Scott Van Valkenburgh to lead Appian’s global partnership strategy with Australia key growth market

Appian is sharpening its local channel play to deliver AI value.

Appian has named Scott Van Valkenburgh as senior VP of global partnerships and alliances to drive growth and expand its presence within the channel.

Locally, Appian is deepening relationships with existing tier-one partners that bring the scale and expertise needed for large enterprise implementations.

“Australia has unique regulatory requirements, particularly in financial services and government, and we need partners who understand these nuances and can deliver compliant solutions,” he said.

AI will play a central role, with the goal to embed it into business processes and deliver measurable results. However, a recent MIT study found that 95 percent of AI projects fail to deliver results and while there’s broad interest in AI across the c-suite, many organisations hold concerns about its value.

“We’re at a critical inflection point for enterprise AI. The issue isn’t model power, it’s about giving AI real work to do. That happens through processes and workflows. Processes are where business happens: where decisions are made, money is managed, customers are served and operations scale,” he said.

Local channel strategy focused on strategic partnerships

Appian, which opened its Melbourne office last year, views Australia as a key growth market. It’s investing in partner enablement through training and certification programs, joint go-to-market initiatives and co-investment in solution development.

“The market fundamentals are excellent, with strong digital transformation momentum, significant government investment in modernisation and a mature enterprise software market that appreciates the value of process automation,” he told CRN Australia.

The make-up of partner landscape in Australia is unique, according to Van Valkenburgh, more concentrated than regions like North America or Europe.

“While there are fewer partners overall, they tend to be larger and more established,” he said.

Compared to Asia Pacific, there’s a higher proportion of strategic partnerships focused on innovation and solution development, rather than just implementation services.

“Australian partners are more likely to invest in building IP and repeatable use cases, which creates more sustainable value for everyone involved,” he said.

There's also a strong culture of partnership and collaboration among local partners that are more willing to work together on complex deals and share expertise.

“This collaborative approach benefits customers and creates more comprehensive solutions,” he said.

Van Valkenburgh said local partners are among the most advanced globally, developing sophisticated use cases. He is optimistic about the opportunities for partners that can help organisations integrate Appian with the broader Australian technology ecosystem.

“Things like integration with local banking systems, compliance with Australian privacy regulations and connectivity to government platforms,” he ended.