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Gartner's Daryl Plummer Kicks Off Appian World 2014 by Taming Disruptors Through a Nexus of Forces

Staff, Appian
May 1, 2014

Welcome to Appian World 2014!

This morning, Gartner Managing Vice President and Research Fellow Daryl Plummer delivered the opening address to Appian's annualuser conference. Daryl's main stage discussion was quite an introduction to the leading industry session of customers, partners, analysts, and prospects, as he addressed the disruptions created by new technologies and how they can be harnessed for optimal business success.

Business professionals and consumers alike are bombarded with an onset of new technologies available. Our society never turns away from innovations, but with so many devices, apps, wearables, and process enablers out there, it can be hard to come to grips with what this all means.

Rest assured, this is where Daryl steps to the plate and makes sense of it all as one of the most engaging and respected presenters in the world of enterprise IT. Daryl calls this continues flow of new technologies the Nexus of Forces - Social, Cloud, Big Data, and Mobile - and how a grounding in process understanding can help turn this disruption into real value.

Innovation leads to a new business reality. These disruptors are opening all new possibilities for business management, from the impactdigitalization to aligning a mobile strategy to conduct work in real-time. Process reinvention is required forcustomers and constituents to experience the new value these technologies bring.

"The disruptions and innovations allow us to change the way we work," said Daryl. "Disruptors are moving so quickly, this innovation has come together as a Nexus of Forces."

So how does your everyday consumer spill over into the business world? According to Daryl, today's consumer has changed, becoming more connected and valued. Just as in our workplace, we are engaged as consumers, constantly leveraging tools such as social media to stay informed.

"Consumers expect things to work for them, and when they move to the enterprise, they expect the same performance," said Daryl.

When the consumer meets the enterprise, things change and real collaboration takes place. Sharing of critical information and data is communicated via mobile devices and participants can be connected to real work.

Sound familiar?...This is the blueprint of Appian's modern Work Platform.

According to Daryl, boundaries no longer exist between the consumer and business professional. The two have meshed together to become "Citizen Developers," self-directed, information rich, and able to collaborate freely on a modern enterprise platform to conduct real work and achieve critical objectives for business and consumption purposes.

"Consumers don't stop consuming when they go to work," said Daryl. "If the technology is not in place, consumers can't fully translate innovation to business."

In order to ensure this transformation, organizations must align an IT 2020 strategy. According to Daryl, mobile strategies must be developed to follow the business worker, as opposed to the worker following the PC. Designing for mobile first is essential. A multi-use platform must be in place as well, taking full advantage of mobile, cloud and on-premise solutions.

Daryl closed the opening session by offering great advice for the future of enterprise IT development and how to plan for the unexpected.

"Challenge every assumption you have," proclaimed Daryl. "When you make assumptions it is hurting you. Don't limit your future with the choices you make. Embrace adaptive technology and innovation coming from everywhere."

Now that things are under way, we have quite the conference planned over the next two days. Be sure to check back at Appian Insights for the latest news on main stage presentations, customer case studies, and informative panel discussions throughout Appian World 2014!

-Mike Ingrisano, Media Relations Manager