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Appian vs IBM BPM vs Sales Creatio 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

Business Process Management (BPM)
Business Process Management (BPM)
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

Nitin-Agarwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integration enhances workflows while memory optimization can improve complex processes
I am working with all of these products: Pega, Appian, and OutSystems. I use Appian as a process orchestrator for workflow and rule-based routing, and it is preferred when I am developing an enterprise-wide application. The application is mobile-friendly, allowing me to use it across any device…
Prince Mathew - PeerSpot reviewer
More customizable than IBM FileNet and useful for automation
One suggestion for IBM BPM is to provide better integration between their products, such as DataCap, which we use for scanning. Although the new CP4BA offers offline capabilities, not everyone is on CP4BA, so enhanced integration for those on older versions would be beneficial. Another major suggestion is to offer a migration path when a product reaches its end of life. For example, there was no migration path when we moved, so we had to redo everything we had developed over ten years completely.
HaroldBusby - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers agility and how quickly it can be modified to meet the workflows of any organization
The biggest area of improvement for me is the mobile app. Creatio has moved towards this composable architecture and user interface, and it looks good and works well on a laptop or tablet. But the mobile app could be improved. Only half of the mobile app uses the new architecture, and I believe their roadmap is to fully update it so there's a consistent user interface throughout the mobile app. Some of it uses the older Creatio technology, some of it's newer, and I think they're aiming to have it fully updated sometime in the second quarter. That will be a big jump. It supports the remote sales team, but it could be a lot better. Creatio needs to move the mobile app update higher on its priority list. We can see a difference when we look at other mobile CRM solutions out there – Creatio's mobile app isn't as fresh as other parts of the application. The other area I'd like to see Creatio improve – is the development of a robust field service application or enhancement to their existing Service Creatio module. It should be a separate product called Creatio Field Service. Field service is important because it addresses the large number of workers out there who aren't desk-bound, and that really corresponds with the mobile app improvements.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It ​reduces development time in half making us more efficient."
"Write to Data Store Entity - Saving data in SQL databases is done easily using entities. Entities (CDTs in Appian terminology) define relationships and target schema tables via XSD files."
"It's a stable product."
"The valuable features include process automation, Appian Portal, and Appian RPA."
"The most valuable features of Appian are workflow management and the ease with which you can build the UI."
"Appian also has very flexible local integration."
"The product has a very good mobile app."
"The most valuable feature is business automation."
"Automating the whole workflow process to give our data steward the ability to take actions rapidly, and making sure we have all the data synced within the different platforms that we are using."
"The Process Designer is good. We like how we can drag and drop and link the processes up, that works out great for us."
"It provides a very robust environment to build an integration framework or workflow patterns that we have. A lot of changes or modifications have been made to this solution over the past few years. The features that they have added this time have helped developers like us to work on the developmental environment and leverage all the capabilities of the tool. This is what I like about this solution."
"One thing that I love about them is that they make it easier to integrate with other systems, especially with the use of smaller files."
"We made the transformation to agile. Altogether with BPM, it is the total package."
"This tool is very useful when it comes to enterprise-grade automation and governmental processes for the security aspects, performance, and reliability."
"It is efficient in reducing costs."
"We use it for automating certain processes which previously took a lot of time for agents to set up different products for customers. They would have to enter a lot of different systems. This has now mostly been automated."
"With Sales Creatio, you can have a customer service review, and it is GDPR compliant."
"It provides a customizable platform that enables companies to safely store and recognize customer data, as well as connect multiple channels and other related services."
"There's not a single CRM out there that is quite as flexible as Creatio CRM."
"Each step of the customer journey is recorded by certain metrics and KPIs. If you want to do a lot deeper dive with Excel pivot tables or third-party analytics tools like Qlik or Tableau, that's an option."
"Its configurability in terms of being able to change screens and fields and create workflows that are compatible with our business objectives is most valuable."
"Intuitive, low-code CRM platform that's easy to integrate and use."
"I like Creatio's workflows, automation, and no-code features that we can update as we wish."
 

Cons

"They should provide more flexibility so designers can create a more picture perfect device."
"It would be nice if you could create your own customized apps when the business needed them.​"
"It is difficult to set up the on-premise version."
"I would like to see more features for enterprises. They would also benefit from adding documentation and training on their site."
"Something I would like to see improved is an SQL database connection."
"The graphical user interface could be easier to use. It should be simplified."
"The performance is pretty good, but the distortions need to be optimized in order for it to work well."
"The ability of the interface to load automatic data is not great."
"The front end is not customised for a good user experience."
"It needs more customization. We like to customize the screens to show more things related to our company."
"The business would like to use the product with a lot less IT and equipment involvement."
"Could increase vulnerability and security patches to make it more robust."
"When you have to integrate files for enterprise applications."
"IBM BPM integrated with Spark UI and the UI is now much better, but they still need to improve the UI because competitors have predefined templates and other additional features. In these competitor's solutions, you are able to use the templates, map your data, and the form is ready to use. With this solution, you need to write a lot of code to have the same quality as the competitor's templates. It would be a benefit to make this platform more towards low-code or no-code."
"I would like to see the front-end support improved because it should be fully integrated and supported."
"One of the things that we are looking at is cognitive learning. IBM has another product called IBM RPA, I think, which is doing some of that stuff. We would like to see more of that with respect to cognitive learning and AI put back into the process engine to help."
"Out of the box connectors are great, but the ability of what is there versus other CRMs is limited."
"Creatio's mobile app could be more intuitive."
"There is still some room for improvement in the overall look and feel of the software."
"Sales Creatio should include better customizations."
"The marketing feature needs to be improved. Documentation on their website, or their knowledge base, also needs expansion and improvement."
"To benefit from this software you need to have somebody dedicated to customizing the features you're looking for and, to be honest, I do not have time to focus only on that."
"On the sales side, I would like to see a CPQ product, and on the services side, I'd like to see more of a field service automation feature."
"The biggest area of improvement for me is the mobile app. Creatio has moved towards this composable architecture and user interface, and it looks good and works well on a laptop or tablet. But the mobile app could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's good value for the price."
"The price of this solution is a little high here in Mongolia."
"When it comes to pricing, it's definitely not affordable. However, it really depends on the requirements that you're seeking from the solution."
"The cost is a bit higher than other low-code competitors, OutSystems and Mendix. The price needs to be more competitive."
"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."
"You can't really test the software properly without actually buying the license first."
"Licensing of Appian is less expensive when compared to other BPMs in the market."
"It's an enterprise tool and can be used by enterprise only. So it's a very expensive tool."
"The product is expensive considering the hardware and software costs."
"It has a low cost to implement. You'll get your money back in the same year that you complete the project."
"It's expensive. All software is always extremely high. The manufacturing cost that we have compared to the selling cost, it's not like you're building a house or building a car. But putting that aside, considering that it's expensive, it's a lot of money. If you compare it with some of the other alternatives in the market, it's a similar price. For instance, if you compare it with Pegasystems, it's a similar price."
"I think it's a reasonably priced tool, but it's important to consider which customers should buy this solution. It's designed for enterprise customers, not small ones."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing a ten."
"I wish it was less expensive. I don't know why their pricing model is so high for a piece of software that could benefit so many. It just seems to me that they could have a lower cost, maybe with fewer features or whatever, but it should be possible to do a lower cost workflow software that uses the same interface and underlying engine but does not cost so much that you have to be a Fortune 50 company to buy it. It is annoying to me. There are a lot of solutions that IBM has that are really powerful but nobody can afford them. They know their business, but I still feel that there are a lot of customers who would benefit from this sort of thing. I don't know what this elitism is all about. I am sure they have people doing the money numbers, but it seems like you can make a lot more money by selling it to way more people for a little bit less."
"It should provide more flexibility to connect with external systems, and there should be in-built services that can be used to integrate with other systems quickly."
"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
"Creatio's most basic plan, which has Growth, Enterprise, and Ultimate, I use the Enterprise version. It's a fully-featured CRM that includes sales, marketing, and service, along with the studio product."
"Sales Creatio's enterprise version is $60 per user per month. Other leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for sales automation, such as SAP, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle, are about $150 to $200 a month, and Creatio is $60."
"Compared to Salesforce and other applications, Sales Creatio is a cost-effective solution."
"Pricing for this solution is more affordable than Salesforce, and the costs are upfront."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
11%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

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...
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 is better, IBM BPM or IBM Business Automation Workflow?
We researched both IBM solutions and in the end, we chose Business Automation Workflow. IBM BPM has a good user inter...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM BPM?
Once it is installed, maintaining it is not a big issue.
What do you like most about Sales Creatio?
Each step of the customer journey is recorded by certain metrics and KPIs. If you want to do a lot deeper dive with E...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sales Creatio?
Compared to Salesforce and other applications, Sales Creatio is a cost-effective solution. The fact that the solution...
What needs improvement with Sales Creatio?
The biggest area of improvement for me is the mobile app. Creatio has moved towards this composable architecture and ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
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
Barclays, EmeriCon, Banca Popolare di Milano, CST Consulting, KeyBank, KPMG, Prolifics, Sandhata Technologies Ltd., State of Alaska, Humana S.A., Saperion, esciris, Banco Espirito Santo
ABLV Bank, Pelco, Heinz, Bayer, Century21, Allianz, ABB, Tele2, ABLV, Yandex, Pepsico, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Fiscale, Mitsubishi Electric, Vivino
Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, Automation Anywhere, Apache and others in Business Process Management (BPM). Updated: June 2025.
861,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.