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Appian vs Azure Automation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Appian
Ranking in Process Automation
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (8th), Rapid Application Development Software (10th), Low-Code Development Platforms (5th), Process Mining (6th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (11th)
Azure Automation
Ranking in Process Automation
25th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of Appian is 4.5%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Automation is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Appian4.5%
Azure Automation1.0%
Other94.5%
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Shad Bhowmik - PeerSpot reviewer
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
Automated remittance workflows have boosted speed and accuracy but still need geo-tagging improvements
Remittance is a crucial part of my integral operation, so any disruption would majorly impact our clients. After switching to Appian, we never faced any disruption as it is reliable and we can generate data at any point in time, quite faster than other tools in my personal opinion. Regulators can ask for data from us at any time, and with Appian, we download data from our Appian tools to share it with them whenever they ask. I would share a real-life example: a customer's transaction processed more than a year ago. Suddenly the customer came back asking for all the details. In our previous tool, it was quite difficult to generate transaction details from over a year ago; however, while using Appian, we can pull up data using different key search fields, such as a customer's cell phone number, remittance tracking number, or MT103 reference number. We shared it with the customer instantly, and the customer was surprised we could provide all the details in such a short time. It added reputational value for our organization, thanks to Appian.You have pointed out two major things: time-saving and reduction of error, which are key points while processing remittance. Previously, while using another tool, it was quite time-consuming to process remittance, but after switching to Appian, it can extract data from MT103, eliminating the need for manual data entry. The process has become fully automated. Previously we could process only five to ten transactions within an hour, but now, after switching to Appian, we can process about 100 transactions in an hour, making it 10 times faster. In terms of error detection, since Appian extracts data from MT103, the extraction rate is quite good, and the error rate is negligible, lower than 0.001%. We can share accurate, error-free data with the regulator, which is essential for us. Appian benefits us significantly. After receiving an MT103, we check what the remitter is, the amount, if it is under threshold for processing, and if it is from a high-priority remitter or client. Since Appian extracts data from MT103 messages and identifies top-level clients from the database, it can notify us to process their transactions with priority. Due to automated data extraction, there are fewer instances of error. In our previous tool, we reported regulatory data to the central bank manually and often received complaints about invalid purpose codes due to manual data entry. Appian handles this automatically, and after switching, our error rate has dropped significantly, resulting in positive feedback from the Central Bank of Bangladesh regarding our reduced error rates. This has greatly enhanced our organization's reputation. Appian is fully on-premises, and we have our own system.
Gökhan YENİGÜN - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft Azure Technical Consultant at Gsy Bilişim
Has improved workflow automation and reduced manual tasks while offering room for simpler deployment
Azure Automation brings many benefits to my company and my customers' companies because many jobs can be converted automatically through an AI agent to complete tasks. PowerShell and Python scripting capabilities assist us significantly in developing tailored automation at 90% efficiency. I have utilized Azure Automation runbooks. We don't create new runbooks because some runbook templates simplify our business processes and tasks effectively.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a stable product."
"The most valuable feature is business automation."
"The most valuable features of Appian are the VPN engine, it is fast, lightweight, and easy to set up business rules. Business teams can do it by themselves. That is a very good feature."
"Compared to other code tools that I've seen, Appian has a more robust rules engine"
"The tech support is quite good."
"There is a version coming out every six months with performance improvements."
"The tool is very flexible."
"The valuable features include process automation, Appian Portal, and Appian RPA."
"The most valuable part of Azure Automation is that it is a platform providing features that can be custom-used, with very wide functionalities, and the user-friendly nature and available technology can be simply applied to different technologies."
"Azure Automation brings many benefits to my company and my customers' companies because many jobs can be converted automatically through an AI agent to complete tasks."
"The best features of Azure Automation help us automate tasks for the customer and eliminate a significant amount of manual work."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Automation is the scripting."
 

Cons

"While Appian is generally flexible, it's rigid in some ways. It takes longer to do something that isn't available out of the box."
"I would like to see more enhancement in the user interface to allow more freedom in designing the sites and pages."
"It has it's own built-in UI components and doesn't provide much flexibility to customize or extend those components."
"On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate Appian a 7.5."
"If we could calculate the amount of data that will be realized, it would help us a lot."
"The solution needs more features. For example, a way to connect to our viewing database, to record, and more interface and component design."
"Appian has a few areas for improvement, which my organization raised with the Appian team. One is the Excel output which is limited to fifty columns when it should be up to two hundred or three hundred columns."
"Appian could be improved by making it a strict, no-code platform with free-built process packs."
"Sometimes when integrating with third-party tools, we cannot find the proper API and must perform manual work, which requires additional development on our end."
"The solution’s user interface could be improved."
"Deployment with Azure Automation can be challenging at times, though sometimes it is very easy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is high."
"The pricing can be a little confusing to customers."
"The cost is calculated on a per-user basis. It might be expensive for small and mid-sized enterprises."
"Product pricing compared to some of the earlier vendors, like IBM, CA, and Oracle, is quite well-priced. Although, we do feel that as we increase the number of users and the workload increases, we will have to spend more."
"Appian is very flexible in their pricing. In general, Appian's pricing is much, much lower when compared to competition like Pega or other products. Appian also has a flexible licensing model across geographies. Pega usually goes with a single licensing cost—which is a US-based cost—for all global customers, and it's costly. Whereas Appian has a different regional licensing cost model and it can be cheaper, depending on geography. So Appian's licensing is very flexible, and cheaper when compared to other competition."
"The cost depends on the number of users, although I recommend taking an unlimited license."
"We will have to have a dialogue or negotiate a price for future use. To start with, it is a reasonable price. As we go ahead, we will have to make sure the costs are inline with our expectations as we grow our user base and workloads."
"You can't really test the software properly without actually buying the license first."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Insurance Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise44
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 easy plug-and-play options. The initial setup was seamless and very easy to imp...
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. There is a whole section on their company’s website where you can check out the edu...
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 its essence, means it is meant for business users and inexperienced beginners. So...
What needs improvement with Azure Automation?
Deployment with Azure Automation can be challenging at times, though sometimes it is very easy. In terms of deployment installation, it requires improvement to be less complicated.
What is your primary use case for Azure Automation?
The typical use cases for Azure Automation are business automations, workflows for virtual machines or cloud environments, and automatic triggers for workflows, which we are currently using.
What advice do you have for others considering Azure Automation?
I'm working with various products. I am familiar with Azure Marketplace and Azure Automation, including Language Understanding. It takes a couple of hours for my team to deploy the product, though ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee
1. Adobe 2. BMW 3. Coca-Cola 4. General Electric 5. Johnson & Johnson 6. NBCUniversal 7. Pfizer 8. Samsung 9. Siemens 10. Toyota 11. Verizon 12. 3M 13. Accenture 14. Airbus 15. Allianz 16. American Express 17. AT&T 18. Bank of America 19. Boeing 20. Cisco 21. Dell 22. ExxonMobil 23. Ford 24. General Motors 25. IBM 26. Intel 27. JPMorgan Chase 28. Microsoft (self-use) 29. Nestle 30. Procter & Gamble 31. Shell 32. Walmart
Find out what your peers are saying about Appian vs. Azure Automation and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.