VIDEO INTERVIEW: Matt Calkins explains low-code in 2021, talks Appian World and more!

Appian is the low-code automation platform that lets you turn great ideas into powerful business applications, creating apps visually via flowchart much faster than traditional ways. Matt Calkins is the CEO and co-founder of Appian, and he joins us for a second time in 8 months to talk about Appian in 2021, Appian World 2021 and the ongoing low-code revolution.

We first spoke with CEO and co-founder of Appian https://appian.com/ Matt Calkins in a video interview https://itwire.com/business-software/... in late October 2020, where he explained the low-code revolution, HyperAutomation, business, board games, Garry Kasparov and much more.

It was a real pleasure speaking with Matt and learning what low-code means for business today, and learning from a great technological mind - a great side benefit of being a technology journalist, and thus also being able to share the learnings and experience with you.

When the opportunity to speak with Matt arose again, I definitely wanted to learn what has happened in the 8 months since we last spoke, which in the age of the Internet - and now the age of COVID where many things technological have accelerated at the speed of light - almost seems like an eon ago.

We now live in an age of hyper automation, which is a sophisticated reimagining of the way the modern world now runs, letting apps, software, technologies and ideas flow into life at the speed of thought, and be easily updated and changed - and as noted in my original article, it's also the subject of Matt's book called HYPERAUTOMATION, which you can learn more about here. https://www.hyperautomation-book.com/

In May, Appian unveiled https://itwire.com/business-software/... the latest version of the 'Appian Low-code Automation Platform" https://appian.com/platform/overview.... which "expands the boundaries of the low-code industry with the introduction of low code data" which is a "new code-free approach to unifying enterprise data."

The company also held Appian World 2021 in May in a richly engaging virtual format, which taught attendees "how to connect people, technologies, and data into a single workflow to advance your business in new and innovative ways," and which you can still freely watch and experience here, https://appianworld.com until June 10, 2021.

My second video interview with Matt Calkins is above, which I naturally recommend to you as definitely worth your time to watch! Below is a summary of the topics we discussed.

I started by introducing Matt and welcomed him back to iTWire TV, after which I asked Matt to re-explain low-code for those who are watching for the first time - why is it important, and why is it revolutionising coding and business?

Noting we're halfway through 2021, with COVID-19 still a reality despite ever increasing rates of vaccination, I asked "what additional lessons have you and Appian learned since we last spoke, how has the low-code revolution matured and evolved to date, and what percentage of businesses are now adopting this approach?".

Matt then spoke about Appian World 2021, where the company "explained how intelligent automation drives real world ROI, and much more." I asked what the theme of this year’s event was, and what were some of the big announcements - as well as what the most important take-aways were for attendees to really absorb and take action on.

I asked Matt to re-cap the most important points from his keynote, and then I wanted to know what are some of the most interesting ways Appian's customers are using the low-code approach, and are there ingeniously clever things customers are doing that have even surprised Matt and his colleagues, whether those things are related to COVID-19 and digital transformation, or not.

Given Matt's love of board games, which we discussed in our first video interview, I wanted to know if there have been any major developments in the world of board games over the last year and a half of lockdowns, whether Matt was working on any new board games, and whether there is any kind of low-code board game or app that can teach kids in school the value of the low-code way of thinking that is fun to play and sneakily educational at the same time - such as gamifying low code for the masses.

To wrap it all up, I asked Matt where is the low-code industry heading, and what low-code might look like in the future, and what Matt thinks it will be able to offer businesses in five to ten years’ time that Appian’s already preparing and planning for today.

So, please take a look at the video interview above!