Appian Corporation, headquartered in Vienna VA, is a fast-rising star in the pure-play BPMS universe. Founded in 1999, the company is entirely self-funded and claims to have been profitable throughout its life. Today, Appian boasts 120 customers and 216 employees, and was recently named to the Inc 500 list of fastest-growing private companies. Appian Enterprise, the company’s flagship offering, takes a broader view of BPM than most of its competitors. The company describes process as only one dimension of BPM, the others being analytics and knowledge management. Certainly, performance management (what Appian calls analytics) is a standard component of all BPM suites, but with roots at BI vendor Microstrategy, Appian’s founders have made it a focal point of the product’s technical architecture. Knowledge management, Appian’s catch-all term for collaboration, content management, and portal technology, is also included as part of the suite. This simplifies implementation of content- centric, collaborative, and case management processes.
Appian makes no real distinction between process modeling and executable design. Appian’s BPMN-based Process Modeler tool is shared by business and IT. Most aspects of implementation design are intended to be business analyst-friendly, and there is no dividing line drawn between modeling and design activities. This includes AJAX web form design and business rule design as well. Also, unlike other BPMSs, both Appian design and administration environments are browser-based.
