The BPM Choice Becomes Easier

Appian's goal has always been to be the top pure-play BPM company. The road from where we stand to that place has never been clearer than it is right now.

You have heard by now that IBM is buying Lombardi. We welcome this transaction, as it will help us to achieve our goal more quickly. Lombardi has now marginalized itself, and will soon be entangled in the IBM stack. No BPM company has ever maintained its innovative vitality after being acquired.

The reason is simple: the giant vendors who make these acquisitions don't need to innovate to win market share. They have less to gain, therefore, from being a 'feature leader' (and are temperamentally unsuited, to boot). I expect IBM will not be a serious innovator in BPM ñ and Lombardi customers will suffer from increased confusion as they attempt to navigate the complex array of IBM BPM technologies to determine what to deploy where, and what is integrated with what.

Where will customers turn if they want innovative BPM and rapid time to value? To Appian.

This move meets my expectations for consolidation in the BPM market, and makes me more excited and optimistic than ever about Appian's future.

Matthew Calkins