Business process automation shifted into high gear during the COVID-19 crisis, making technologies such as low-code platforms, AI, and robotic process automation (RPA) critical success factors for any organization in the decade ahead. The same is true for the insurance industry where many companies are leaning into hyperautomation to streamline operations and take friction out of the customer journey as well. But pivoting from paper to digital isn’t easy.

Last month, we unveiled Appian 21.3 with new product enhancements that help customers develop apps and automations even faster. And now, we’re excited to announce updates to Appian RPA that simplify the already-easy Appian low-code experience even more—including the reveal of the new Appian RPA task recorder that allows you to record browser automations right from your workflow designer.

We talk about risk like it’s a bad thing. But all innovation involves risk. Which isn’t necessarily bad. Not if the consequences of being wrong about it don’t pose an existential threat. But businesses everywhere are struggling to cope with doomsday scenarios such as climate change, cyber smash-and-grabs, the global COVID-19 crisis, and more.

“As a gamer, I wish for it. But as a developer, I wouldn’t want to be working on backward compatibility. It’s soul-crushing maintenance work, man!” – A developer on our team who shall remain unnamed! Let’s call her Dev-I for now. Last week, I was talking to internal Appian developers on backward compatibility (BC) when one of them shared this quote.

Appian has been a recognized leader in cloud-based enterprise software platforms since delivering Appian Cloud in 2007. From the outset, we built our software to integrate with and complement the cloud’s unique advantages, and to protect it from vulnerabilities. We did so with a unique design philosophy, employing cloud-native and globally recognized frameworks like NIST for optimal security protection, business continuity, and enhanced support.

When searching for information or taking action through a public website, end users don’t want to be held back by cumbersome logins or identification requirements. Meanwhile, the organizations on the back end need to be able to quickly and easily create and scale these websites in response to spikes in usage, without compromising security or system performance. Addressing these pain points has been easier said than done—until development of low-code portals, that is.

Low-code BPM may be the most important technology investment your organization will make over the next few years. At KPMG, we see low-code BPM as the future of application development and automation.

In the age of a new normal, remote monitoring and control have become a necessity across the enterprise. The prominence of IoT extends beyond its traditional purpose of sense and integration, evolving to complete end-to-end Enterprise Digital applications that represent physical assets, processes, and environment as a replica in a virtual representation.

Sustainability has rapidly become front and center for companies in virtually all industries, including manufacturing. Regulatory pressures, climate conditions, and heightened consumer and investor awareness are creating new urgency for manufacturers to not only focus more on sustainability initiatives, but to ensure long-term and measurable change.