Discussions around customer service strategies have shifted from “customer management” to “customer engagement.” A recent piece in InformationWeek on  “Seven Ways IT Can Improve Customer Service” highlights this shift. The article, by Forrester Research senior analyst Kate Leggett, pays a lot of attention to process improvement and process consistency. Kate is a leading expert on customer service strategies, and a member of Forrester’s Business Process team, so this comes as no surprise. What is a little surprising is that she didn’t call out Mobile BPM and Social BPM more directly in her analysis. These components of Appian’s BPM software are playing a huge roll in the strategies our customers are rolling out to engage with their customers.

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Tags: , Business Process Management, customer experience, Forrester, Informationweek, mobile BPM, Social, Social BPM

Ellen Carney, lead insurance industry analyst at Forrester Research, has just published an insightful report on the changing tide for insurance companies. You can read an excerpt here. “Tech Opportunities in the North American Insurance Industry” details the transition from “business-as-usual” to what Ellen calls a “business-as-unusual” model where the customer experience takes precedence over the products and services an insurer provides. BPM software, particularly Mobile BPM and Social BPM, are key technology enablers for this transition.

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Tags: , BPM for Insurance, Business Process Management, Forrester, mobile BPM, Social, Social BPM

To kick off Appian World 2012, we’re offering optional tours of two popular Washington DC attractions on Sunday, April 15 in conjunction with USA Hosts. The spots are going fast, so sign up today for either a tour of America’s Main Street and Newseum, or the National Air & Space Museum’s Udvar Hazy Center.

End your conference experience with free training workshops on getting the most from your Appian BPM Software. Seating is limited, so register for the training you need today!

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Tags: , Appian World 2012, BPM software, Business Process Management

Forrester’s Ted Schadler recently blogged about “The Mobile Goat Rodeo.” In case you’re unfamiliar (as I was), goat rodeo is a term “used by aviation people (and others in higher risk situations) to describe a scenario that requires about 100 things to go right at once if you intend to walk away from it.” Ted’s right that the path to enterprise mobility has a lot of moving parts, but using a Mobile BPM platform for code-free mobile app development removes a lot of the complexity.

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Tags: , Appian 6, Business Process Management, enterprise mobility, Forrester, mobile app development, mobile BPM

I couldn’t end this series on the primary themes discussed at the recent National Contract Management Association’s (NCMA) Government Contract Management Conference without including budget concerns. Budget cutbacks and their effects on the acquisition community were an inescapable topic throughout the event.

Appian’s BPM software platform and Acquisition Business Management (ABM) solution can’t increase a contracting organization’s budget or magically produce more 1102s. It can, however, help make existing resources more effective while allowing an organization to start small and incrementally tackle their acquisition system issues.

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Tags: , BPM for Federal Acquisitions, BPM for Government, Business Process Management, government contract management conference, national contract management association

In continuing my review of the hot topics at the recent National Contract Management Association’s (NCMA) Government Contract Management Conference, next up is the issue of Data Quality & Standardization.

This has become a key initiative inside the DoD acquisition community.  It was very interesting to hear Nancy Gunderson’s (HHS) comments regarding the subject from the civilian agency side.  One of her comments was that we’re only as credible as our data, and that the demand for data and transparency will only increase.

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Tags: , BPM for Federal Acquisitions, BPM for Government, Business Process Management, government contract management conference, national contract management association

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the annual National Contract Management Association’s (NCMA) Government Contract Management Conference in Bethesda, MD.  Appian was again a sponsor and exhibitor at the event.  It was great talking to so many acquisition professionals and catching up with people – some of whom I hadn’t seen in years.

As always, the conference provided excellent speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions.  Of note, I thoroughly enjoyed GSA Administrator Martha Johnson’s keynote, the insights from Nick Nayak and Nancy Gunderson on a panel discussion regarding “the Future of Acquisition Policy,” and the Joanie Newhart-led panel on “Building Tomorrow’s Contracting Management Workforce Today.”  Common themes were presented throughout both days of the conference, and in particular, I was struck by the speakers’ focus on change, data quality/standardization, and budget concerns.

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Tags: , BPM for Federal Acquisitions, BPM for Government, Business Process Management, government contract management conference, national contract management association

Earlier this week, we announced the opening of our new Australia/New Zealand regional headquarters office in Sydney. The market for BPM Software across ANZ is growing rapidly. Economies across Asia-Pacific appear to be much stronger than in other areas of the world right now. Australia, in particular, has done very well through this protracted period of global economic crisis. According to Dr. Michael Rosemann of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), as quoted in a recent interview with Gartner, Inc. (subscription required), the country had the second-strongest currency in the world in 2010.

Economic strength means business growth, which demands scalable business processes and invites innovation. That’s why Appian already has an impressive roster of customers in the region – customers that are expanding BPM projects into enterprise-wide BPM programs – and it’s why we expect continued growth in the area. Dedicated Appian sales and professional services staff in-country will help us capitalize on the opportunity, and will ensure the success of our customers in the region.

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Tags: , Appian, Australia, BPM, Business Process Management, New Zealand

Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel is pushing a “single door” policy for contractors doing business with U.S. federal agencies through the creation of vendor management organizations (VMOs). Federal acquisition/procurement is something we think about all the time at Appian, for a number of reasons.

First, like the rest of the country, we are concerned about federal fiscal policy and wringing out wasteful spending. Second, we believe BPM software provides a new opportunity to transform agency acquisition practices. Our Acquisition Business Management (ABM) solution allows federal purchasing organizations to increase the efficiency, visibility and mission-alignment of all pre-award, award, and post-award activities within the acquisition lifecycle.

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Tags: , Appian 6, BPM for Federal Acquisitions, BPM for Government, Business Process Management, Government 2.0, steven vanroekel

The thing parents keep telling their kids about the internet – about how once you put something up, it never goes away – is equally good advice for all of us. That Wayback Machine never forgets. A trip through the BPM software world of the internet archives is an interesting thing, because it shows what a difference a corporate acquisition can make in someone’s opinions. Let’s hop in the machine and take a little trip:

“Today one of our customers said they were told by IBM: “why spend your money with Lombardi, we’ll give you our BPMS for free.” I finally agree 100% with IBM on something: their BPMS is worth nothing. Getting a cheap BPMS is like buying a dancing elephant for a dollar: cool, but who can afford to feed it?”

That’s Phil Gilbert talking. Or rather, Phil Gilbert back when he was president and CTO of Lombardi. Today’s Phil Gilbert is head of BPM at IBM. Say it again, Phil: “Their BPMS is worth nothing.”

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Tags: , BPM, Business Process Management, IBM, Lombardi, WebSphere