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. For the novice beginner just trying to understand the power of BPM, we have a half-day training program on Wednesday (April 13), kicked off by Sandy Kemsley, a leading BPM consultant and blogger. Appian Partners have a dedicated forum and exchange session also on Wednesday. Thursday kicks off with powerful keynote presentations from Gartner and Appian, followed by a series of customer case studies from Nokia Siemens Networks, Edward Jones, UPS, Pinnacle People and the US Army. Commercial and Government breakouts provide an opportunity for more in-depth presentations and exchange on topics like Cloud BPM and Government BPM Solutions. Friday, April 15, features another packed agenda featuring keynotes from Forrester Research and an expert customer panel. Appian partners have an opportunity to educate the attendees on how they effectively extend the use of Appian’s BPM software. Friday afternoon also provides in-depth training sessions for Appian’s existing customers and partners, before the conference concludes on Friday afternoon.

 If the content above was not compelling enough, Appian World 2011 attendees will also be treated to a live Mobile and Social experience using Appian’s latest software release. More to come on that as we get closer to the conference. If you haven’t signed-up yet, now is the time! See you all there in a few weeks!!

-Samir Gulati, Vice President, Marketing

The report states that Appian is “consistently a Leader in Forrester’s Human-Centric BPM Suite Wave evaluations.” That said, the really important thing to note about the 2010 report is that it is not simply an update of a previous Wave report.

In the past, Forrester issued individual BPM Wave reports fragmented across human-centric, document-centric, Java and .Net technologies. The 2010 report is positioned as a “BPM Suite” report, consolidating all those previous flavors into one view of the BPM suite market. That means Appian’s leadership position is now measured across a much larger pool of potential competitors.

Forrester found that the Appian BPM Suite provides “a strong all-around offering” and was one of two vendors described as providing “the best overall combination of modeling, design and development features for business and technical roles driving process improvement.”

Further, “Appian stands out for its completely Web-based environment – across process discovery, development and execution. Appian’s Web-based environment provides process analysts, process developers, and business users with rich and intuitive interfaces for building and managing business processes.”

Appian continues to drive BPM suite market innovation. The combination of our technology, people and methodology turns process improvement into rapid business value for our customers. I encourage you to read the Forrester report – and then contact Appian to discuss how we can help you create a more agile and dynamic business.

Samir Gulati, VP of Marketing

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.

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.

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. 

The speed of Pinnacle People’s Appian deployment is impressive, but certainly not unique. Appian on-premise deployment times now run in a matter of weeks. Our Appian Anywhere SaaS subscriptions are provisioned in minutes. Appian enables our customers to accelerate process improvement and prove quick ROI as a precursor to a larger enterprise-wide BPM program.

Speed-to-value is the name of the game for BPM. Appian is leading the way by delivering the fastest design and collaboration, the fastest deployment, and the fastest process improvement cycles in the industry.

Let us know how we can help you jump-start a BPM initiative.

Samir Gulati, VP of Marketing

With the launch of Appian 6, we have delivered the market’s fastest platform for BPM application development, deployment, adoption and use. This BPM acceleration means you can get to OpTempo quickly, and maintain in through rapid cycles of optimization. Combine this speed with “fit-for-purpose” interfaces, rich collaboration and Application Templates, and you have a recipe for Lean. On that note, please sample the more than 25 new templates (and hundreds of other resources) available in the new Appian Forum online community. Appian Forum combines the existing Appian Access and Appian ShareBase with a host of new content and collaboration features.

BPM has thrived as a result of the shrinking economy. As we look ahead to eventual recovery, we believe that BPM interest will only grow. Appian is committed to making your BPM efforts achieve rapid success, and we look forward to taking the journey with you.

Here’s to a bright future!

Samir Gulati

Vice President of Marketing