Appian BPM is well suited for operational processes
September 25, 2015
Appian BPM is well suited for operational processes
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Modules Used
- Appian BPM
Overall Satisfaction with Appian AnyWhere
I worked on implementing Appian BPM for a client's corporate tax organization. The client had licensing for Appian across the enterprise and elected to make use of that for their corporate tax process and technology needs. Specifically, the BPM tool was used to create a systematized process for data collection/entry, approval flows, and reporting (via IBM Cognos reporting layer), so that the corporate tax organization could introduce more integrity to their data, store their data systematically, and limit the number of hand-offs in their processes.
- Appian BPM works well for processes that involve multiple touch-points, given its workflow capabilities.
- Since Appian BPM is web-based, it is an easy-to-use tool that is accessible virtually anywhere.
- Appian BPM has the ability to integrate with other robust reporting software for strong analytics.
- Appian BPM is best suited for processes that do not involve a lot of financial data or calculation-intensive information. The client at which I helped implement Appian BPM sought this functionality, and it was more complex to implement and more cumbersome to use.
- Appian BPM is a little light with its native reporting - tabular output without much flexibility for slicing and dicing information.
- More efficient data collection processes
- Greater integrity in key financial information - via systematic approval process
On the whole, the BPM module is easy-to-use with web-based forms, strong workflow and ability to store data for reporting analytics and decision-making purposes. Depending on the level of robustness desired/required from reporting on processes, however, Appian BPM may not be the best tool. If you desire a more dynamic and rich BI tool, consider Business Objects or Cognos; accordingly, for easy of integration, consider BPM tools offered by SAP or IBM.