Partners, partner, partners.

It’s a term we never hear i.e. enterprise software company spokespeople are, typically, far too focused on their customers, customers, customers line to leave enough room for the partner play.

But if truth be told, it’s often the industry partners that put in the most work, turn up to events and conferences with their downsized booth set ups that make them look like minnows in comparison to the central vendor motherlode… and who are, typically, seen out in the real world working at the coalface of implementation and integration. You know, where real technology happens, right?

Appian used its Appian World 2024 conference this year to showcase the work of its partner community. The company announced the 2024 Partner Award winners at the global Appian World conference in Washington DC. This year’s winners have created innovative and impactful business solutions on the Appian Platform while exceeding customer expectations and maintaining excellence in service delivery.

“We are thrilled to recognize our exceptional partners, who have demonstrated their commitment to driving innovation and delivering unparalleled value to our customers,” said Chris O’Connell, Appian senior vice president, global partners organization. “The Appian Partner Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of our partners and we are proud to have such a strong global community of dedicated and talented professionals.”

Transformation Award – KPMG

KPMG has achieved significant success in a variety of large-scale transformational projects spanning State and Local government, Financial Services and Life Sciences industries. Notably, in the State and Local sector, KPMG swiftly developed and implemented an Appian solution for Trademark Registration within a short span of seven weeks, laying the foundation for future transformative initiatives.

In the Life Sciences domain, KPMG led a comprehensive enterprise-wide transformation effort with a medical device company, modernizing their outdated legacy system. KPMG also collaborated with another client to automate business processes across various groups, including streamlining health authority interactions and enhancing regulatory compliance through data-driven insights. In Financial Services, KPMG significantly improved client experiences by enhancing over 16 Appian applications, leading to increased process efficiencies and greater transparency, ultimately reducing cycle time. Committed to supporting clients in complex, multi-year transformational journeys, KPMG leverages its industry expertise, institutional client knowledge and robust Appian implementation capabilities to deliver innovative solutions to Appian customers.

Growth Award  Groundswell

Groundswell’s Appian Practice has experienced significant growth in both certified practitioners and the programs and tools supporting them. This growth is fueled by the commitment to create a nurturing environment focused on continual development, attracting and retaining top talent. Groundswell actively recruits and trains skilled Appian practitioners from diverse backgrounds, offering tailored programs to enhance the skills of both seasoned professionals and newcomers to the platform. This effort has resulted in a notable 137% increase in practice headcount over the past year, with 88% of hires being hybrid or fully remote. 

Groundswell’s growth strategy prioritizes dedicated practitioners focused on refining hiring and training processes, ensuring a robust staffing pool prepared to meet customer needs. The emphasis on certifications has yielded a 30% increase in total certifications. A dedicated training team oversees a variety of programs aimed at developing practitioners at all levels, supported by tools created on Appian to manage practice tests and a system for creating training environments on demand. Additionally, Groundswell has established Centers of Excellence (CoE) and Communities of Practice (CoP) to offer expert guidance and encourage collaboration across the dispersed team, covering technical implementation, Agile delivery, user experience, architecture, performance testing and innovation.

Innovation Award: Ignyte

Ignyte is a leader in developing enterprise-grade solutions that address specific market challenges by leveraging pre-built features and the flexibility of the Appian platform. With a diverse portfolio covering areas like Grants Management and Provider Credentialing, Ignyte has already generated significant pipeline growth, exceeding $7 million in 2024 and $1 million in NNACV in 2023. 

Endorsed by the General Services Administration, Ignyte’s Grants Solution is positioned to modernize spending across Federal and State agencies. Additionally, Ignyte’s pioneering sale of the Appian Starter Kit at ICANN required substantial effort from their team, in collaboration with Appian Accelerate, to ensure the Appian cloud’s capability to handle anticipated peak loads. Ignyte’s unwavering focus on market needs and their ability to deliver high-quality solutions make them a key innovation-driven partner for Appian.

Delivery award: Perficient

Perficient stands as a trusted Appian partner renowned for its extensive experience and successful project deliveries. With a portfolio spanning over 47 projects across 9 clients in 2023, Perficient offers a comprehensive suite of capabilities essential for driving value with Appian, covering low-code application development, business process management, robotics process automation, digital process automation, end-to-end automation and managed services for enterprise support, thereby enabling customers to achieve their digital transformation goals. This commitment to customer success is underscored by impressive rates of repeat business and high satisfaction scores. Perficient consistently delivers tangible outcomes, fostering customer growth and bolstering the adoption of the Appian platform. Furthermore, Perficient has made substantial investments in complementary services, bolstered by a global delivery model, resulting in an 11X increase in its global team. This strategic approach ensures quality and cost-effective delivery, empowering customers to expand their utilization of Appian while enabling Perficient to effectively scale to meet evolving demands for expert delivery.