Likelihood to Recommend Appian works great for automating manual processes and integrating multiple systems through its toolset. It gives great flexibility for establishing rules for approvals, routings, escalations, and the like. Because of the low code toolset, it's very easy to deploy and make changes as needed as processes evolve and as the organization learns to utilize the system better. Minimal maintenance is required to support the applications build on the platform. Some of the automated testing integration with tools like Jenkins is limited so that may be an issue for some.
Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
I would less recommend it because it looks like IBI is receding a bit from the European market. I would not be certain for future support. Knowledge in the market in western Europe is limited Functional wise the application suits almost all situations. I would for sure recommend it purely based on its capabilities
Read full review Pros Allows at a glance workflow documentation which assists in the need we have for information readiation. Drag and drop interface for workflow development greatly speeds our apps time to market. Using the advanced features of Appian, we are able to create working sites in a fraction of the time it would take to do so using "traditional" development. Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
One thing that has always been good at WebFOCUS is how they interact with the customer on items. They take suggestions and implement them. In addition technical support is timely and very detailed. I think they keep up with and lead in implementing new technologies in the BI space. One case of this are the ability for user to create their own easy dashboard using the green plus buttons. Also the ability to link d3 into and have the ability to implement new types of graphs is nice. I have been to a spoke at one of their user conferences and they are worth going to. In addition to all of the great seminars the interaction you get with vendors and other users is key in the growth of your knowledge. I've learned so much for my time at these conferences. Read full review Cons Search issues when type ahead and database search are used in the same field. Buttons implementation where user is require[d] to click on the button description - if clicks on the button outside that text - button will not work. Problems with using certain off-the-shelf performance tools like WebLoad or Neoload. That is because of different dynamic variables being used internally in Appian - which these tools are unable to correlate. We are still investigating using other tools like Jmeter to overcome dynamic correlation problem for performance testing. Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
The newest versions of WebFOCUS have an unnecessarily complicated security layout that makes configuration difficult to accomplish without bringing in the vendor for installs. This software tries to cover too many bases allowing you to switch from writing code manually to creating reports using only GUI tools. This sometimes complicates screens and functionality where the two methods don't always work well together. -though its nice to have the choice. The sales force is not as top notch as many software companies Read full review Likelihood to Renew We recently renewed our license with Appian. We are convinced that its flexibility, relative ease of use, the support they provide, there mobile advancements and their general willingness and desire to see us succeed all contributed to our reason to renew our agreement with Appian
Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
This software is deeply engrained with my organization and has become a tool that would not easily be replaced without spending more money and resources to get the same results. License cost is comparable to other report writing tools and the capabilities are greater than the competition without having to buy multiple apps to do the same thing.
Read full review Usability Appian is a low code environment, because of this, a very good visual interface is required. Appian is providing a feature-rich dashboard [that] we can use for building the dashboards and other interfaces. Appian also provides patches and releases to enhance these features. A developer can start off development just by going through a basic course from the Appian learning community.
Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
Best BI tool/product I have used. The others don't compare overall. Some can look fancier, but when you actually use them with large data and data from numerous systems/sources that is where most of the competition falls away. I also don't like downtime. I have basically none for a large user base with WebFocus. Even
SAP Crystal Reports went down for 4 days once - 4 days because the admin password got locked out due to a glitch and we had zero reports for 4 days. WebFocus has never had more than a few minutes of downtime. It's like a tank that just keeps rolling. There is no other choice for reliable BI.
David Maillie Application Development Analyst and Software Engineer
Read full review Reliability and Availability IBI (Information Builders)
Tracking availability formally for almost two years and we are at 99.8%
Read full review Support Rating Appian is one of the leading low code business automation platforms that support RPA, decision rules, case management, workflow automation, and machine learning all in a single bundle. But it is also harder to implement and replace the traditional business process.
Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
They have extremely knowledgeable techs that I have worked with over the years. Some have actually become really good friends of mine. I see them often at local user groups and when we show them how we are using their tools to save millions of dollars throughout the company
David Maillie Application Development Analyst and Software Engineer
Read full review In-Person Training As analyst I participated in a developer boot camp. At times it was hard to keep up but most of the time it made sense. Trainer took the time to explain and slowed pace down to answer questions etc.
Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
Online Training Very boring; hard to get through quickly, but rather effective in demonstrating the use of the platform.
Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
It's hit and miss, the last class was overcrowded and people were having trouble connecting which took up much of the time. Instructors vary
Read full review Implementation Rating It was really seamless. SaaS in the true definition of the word. We logged on and started using the product. Very easy.
Peter Newnam Development Team Lead for BPM, Integration and Special Project Teams
Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
Plan ahead on what data will be accessible and the type of security required on the database and if you will want to use security that is built into the software. It is worth consulting with the vendor on what your plan is and how they recommend you proceed in order to get results you are happy with.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Appian has enormously transformed and keeps on updating the product every quarter to meet the latest needs of the world with new innovations & technologies being integrated within the platform. What gives more pleasure than a product that keeps on continuous[ly] improv[ing]?
Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
Webfocus handles the side of our business that is involved with our catalogs. Our catalogs is a huge revenue driver for us and this tool has been extremely useful with planning feature catalogs.
Tableau is used more for marketing and merchandising purchases since we can filter data based on website sales.
Read full review Return on Investment I believe it has negatively impacted our release dates. There may have been a misunderstanding as to the learning curve, even though it is "low code." The look and feel of the applications created using Appian have uniformity and it's easier to have "reuse" between applications. There is less developer control when it comes to features. I think this mainly has to do with the amount of plugins available. I would think there should be many more available plugins. But again, our use case is probably different than most others. Read full review IBI (Information Builders)
We are not yet a success story. Though we've been implementing WebFOCUS for over a year, we have very few products in our Production portal. Of course, this is not all the responsibility of Information Builders, but we were ill-advised by our 'training coordinator' in our training of staff and coming up to speed with the tools has been very slow. Once skilled analysts and professional IT staff achieve a grasp of the products, they are able to very quickly create polished and well-received products. The DW/BI project has helped us to establish standards and protocols of communication that will allow us to more quickly meet knowledge transfer requirements Read full review ScreenShots