Appian vs BizTalk Server comparison

Appian and Microsoft are both solutions in the Process Automation category. Appian is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #16 with an average rating of 7.0. Appian holds a 6.6% mindshare in PA, compared to Microsoft’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Appian users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Appian

Read 62 Appian reviews

4,617 Views
3,299 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

BizTalk Server

Read 13 BizTalk Server reviews

530 Views
271 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Appian

BizTalk Server

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Appian and BizTalk Server are in the business technology solutions category. Appian has the upper hand in rapid application deployment due to its low-code development and ease of use, while BizTalk Server stands out in enterprise integrations.

Features: Appian is known for its low-code rapid application development and robust process modeling, which facilitate quick application deployment. The platform offers easy integration and user-friendly components, enabling process management efficiently. BizTalk Server excels in complex enterprise integrations, providing extensive adapter support and orchestration capabilities, which are critical for high-volume data processing.

Room for Improvement: Appian could enhance its UI customization and offline capabilities and improve team collaboration tools. Users seek more flexibility in interface design and better integration with DevOps workflows. BizTalk Server can improve its debugging process, performance handling, and cloud deployment flexibility. Managing complex processes and memory efficiency are areas where BizTalk could advance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Appian offers versatile deployment options, including cloud, hybrid, and on-premises. Customer service is generally well-rated, with a support team known for responsiveness. BizTalk Server, mainly on-premises, can have time-consuming deployment, with Microsoft emphasizing Azure Logic Apps as an alternative. Customer service is considered reasonable but not as agile as competitors.

Pricing and ROI: Appian's pricing is competitive given its features and flexibility, though it may be costly for smaller enterprises. The ROI is significant, thanks to its rapid development cycle. BizTalk Server is often viewed as expensive due to on-premises requirements and licensing fees. Thorough ROI assessment is necessary to ensure full capability utilization, especially with Microsoft's focus on Azure solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Appian vs. BizTalk Server Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Appian vs. BizTalk Server

April 2025

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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

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Management (BPM) (7th), Rapid Application Development Software (5th), Low-Code Development Platforms (4th), Process Mining (6th)

BizTalk Server

Ranking in Process Automation

16th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business-to-Business Middleware (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of Appian is 6.6%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BizTalk Server is 0.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Process Automation

Featured Reviews

Srimanta Pandit

Senior Consultant at Protiviti consulting

Flexible, improves operational efficiency, and reduces the time taken to complete processes

The solution’s turnaround time for development is better compared to other tools. The solution enables fast development. The traceability of the processor is good. There is much more governance and regulations on the processers. The tool reduces the time of the processes by 30% to 40%. The solution’s low-code aspect has greatly impacted the development and deployment speed. One of the major reasons we are using the product is that we can reuse the modules. The developers can reuse all the modules. It enables us to make subsequent developments in less time. The prebuilt modules can be deployed within two to three weeks. The tool is very flexible. Compared to other platforms, the Appian product team was agile in quickly customizing things for us.

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Srinidhi S

Software Engineer at Shell

For production environments, messages are easily stored within the MessageBox database and offers multiple deployment methods

Some room for improvement means... it's legacy. It's an on-premises system, requiring physical servers for deployment. This is different from Azure; you don't need any servers with Azure. If you have a subscription, you can do whatever you want. There are unit restrictions based on the environment (like non-production vs. production) in BizTalk. You need physical servers and databases. In Azure, those are not required – it's all in the cloud. Now, we have the option of integrating accounts and the On-Premises Data Gateway to connect on-premises BizTalk with Azure. But the trend is moving towards Azure. Not everyone wants a hybrid model. Companies are still going with hybrid scenarios, but they want both BizTalk and Azure. See, whatever you can do in BizTalk, you cannot do the same things the same way in Azure. One example is tracking. In BizTalk, especially for production environments, messages are easily stored within the MessageBox database. Support can assist in retrieving them directly. It's not as easy to track in Azure – everyone can potentially access it, and even reprocessing is different. Logic Apps have a preview mode. If a Logic App is stuck at a particular action, you can resubmit from there. Microsoft is still making improvements – I don't know when they'll have general availability for these features. However, tracking and message storage are more complex in Azure. We have to use Azure Blob storage for archiving, whereas in BizTalk, it's a built-in feature of the MessageBox DB. If you need to debug at any point, you can do so easily in BizTalk. This is one aspect influenced by the on-premises nature of BizTalk. Since everything is moving to the cloud, Microsoft will also end support for BizTalk Server 2030 – there won't be any further support. I don't think they'll release any new versions. 2020 was the last, and it's been four years. After the end of support, I think companies currently using BizTalk will move to Azure or another cloud-based integration technology.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Another advantage of this tool is its reports and records. You can maintain dashboards, layouts. If you with a Java solution, it takes six months time. If you use this tool, you can finish in one or one and a half months' time."

"The initial setup is easy."

"It's a stable product."

"The process models provide self-documenting systems."

"The most valuable features are the low coding and low code data."

"The valuable features include process automation, Appian Portal, and Appian RPA."

"Technical support has been amazing overall."

"What stands out are the speed of the product, the quick, easy development, and visual diagramming."

More Appian pros

"We can handle a large number of messages without any issues, ensuring that everything runs smoothly."

"The most valuable feature of BizTalk Server is that it will turn XML into flexible transactions."

"Essentially, you can do whatever you like with these systems, and you do not have to take care about the scaling because if one server is overloaded, it just forwards the message to the next server, even if it were designated to a specific server. It weeds out the messages according to the load. If you want to scale it, you just add new servers."

"The most valuable feature is its reliability and stability. The first version of BizTalk was released in 2000, and many companies still use it. It was stable until 2013 when we had support."

"The AS2 communication protocol is one of the most advanced processes."

"BIzTalk's integration with Visual Studio is the most valuable feature of this product."

"Compared to the current solutions I use, like Azure Logic Apps and other cloud services, BizTalk was far better and more reliable."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its integration with the banks. Its messaging and routing capabilities are good."

More BizTalk Server pros

Cons

"The performance is pretty good, but the distortions need to be optimized in order for it to work well."

"There could be a scope of enhancement for capturing the variety of use cases."

"Authoring tool is slow to use resulted in limitations on how quickly solutions can be built."

"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."

"The solution could improve robotic process automation."

"There is no UI customization possible."

"If we could calculate the amount of data that will be realized, it would help us a lot."

"It needs better integration with our existing application ecosystem."

More Appian cons

"It's an on-premises system, requiring physical servers for deployment. This is different from Azure; you don't need any servers with Azure. If you have a subscription, you can do whatever you want. There are unit restrictions based on the environment (like non-production vs. production) in BizTalk. You need physical servers and databases. In Azure, those are not required – it's all in the cloud."

"BizTalk lacks native cloud support. BizTalk doesn't offer in-built support for cloud. We need to use third-party adapters to connect it to cloud services."

"The product's deployment can be quicker"

"The product could be improved in monitoring, managing, and support functionalities."

"The deployment could be simplified."

"BizTalk Server is an outdated legacy system that does not support messaging."

"It's a complex product because you have many degrees of freedom to connect different parts together. Whether it's sensible or not, is up to you, but the machine does allow it. But because of the vast degrees of freedom, it's complex."

"Updating things in BizTalk is a headache."

More BizTalk Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is a bit higher than other low-code competitors, OutSystems and Mendix. The price needs to be more competitive."

"The cost depends on the number of users, although I recommend taking an unlimited license."

"It is fully managed, and I don't believe there are any additional expenses."

"The price is high."

"Licensing of Appian is less expensive when compared to other BPMs in the market."

"The price of the solution is reasonable and is paid annually. The price of the solution depends on how many users use the solution. It can range from $50,000 to $200,000. For example, for 20,000 users the price can be approximately $200,000."

"More flexibility in the licensing model is still needed because initially there were customers who are looking at only one or two use cases of business areas, but now the business areas are changing and there is a larger scope. One license model may not fit everyone. They need to be a little more flexible on the licensing model."

"When it comes to pricing, it's definitely not affordable. However, it really depends on the requirements that you're seeking from the solution."

More Appian pricing and cost advice

"BizTalk Server is cheap. I would rate its pricing a two out of five."

"BizTalk Server is not freeware. There's a significant licensing cost involved. Be sure you will actually utilize its features fully."

"Based on the knowledge, it is relatively cheaper than Azure Identity Services and cloud services in general."

"The solution is expensive."

"The cost will depend on the client's requirements."

"It was not cheap, but it was affordable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

27%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

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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...

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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...

See all answers

What do you like most about BizTalk Server?

The tool's most valuable feature is its integration with the banks. Its messaging and routing capabilities are good.

See all answers

What needs improvement with BizTalk Server?

BizTalk is deployed on-premise. Deployment methodologies are vast in the cloud area. Whereas, if we want to update even a single thing on BizTalk, we need to take the DLL, put it in the system, and...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering BizTalk Server?

When I started my career with BizTalk, people told me the vendor would sunset BizTalk Server, but it didn't happen. Higher versions are still being released. The product will not face the sunset. A...

See all answers

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 15% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Appian

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

BizTalk Server

April 2025

Download BizTalk Server product report

Also Known As

Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS

No data available

Overview

Appian is a unified low-code platform and solution used by businesses to build enterprise applications and workflows. This product adapts to the needs of clients and the technologies they are already using to combine their data in a single workflow and maximize resources. The platform has four main components through which it transforms the work process for companies of various sizes. They are:

Complete automation: Through complete automation, companies are able to coordinate and manage employees, existing systems, bots, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) in a single workflow. The solution offers a way to centrally manage all third-party automation vendors as well.
Low-code applications: Appian offers the ability to build applications faster with visual development and low-code tools. All applications are ready-made to be suitable for mobile.
Low-code data: Appian lets companies source data from multiple types of sources, eliminating the need for data migration. Through no-code and low-code solutions and industry-standard connectors, the platform also eliminates the need for data silos.
Enterprise ready: The platform offers options for companies to scale their businesses to an enterprise level without complications.

Appian is utilized across a diverse set of industries, including automotive and manufacturing, energy and utilities, education, financial services, telecom and media, transportation, retail, insurance, healthcare, and life sciences. The most frequent use cases of Appian are customer journey, governance, risk and compliance, operational efficiency, supply chain, distributed order management, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management.

Appian Features

Appian has various features that allow users to create solutions for their businesses. These features can be separated into a few groups according to function, including automation, low-code application development, and integrations and data. Some of the most frequently used features of Appian include:

Robotic process automation (RPA): Users of Appian can assign software bots to perform rules-based tasks that need to be repeated over a set course of time. This can improve efficiency and performance within an organization while saving human resources.
Intelligent document processing: The tool offers a feature for quick and accurate extraction and structuring of data. This can reduce time and costs for organizations because it eliminates the need for outsourcing such services.
AI: Appian utilizes artificial intelligence to enhance applications, workflows, and automation. AI is also used to address complex processes and unique situations.
Business rules: Organizations can automate and simplify work processes while adhering to their operating procedures.
Application development: Appian provides a low-code development feature that allows users to deploy applications over ten times faster than through conventional approaches. This feature not only allows for quick application building, but also applications that run on multiple types of platforms, seamless data integration, and business scalability.
Integrations and data: Appian allows for data integration from a wide array of sources without the need for migration. This contributes to easy access to data across systems, real-time data insights, improved user experience, and accelerated development.

Appian Benefits

The benefits of using Appian include:

The solution ensures seamless organization growth, as it supports various UX patterns, common data schemes, and upgrades, used to facilitate application development on a bigger scale.
Appian can increase process speed and deliver applications considerably faster compared to conventional development.
The platform is easy to use and suitable for complete beginners to build applications and workflows.
Appian offers a variety of design tools that facilitate development and deployment.
Appian offers detailed real-time data insight which allows organizations to access relevant information about their processes as they are developing.
The solution offers clients the ability to move data between the cloud, on-premise, and hybrid configurations.
The platform is easy to optimize, which allows businesses to utilize it according to their personal needs.
Appian offers connectivity across web, mobile, email, voice, and chat, providing a multi-channel experience for companies and their clients.

Reviews from Real Users

A practice leader - digital process automation at a computer software company values Appian highly because the product is easy to develop, low-code, and has a good user interface.

Alan G., an advisory board member at Codecon VR, Appian offers a clear application life cycle, easy to learn documentation, and comes with a fundamentals course.

Appian

Connects systems both inside and across organizations, exchange data and orchestrate business processes across multiple systems.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee

Centrebet, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, QualCare, Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, DTEK, Allscripts, United BioSource, Hogg Robinson

Buyer's Guide

Appian vs. BizTalk Server

April 2025

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