The Zombie Escape Room...it's one of the featured attractionshere at Appian World 2017, at the Hyatt Regency in the Embarcadero area of San Francisco. Yesterday,Ivolunteered to host one of the three Escape Rooms at the hotel.
I helpedseveral teams of fearless clients and customers set outon a mission to solve an array of mind-bending puzzles to get the clues they need to build a Quick App, and save the world from the horrible ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. And I had a blast!
If you're attending Appian World, and haven't yet experienced the Zombie Escape Room, check it out. It's BIG fun.
Yesterday, when the curtain rose on Appian World 2017, the spotlight focused on the Partner Summit and Pre-Conference Training. Today, the General Session speakers took center stage.They talked about a number of topics, including digital transformation trends likeArtificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, improvements to the Appian Low-Code app development platform, and Appian's mission to make every company a software company.
This afternoon, I've been busy working the crowd for feedback on their Appian World experience. The jury's still out. But, based on early commentsfrom numerous attendees, this year's conference gets major kudos as the biggest, baddest (as in best) Appian World conference. EVER.
"I've been coming to Appian World for 5 years now," says Suren Rangaraju, Senior Director, Cognizant. "This is the best one yet," said Rangaraju, who travelled to the San Francisco-based event from Teaneck, NJ. "The Partner Summit and Pre Conference Training was fantastic," said Rangaraju. "So was the news about the new improvements in the Appian platform. The user interface is much better. Appian just keeps getting better."
"I see many new faces," said Rangaraju. "But I also see customers who were here five years ago. Which means they still like the product. Appian is focused on digital transformation. And that's a big deal for Cognizant. Increasing our digital footprint is important. And generating digital revenue is a top priority. To drive digital revenue, you need a digital transformation strategy. I'm looking to learn more about how Cognizant can deliver on that with Appian."
Like Rangaraju, Terry Bandy has also attended multiple Appian World conferences. Bandy serves as Director, Government Solutions for Architech Solutions, an east coast Business Process Management and IT services company, based in the Washington, DC area.
"But this is the first time Appian's done Appian World outside of the Virginia-Washington, DC area. I've noticed that there are fewer public sector people here this year, but thepublic sector decision-makersare at a much higher level than before."
As for today's agenda, it's packed to the brim with main stage keynotes, numerous track and panel sessions, severalZombie Escape Room sessions, and numerous networking opportunities. On top of all that, there's also a menu of concurrent digital transformation seminars on everything from killer app design, Web APIs and advanced system integrations, to transformation best practices and advanced interface design.
Alok Bhale, Associate Director, Key Accounts, NA, Infosys. "We're a platinum sponsor of this year's event. But this is my first time at Appian World. It's fantastic! A great opportunity to network with new clients. We came to meet with the Appian leadership team, and to learn about new improvements in the product."
"I heard Matt Calkins' presentation," said Bhae. "He brought up some really good points about the importance of keeping applications fresh, and about how Appian helps customers do that. We have lots of client opportunities. And being an Appian partner will help us take advantage of that, and win more business."
Continue to check back on our blog for daily and live updates from Appian World 2017.
Roland Alston
