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Adobe ColdFusion vs Appian vs ServiceNow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
Adobe ColdFusion accelerates development speed, enhances security, improves productivity, integrates easily, and boosts ROI with faster project completion.
Sentiment score
7.2
Appian enhances profits, reduces process time, achieving break-even in year one, with widespread adoption and demonstrated ROI.
Sentiment score
6.9
ServiceNow enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and improves ROI with automation and streamlined processes, providing long-term organizational value.
Appian is very efficient, allowing us to build a lot of applications within a financial year, making it cost-effective.
The return on investment is good when implementing for ourselves and for other clients.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Adobe ColdFusion customer service excels with responsive, knowledgeable teams providing timely assistance and effective technical guidance.
Sentiment score
7.4
Appian's customer support is praised for efficiency and personalization but faces challenges with response times and complex issues.
Sentiment score
7.0
ServiceNow's customer service is generally praised, but technical support experiences vary and rely on community resources.
Their customer service is responsive, and the team is very prompt for support.
The technical support is generally good.
Appian has a community where I can put my questions.
The support is exemplary and deserves a perfect rating.
Most of the support comes from partners, and customers heavily rely on them.
I have contacted them four to five times over the past two years, and they have been quite helpful.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Adobe ColdFusion efficiently handles high traffic and complex tasks, ideal for large-scale applications with robust customization options.
Sentiment score
7.4
Appian is scalable with expert setup, handling cloud configurations well, though hardware and complexity issues may impact performance.
Sentiment score
7.4
ServiceNow is highly scalable, integrates well with systems, and offers flexibility, making it ideal for diverse organizations.
Appian is scalable, but it depends on how you build your applications.
Initially, without much coding, I can easily handle five thousand records.
It is capable of vertical scaling with no issues.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Adobe ColdFusion is a reliable and stable platform, ideal for web application development with consistent performance under heavy workloads.
Sentiment score
7.9
Appian is highly stable with 99.99% uptime; issues are mostly linked to development choices, while users commend its reliability.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow is highly stable with minimal disruptions, often due to external factors, offering reliable SaaS performance and support.
It depends on how it has been designed and how it has been configured.
ServiceNow is already a stable tool.
ServiceNow is stable enough.
 

Room For Improvement

Adobe ColdFusion needs performance, documentation, stability, cost, security, and integration improvements to meet modern industry standards.
Appian users want better UI customization, mobile flexibility, enterprise features, and integration, with improved scalability and reduced licensing costs.
ServiceNow users seek improvements in interface, navigation, pricing, documentation, mobile functionality, support, updates, and third-party integrations.
I would like to see more enhancement in the user interface to allow more freedom in designing the sites and pages.
If there is a very complex process that includes a lot of data transitioning and memory-centric processes, it consumes a lot of memory.
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow.
Their customer support could make it a great solution, not just product support but also their relationship with partners and training initiatives in different regions.
There are sometimes challenges with the portal being a bit confusing for new users.
 

Setup Cost

<p>Adobe ColdFusion pricing starts at $2,499 for Standard and $9,499 for Enterprise, varying with features, support, and licensing.</p>
Appian offers high-value, cost-effective cloud solutions with flexible licensing, competitive in specific regions, and affordable workload-based options.
ServiceNow's pricing is higher than competitors, suited for large enterprises but challenging for smaller companies due to cost complexity.
On the pricier side, both Appian and Pega are enterprise-level solutions, placing them on the slightly higher side.
The pricing of Appian is based on the number of users and generally ranges from 70 to 100 USD per user per month.
ServiceNow's pricing can be justified if more functionality is required.
ServiceNow is expensive for all regions.
 

Valuable Features

Adobe ColdFusion excels in rapid development, database integration, and security, with high performance and comprehensive documentation praised by users.
Appian offers low-code development, intuitive interfaces, and BPMN 2.0 compliance, enhancing application deployment, workflow management, and business process automation.
ServiceNow excels in customization, integration, and user-friendliness, offering versatile workflows, ITIL processes, and strong community support.
The zero-code integration feature is remarkable, allowing for ease of data transfer and workflow enhancement.
It is easy for me to define the process and create configurable workflows.
I can create tables, perform database-related activities, and create multiple tables.
ServiceNow provides a wide range of functionality, covering all the necessary modules, unlike Jira which is primarily for IT.
Automation capabilities are impressive, bolstered by a vast repository of out-of-the-box connectors and plugins that facilitate integration with various applications worldwide.
The most valuable features of ServiceNow for me are its ticketing and reporting capabilities.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Adobe ColdFusion is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Appian is 9.1%, up from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 10.9%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

RakibulIslam - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-setup tool that can be used to automate repetitive tasks
Currently, they have some legacy connectors with different tools, and they are creating native connectors. For example, AEM was only using HTTP or SMTP connections. However, now, AEM also has a native connector. In Adobe Workfront, if we use those connectors, we can push data through them. Previously there were no in-built connectors for Power BI and the dashboard. Now I see that connectors are there in Adobe ColdFusion though I have not used them yet. Previously when I was trying to create some data, it was very difficult to get real-time data from Workfront. I would like to say that it could be an area of improvement if it was possible to get real-time data, and we can create some connectors like the ones on Power BI or Tableau. Now we have the option with which we can schedule a time, like one or two hours, five times a day, allowing us to push the data with Power BI or an external tool. However, with real-time data, it's really difficult now. For ColdFusion, since I do not have that much expertise, I would say that whatever issue I face, I will resolve them. For that, I would like to get real-time data using the tool. Hence, I would like to get a real-time dashboard all the time.
RAVIRANJAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Low-code with good reliability and good workflows
We have a partnership with Appian. We have worked with Appian to deal with issues. They have already incorporated many things into their platform. One of the things we have discussed, which I can highlight, is related to Excel manipulations. They have incorporated their Excel manipulations so it's far better than the earlier version. Earlier, we had to go with a plugin for even a simple Excel or spreadsheet calculation. Now, they have included all those things in their own out-of-the-box functionality. It's definitely a tool and does not require high code language. There could be a scope of enhancement for capturing the variety of use cases. One thing, for example, is Excel manipulation, which they now provide in their out of box functionality, however, that can still be improved.
Somnath Kand - PeerSpot reviewer
Custom integration and reporting lead to efficient ticket management
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow. Although there are child incidents or tickets, tracking primary issues or bugs within enhancements is not present. The reporting features in the new portal could be more user-friendly. While it provides options to minimize chart and image sizes, actual implementation doesn't always reflect these changes.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
22%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
26%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Adobe ColdFusion?
I would like to say that its best feature is its different kinds of connectors. We have lots of in-built connectors.
What needs improvement with Adobe ColdFusion?
Currently, they have some legacy connectors with different tools, and they are creating native connectors. For exampl...
What is your primary use case for Adobe ColdFusion?
During the first six months of using the solution, I worked to automate our daily tasks. In general, we use it to aut...
Which do you prefer - Appian or Camunda Platform?
Appian is fast when building simple to medium solutions. This solution offers simple drag-and-drop functionality with...
Is Appian a suitable solution for beginners who have no additional preparation?
Appian is actually pretty big on educating its users, including with courses that reward you with certifications. The...
Is it easy to set up Appian or did you have to resort to professional help?
We had some issues when we were setting up Appian. It was quite surprising, since this is a low-code tool which, in i...
Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?
The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into t...
Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?
Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Inspirus, Promisan, Webapper, Giva, Frontech Solutions Inc, Digicon, ITX Corp, Wall Street Magnate, SimulTV, ten24 Digital Solutions, Prospective Medical Data International Inc, Alcatel-Lucent
Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee
AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow    
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, ServiceNow, OutSystems and others in Rapid Application Development Software. Updated: May 2025.
850,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.