part of the event with our exclusive video of Keith Seaman, Acting Director, Defense Business Systems Acquisition Executive (DBSAE) Business Transformation Agency (BTA), and Matthew Calkins, CEO of Appian. These two gentlemen discuss key innovations in process improvement for government through the cloud, Business Process Management (BPM) and much more.

Tags: , Bisnow, BPM and Human Capital, BPM in the Cloud, BPM software, Business Process Management, Process Improvement for Government, Process Management

Remember when both the business and government worlds slowed down during the summer? Yeah, neither do we. While summer is a time for many to plan personal vacations and much-needed time off, it is actually a time for government agencies to continue their efforts to maintain maximum productivity.

In addition, as we learned from yesterday’s Bisnow event, “Hottest Trends in Diplomacy and Democracy,” the summer is a critical spending time for government. Stay tuned for our exclusive video from this event.

Back to the topic of government productivity. As we have been highlighting on this blog, Business Process Management (BPM) is playing a critical role in helping government be more efficient and effective. One key element to remember is that BPM allows for the automation of complex processes and the provision of real-time access to critical information and applications that drive significant, measurable improvements in productivity.

From a Human Resources perspective, BPM enables federal HR departments to accelerate the hiring process, and acquire the talent needed for government projects to be fully maximized. On the Project Management side of things BPM delivers the active project management, process visibility, documentation audit trails, and collaboration capabilities needed to meet aggressive roll-out schedules for urgent federal program deployments.

Allowing for the quick on-boarding of the right talent married with cutting-edge project management tools, BPM provides the perfect solution that will allow any government agency to meet and exceed productivity goals – even in the dog days of summer!

Tags: , Bisnow, BPM for Federal Acquisitions, BPM for Human Resource Management, BPM in the Cloud, Business Process Management, Process Improvement for Government