Exploring the Appian 23.4 release

Appian 23.4 Release Report

Appian has recently unveiled the features and improvements integrated into its Appian 23.4 software release. This latest version is designed to augment Appian’s low-code development platform across core areas such as data, automation, user experience, and administration.

Data Fabric Enhancements

A primary focus of the 23.4 release is the expansion of Appian’s unified data fabric capabilities. This fabric seamlessly integrates data from multiple backend systems into a single model, now made more accessible for end users.

A noteworthy addition is the Records Chat component. Employing Appian’s AI Copilot technology, this component introduces a natural language chatbot interface to any record type. Users can inquire about records in plain English, and the chatbot synthesises information from related records to provide intelligent answers. For instance, caseworkers can use it to gain insights into case history and receive suggestions for the next steps. The chatbot facilitates non-technical users exploring data without needing query or analytics skills.

In addition, Appian has introduced self-service analytics, empowering users to explore the data fabric independently. A new workspace organises data into reusable datasets, combining records and relationships. Users can effortlessly find, filter, and visualise data for ad hoc analysis. Built-in security ensures users access only appropriate data, and AI Copilot suggests insights based on chart data. These innovations collectively broaden self-service access to unified data within Appian apps.

Smarter Automation

Appian 23.4 brings enhancements to robotic and document process automation. The document extraction AI skill now boasts higher accuracy, especially when extracting text without labels on documents. Users can train custom machine learning models to precisely extract fields of interest from example documents, reducing errors in document analysis.

On the RPA side, new security settings offer more straightforward control over who can access robots. Robot keys provide unique credentials for automated installation and login, maximising security and uptime when robots run on frequently refreshed virtual machines. Additional RPA actions improve the manipulation of Excel files. Overall, the release expands the automation use cases Appian can address out of the box.

Improved User Experiences

Multiple improvements aim to deliver more intuitive and engaging experiences for Appian users. Most significantly, translation sets introduce an easy way to build multilingual applications using Appian’s supported languages. Developers can generate translation strings directly from their interfaces, export them for translation, and then re-import them to update UIs. This faster workflow simplifies the development of high-fidelity, localised experiences.

For portals and sites, new sidebar layouts provide more flexible navigation options with modern styling. Page groups better organise related pages for easier discovery. New linking and rule input capabilities also allow passing information between sites. Across interfaces, usability is improved through features like automatic scrolling to form validation errors and faster record action security checking.

Admin and Platform Enhancements

Behind the scenes, Appian 23.4 brings helpful admin and cloud enhancements. SAML authentication is now easier to test with a new authorisation button. Google Drive now utilises refresh tokens to reduce re-authorization needs. For Appian Cloud, the release improves static content delivery, upgrades the database, and modernises the phpMyAdmin tool.

In summary, Appian 23.4 provides valuable new capabilities for leveraging unified data, scaling automation, and improving the user experience. The numerous enhancements extend Appian’s abilities to address more complex business challenges across industries.