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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Appian

    Score7.9 out of 10
    N/AAppian is a low-code development and business process management platform. It features drag-and-drop design for app building, automated work processes, unified data management, and cloud-based deployment.

    $0

    M‑Files

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AM-Files delivers Context-First Document Management with a metadata-driven architecture that improves productivity across the document lifecycle. By linking documents to the people, processes, clients, and projects that give them meaning, M-Files creates a unified environment that strengthens governance.N/A
    Pricing
    AppianM‑Files
    Editions & Modules
    Appian Community Edition
    $0
    Application - Input-Only
    $2
    per month per user
    Application - Infrequent
    $9
    per month per user
    Application - Standard
    $75
    per month per user
    Platform
    Custom Quote Priced per user with unlimited apps.
    minimum 100 users, no maximum
    Unlimited
    Custom Quote Priced per development with unlimited apps.
    unlimited
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    AppianM‑Files
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    AppianM‑Files
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Appian and M‑Files
    Feature
    Appian
    8.1
    9 Ratings
    4% above category average
    M‑Files
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards8.29 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports8.59 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports7.69 Ratings00 Ratings
    Process Engine
    Comparison of Process Engine features of Appian and M‑Files
    Feature
    Appian
    7.4
    9 Ratings
    2% above category average
    M‑Files
    -
    Ratings
    Process designer7.99 Ratings00 Ratings
    Process simulation6.49 Ratings00 Ratings
    Business rules engine6.49 Ratings00 Ratings
    SOA support8.29 Ratings00 Ratings
    Process player7.39 Ratings00 Ratings
    Form builder7.69 Ratings00 Ratings
    Model execution8.59 Ratings00 Ratings
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    AppianM‑Files
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    Score8.3 out of 10
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    Score8.9 out of 10
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    Score8.9 out of 10
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    User Ratings
    AppianM‑Files
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (139 ratings)
    9.9
    (68 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.5
    (19 ratings)
    9.9
    (15 ratings)
    Usability
    8.7
    (95 ratings)
    8.2
    (12 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.4
    (118 ratings)
    8.0
    (11 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    6.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    1.0
    (5 ratings)
    8.2
    (8 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.6
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    AppianM‑Files
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Appian
    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.
    Incentivized
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    MFiles
    M‑Files is great for companies with multiple locations. Drive letters can become cumbersome to use and collaborate with colleagues and M‑Files fills that gap. The check out/check in system is great and allows only one editor at a time. This can be good and bad depending on the situation.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Appian
    • 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.
    Incentivized
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    MFiles
    • Reliable: Our M-Files system has only gone down one time (for a very short period of time) at the beginning of the two years that we have been with M-Files. Our previous vendor's system had so many downtimes that our IT Department had to assign an associate to work with me for sending out notifications to associates etc. With our last vendor, one day I came to work and only 60 of the 260 consent for surgery forms were available to our end users although they were visible to me as the Administrator but weren't showing up for the end-users!
    • Our M-Files system was created for us. It was created by working with developers to only have on our system what we required, and I must say, there were so many extra features that M-Files offered in our program that weren't available with our previous vendor. As mentioned previously, we can have two policies or forms visible to the end-user so one can be listed as "draft" or "training only" so our end users can read and use for training as we get ready to roll out a new medical record system. I can also preload policies and leave them in the working stage until they are approved and go back and publish them the day they are approved. The list goes on with so many great features.
    • Our end users would say the greatest asset of this product is the search function. It's amazing how fast it is. There are many ways to search out a form or policy which makes it a true asset for our associates.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Appian
    • 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.
    Incentivized
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    MFiles
    • If you are new to Electronic Document Management, this can be a really difficult product to roll out. Since it is infinitely versatile, there are infinite ways to configure it wrong. I highly recommend the M-Files admin training offered by M-Files as it will set you in the right direction.
    • Many options are paid add-ons. So while you are not paying for what you don't need, many great features will come at a cost.
    • If you don't have a technical person on staff, this will be tricky to maintain. Not impossible. If your processes do not change, once setup it will be fine.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Appian
    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
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    MFiles
    M-files meets our almost all needs, we dont have other option to replace m-files. it saves lots, like Hardware because of Vault Feature means we can create many vaults (mini-servers) in m-files in other solutions we need more hardware for more installations.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Appian
    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.
    Incentivized
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    MFiles
    It is a powerful system that can locate content fast and effectively. The system takes quite some time to setup initially. It can be hard for M-Files support to know how businesses operate and how they want to use the system in a way that works for them. The customization makes it great for companies to cater to their own needs. Once the system is set up in a way that makes sense for the business, the user experience is positive. There is room for improvement in the notifications, workflow, and support areas.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Appian
    No answers on this topic
    MFiles
    always there.
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    Performance
    Appian
    No answers on this topic
    MFiles
    I noticed some lagging with the integration with Microsoft Office but not so much that I would not use it. It has gotten better with updates. to be fair the issues were when Office 2013 first came out.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Appian
    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.
    Incentivized
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    MFiles
    Usually when I need help from them I got support and it was very good and focused to solve my problem. I didn't have so many problems, but when used it worked. I just would like to have a support in my native language, but I can understand that sometimes is hard for the companies.
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    In-Person Training
    Appian
    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.
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    MFiles
    We had online conference call training with a recording to use later as needed
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    Online Training
    Appian
    Very boring; hard to get through quickly, but rather effective in demonstrating the use of the platform.
    Incentivized
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    MFiles
    They answer all questions and record your training for later use.
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    Implementation Rating
    Appian
    It was really seamless. SaaS in the true definition of the word. We logged on and started using the product. Very easy.
    Incentivized
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    MFiles
    The key insight is that the most important thing is to have a open mind. The application is easy to use, but if you have a company with different views and it is not aligned could be a huge problem. So the company transformation is required together with the application. Ensure to use as much as possible the capabilities of the application helps to have best ROI.
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    Alternatives Considered
    Appian
    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]?
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    MFiles
    The customization ability seemed to be a level above and easy to navigate and available options are constantly being reinvented. We have used OnBase for years and now desire to move away from this option for a number of reasons.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Appian
    No answers on this topic
    MFiles
    do so much more than we need but has all the stuff we do need.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Appian
    • 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.
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    MFiles
    • M-Files allows us to track important milestones and expiration dates. We are now able to easily track revisions to contracts with community partners and record comments and history in one place.
    • We are able to track all contracts that come through our District and to create monthly reports to present to our Board.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Appian Screenshots

    Screenshot of Low-Code DevelopmentScreenshot of Business Process Management SuiteScreenshot of Dynamic Case ManagementScreenshot of Mobile App DevelopmentScreenshot of Appian RPA with Blue Prism

    M‑Files Screenshots

    Screenshot of M-Files - SearchScreenshot of M-Files - Profile openScreenshot of M-Files - PermissionsScreenshot of M-Files - Process mapsScreenshot of M-Files - Pinned items