Appian World 2011, Appian’s customer and BPM community conference, is fast approaching. We’re about 3 weeks to going live in Reston, Virginia on April 13, 2011. While we expect almost 500 attendees, the most exciting part of this conference is going to be the theme: Mobile BPM, Cloud BPM and Social BPM.

Appian’s latest product release effectively integrates all three of these technology inflection points. This enables customers to effectively use BPM in the Cloud, on the Road and in their Social Network. A number of presentations, panels and customer case studies will highlight how customers can expand and strengthen their BPM programs through the use of Appian 6.5/Appian Tempo.

Appian World 2011 has something for everyone. More »

Tags: , Appian, Appian 6, Appian Cloud, Appian World 2011, BPM in the Cloud, BPM software, Business Process Management, Cloud Computing, mobile BPM, SaaS BPM, software-as-a-service

Forrester Research has just published “The Forrester Wave™: Business Process Management Suites, Q3 2010,” and Appian has been named a Leader. Forrester is strict about the language vendors can use in describing their relative positioning, so I’ll just say we are very pleased with our placement. Take a look at the report and decide for yourself how the top rankings play out.

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Tags: , Appian, Appian 6, Appian Cloud, BPM, BPM in the Cloud, BPM Methodology, Business Process Management, Forrester, SaaS BPM

Most revolutions are fought in the name of freedom from political systems and powers that keep nations and people from reaching their full potential. This is certainly true with the American Revolutionary War, which laid the foundation for the freedom of our great nation.

We have been talking about the “effectiveness revolution” and Business Process Management (BPM) for sometime now on the BetterGov blog. Our goal is to highlight how this revolution allows government agencies to be more productive and innovative while busting bureaucracies and decimating red tape.

While this movement is not on the grand scale of the American Revolution, it is ushering in a new era of government that makes federal processes more seamless and transparent. This ultimately will make government the productive engine it should be.

A real-life example of BPM in action for government is the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) use of Appian’s Government Acquisition Management module to significantly improve efficiency and drive automation in its procurement processes. DISA received an end-to-end solution that connects procurement operations, systems, and DISA personnel in a collaborative, process-driven procurement framework. This solution significantly improved productivity and work quality at DISA by automating complex agency processes and providing real-time access to critical government information and applications.

In addition to streamlining procurement and acquisition processes, BPM is transforming many government functions that, for far too long, have been tied down in red tape and cumbersome processes. These areas include:

• Case Management
• Grants Management
• Project Management
• Micro-Purchasing
• Human Resources

These are merely some of the key functions BPM revolutionizes for government. As the effectiveness revolution continues to gain momentum, we will see BPM being used in virtually every facet of government life that involves processes – which is pretty much everything.

So, for all government executives who truly want to be productive, the revolution is happening as we speak and freedom is at your finger tips.

Tags: , Appian, Business Process Management and Government, effectiveness revolution

When thinking of “going down to the crossroads,” many are drawn to the classic folk tale of blues legend Robert Johnson. Johnson made a deal with the devil to ensure that he could be the most talented and influential blues songwriter and performer of all time. We like to think of the “crossroads” as a metaphor for the intersection of two things that will effectively create lasting change for the better.

In the BPM world, we are talking about the intersection of cloud computing and constant process improvement — both are now meeting at the crossroads and are helping government achieve efficiency goals in a more cost-effective manner.

U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra noted in the White House Open Government Blog that by using cloud services, the Federal Government will gain access to powerful technology resources faster and at lower costs. He also stated that the cloud frees the government to focus on mission-critical tasks instead of purchasing, configuring, and maintaining redundant infrastructure.

Here is where the big meeting at the crossroads happens. BPM applications and cloud computing together minimize the cost and risk that often come with larger IT integrations for government. One major government agency is leading the way by using Appian Anywhere, the BPM SaaS solution, to quickly scale up efforts to gather demographic data for 7,000 institutions around the U.S.

So, unlike Robert Johnson who had to sell his soul to the devil in order to attain his talents, by using BPM in the cloud there is minimal risk for government. And the rewards are immeasurable = the cloud is a low cost way to jump start any BPM-powered task and make government more effective.

Tags: , Appian, BPM and Human Capital, BPM for Federal Acquisitions, BPM for Human Resource Management, BPM in the Cloud, Process Improvement for Government

Yesterday, we announced a new customer deployment in the UK that demonstrates our commitment to delivering accelerated BPM value. Pinnacle People, a provider to the UK government, deployed the Appian BPM Suite from start to Phase 1 production go-live in only 20 days.

The deployment meets a very timely need. As the prime contractor to the UK’s Department of Work and Pensions for the delivery of JobCentre Plus contracts, Pinnacle is charged with helping the UK’s 2.5 million unemployed get back to work. Pinnacle is using Appian BPM to manage the end to end contract delivery, and also to support HR, Finance and Supply Chain functions.  More »

Tags: , BPM

Appian is ready to help your business succeed in 2010. The more than 300 attendees who joined us for the recent Appian FORUM09 conference heard two BPM luminaries share their thoughts on what matters for the future of BPM. Gartner’s Jim Sinur talked about “OpTempo” (accelerating operations to increase your ability to respond to changing business patterns), and Forrester’s Clay Richardson outlined the importance of Lean BPM – and how to make it a reality. Attendees also saw first-hand that Appian is delivering the technology, methodology and community required to turn both of those important ideas into business value.  More »

Tags: , Appian 6, Appian Forum, BPM, Forrester, Gartner