Appian Corporation is an American cloud computing and enterprise software company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, part of the Dulles Technology Corridor. The company sells a platform as a service (PaaS) for building enterprise software applications. It is focused on low-code development,[3] process mining,[4] business process management,[5] and case management[6] markets in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.[7]

Appian Corporation
Company typePublic
Industry
Founded1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Founders
Headquarters,
U.S.
Number of locations
15 (2017)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
RevenueIncrease US$545 million (2023)
Negative increase US$−108 million (2023)
Negative increase US$−111 million (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$628 million (2023)
Total equityDecrease US$52.3 million (2023)
Number of employees
2,243 (2023)
Websiteappian.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

History

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Founding and early growth: 1999–2013

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Appian was founded in 1999 by Michael Beckley, Robert Kramer, Marc Wilson and Matthew Calkins, who serves as CEO.[8][9]

In 2001, the company developed Army Knowledge Online, regarded at the time as “the world's largest intranet."[10]

In 2005, the company expanded into financial services and other private markets.[11] It became known for its low-code platform.[11]

In 2010, Appian Cloud was accredited with Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) low-level security by the U.S. Education Department. In 2013, it received FISMA Moderate Authorization and Accreditation from the General Services Administration (GSA).[12]

Secondary investments and Nasdaq: 2014–2017

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In 2014, the company received $37.5 million in secondary investments from New Enterprise Associates, which was paid out to shareholders.[13][14] In 2015, transportation company Ryder began using the Appian apps instead of paper processing during the checkout process and internally for truck maintenance records.[15][16]

In 2016, Vontobel, a global investment firm, started using Appian's Low-Code Platform to improve its business processes.[17]

On May 25, 2017, Appian became a publicly traded company, trading as APPN on the NASDAQ Global Exchange.[18][19]

Process mining and artificial intelligence: 2018–present

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In May 2019, Appian released Appian AI, enabling artificial intelligence capabilities on its platform.[20] In March 2020, the company updated the platform's Artificial intelligence and robotic process automation capabilities.[21] In 2021, the company was named a leader in Digital Process Automation software by Forrester.[22]

In 2022, Appian started highlighting the importance of low-code tools in improving environmental, social & corporate governance (ESG).[23] The company stressed that embedding these tools within operational processes makes it easier for companies to integrate ESG data sources, adapt to regulations, and remain in control of auditability.[24][25]

In February, the company secured provisional authorization from the Defense Information Systems Agency to allow its low-code platform-as-a-service “to handle Impact Level 5 controlled unclassified information and national security systems”.[26] This lets defense customers use Appian Government Cloud as well as the Appian Low-Code Platform.[26]

In March, Horizon Power, a Western Australian energy utility, wanted to transfer from manual process to automation and started using Appian's low-code platform to improve internal workflows and processes.[27][28]

April 2022, process mining, first available in January, was fully integrated into all Appian products.[29][30] This resulted in process mining, low-code/no-code workflows, and automation working as a single solution.[30][29] That same month, Appian started the free #lowcode4all program to help provide access to low-code education and certification for developers.[31] Participants complete a low-code curriculum and the Appian Certified Associate Developer exam, receive access to hiring recruiters through Appian's partner network, and get job search skills support.[32][33][34] The program targeted undergraduate and graduate students, students who had paused their education, unemployed, career-changers, and military veterans.[34][35]

In May 2022, Appian was awarded $2.04 billion in damages against Pegasystems Inc.[36] Pegasystems was found guilty of hiring a developer to spy on Appian, stealing trade secrets in an operation Pegasystems referred to as "Project Crush."[37][38] Pega is appealing the verdict and the company will not be required to begin paying the judgment until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted.[39] In February 2023, Pega filed an appeal asking the court to overturn the previous judgement and either rule in Pega's favor or order a new trial.[40] March 29, 2023, Appian filed a rebuttal and 8K.[41]

Acquisitions

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On January 7, 2020, Appian announced acquisition of Novayre Solutions SL, developer of the Jidoka robotic process automation (RPA) platform.[42]

In August 2021, Appian acquired the process mining company Lana Labs.[43] The company's applications help companies discover the work patterns being used within their organization by looking through system logs for common actions and sequences.[44]

Services

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Low-code platform

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Appian offers a low-code platform with a visual interface and pre-built development modules.[45] As of August 2020, it was the only pure-play provider of low-code software on the stock market.[46] As with other low-code platforms, it enables businesses to create apps and automations using little or no code.[45][47] The platform protects privacy and security with its HIPAA-compliant cloud.[48] The platform includes Appian AI and Appian RPA.[49][50]

SAIL (Self-Assembling Interface Layer)

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Appian SAIL technology is a low-code method for enterprise applications that works from back-end integration to upper level graphical user interfaces.[51] It also incorporates Appian's AI Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) tool.[52]

Appian Portals

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This allows designers to use low-code to build and manage secure external websites that capture and share data from Appian applications.[53][54]

Process Mining

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Process mining is the act of analyzing, improving, and monitoring business processes.[55] In April 2022, process mining was fully integrated into the Appian platform.[56] Appian uses process mining to identify any business inefficiencies, then uses low-code to draw a visual representation of a more efficient workflow, and follows up with a second round of process mining after implementation to make sure that the new process has solved the problem[57]

Appian includes the Mine Process history plug-in that lets users automatically import process data into the process mining product for further analysis.[58][59] It also includes a no-code module.[60]

Pre-built apps

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Appian also sells pre-built frameworks. In late 2020, it launched apps to support businesses with COVID-19 concerns.[61][62] They track workforce health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, collecting information from employees and storing it in a HIPAA-compliant cloud,[63] help organizations reopen their offices, and helps banks manage Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, including AI-powered intelligent document processing.[61] Another app, created in partnership with the University of South Florida, helps educational campuses collect COVID-19 related data about individuals and coordinate health and safety guidelines in academic communities to plan for students returning to campus.[64] The firm also developed apps that facilitate return-to-work protocols,[61] and a framework for government organizations to manage acquisition processes,[65] institutional onboarding,[66] and intelligent document processing.[67]

Data Fabric

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In 2021, Appian announced plans for a low-code data product.[68] It was completed in April 2022 and was named Appian Data Fabric.[69] It unifies data from enterprise systems, reducing the time to deliver new applications.[69]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Appian Form 10-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 15 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Meet Matt Calkins: Billionaire, Board Game God And Tech's Hidden Disruptor". Forbes. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  3. ^ Rymer, John (2017-10-12). "The Forrester Wave™: Low-Code Development Platforms For AD&D Pros, Q4 2017". Forrester Research. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  4. ^ Murphy, Ian (2022-04-27). "Appian elevates process mining to a whole new level". Enterprise Times. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  5. ^ Dunie, Rob (2017-10-24). "Magic Quadrant for Intelligent Business Process Management Suites". Gartner. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  6. ^ Le Clair, Craig (2018-03-08). "The Forrester Wave™: Cloud-Based Dynamic Case Management, Q1 2018". Forrester Research. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  7. ^ "Case study: Appian's low-code process automation platform".
  8. ^ Medici, Andy. "This local tech founder is now richer than the Lerners". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  9. ^ Konrad, Alex. "Meet Matt Calkins: Billionaire, Board Game God And Tech's Hidden Disruptor". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  10. ^ Knapp, Louise (2001-11-15). "Army Intranet: World's Largest". Wired. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  11. ^ a b "Case study: Appian's low-code process automation platform". www.mpamag.com. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  12. ^ Yasin, Rutrell. "Appian Cloud app gets FISMA moderate security cert". GCN. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
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  14. ^ Overly, Steven (2014-03-04). "Appian collects $37.5 million from New Enterprise Associates as it plans IPO". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
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