How Tricon Uses Appian and AWS to Drive AI-Powered Resident Experiences

/ AI, Appian World 2025, Application Development, Enterprise Software
How Tricon Uses Appian and AWS to Drive AI-Powered Resident Experiences

At Appian World 2025, the breakout session “AI-Driven Innovation in Resident Experience with Appian and AWS” offered a grounded look at how one company is using technology not just to optimize processes, but to reimagine the resident experience. With contributions from Tricon Residential, technology partner Bits of Glass, and AWS, the panel highlighted the importance of a structured innovation pipeline, platform collaboration, and the emerging role of AI as a business enabler, not a science experiment.

This session offered a refreshing reminder that enterprise innovation is a disciplined, collaborative process and that AI, when applied carefully, can transform customer interaction from transactional to personal.

Innovation as a Process, Not a Buzzword

Rather than diving headfirst into every trend, Tricon Residential has taken a methodical approach to innovation. The company established a dedicated innovation team, separate from production operations, to test and validate ideas without disrupting business continuity. The result is an innovation funnel that moves from idea to evaluation, then to proof of concept (PoC), pilot, and finally production.

As Gregg Knutson of Tricon explained, AI has changed this lifecycle. While traditional automation could move swiftly from idea to production, AI requires a more cautious approach. Today, proof of concept has become the core milestone in AI innovation, serving as a necessary checkpoint before scaling.

Why this matters

Industry data shows that up to 85% of AI projects fail to move past pilot stages, often due to poor scoping, lack of production readiness, or unclear business value. Tricon’s structured pipeline ensures each idea is vetted not just for feasibility, but for fit within their operating model.

The Power of Partnership

One of the session’s most impactful themes was the importance of collaboration. Tricon’s success hinges on regular engagement with both Appian and AWS, supported by implementation partner Bits of Glass. Together, the group can explore use cases, validate tools, and fine-tune deployments. This method ensures ideas are aligned with both platform capabilities and business needs.

According to Celia Wanderley of Bits of Glass, it’s not just about technology, it’s about partnership:

“If you’re not building on a solid platform, your PoC is likely to fail before it ever reaches production.”

In this environment, AWS provides the infrastructure, Appian provides the low-code process and data integration layer, and Bits of Glass provides the hands-on enablement. Each stakeholder contributes to a system that’s designed to evolve and scale without losing control.

From Voice Activation to Real Outcomes

One of the session highlights was Tricon’s voice-activated use case: A resident asks Alexa how many homes are available in their area. That simple interface is powered by LLMs integrated through Appian, and it connects into Tricon’s back-end processes and property database.

Another in-progress innovation is “Triforce,” an internal voice dictation system that lets property managers log what needs to be repaired before a home returns to market entirely through voice commands. This turns tedious manual tasks into seamless interactions, reducing friction and enhancing operational accuracy.

Even elements like AI-driven prompt tuning were part of the conversation. Knutson noted the importance of making outputs feel natural: “We didn’t want the homes described like they were in a luxury magazine. The AI needed to speak like a real person.”

This focus on democratizing language and user interaction reinforces the importance of tailoring AI outputs to resonate with everyday users, not just developers or marketers.

Fast Failures, Real Results

With more than 200 ideas in their innovation funnel, Tricon has moved nearly half into evaluation and a third into proof of concept. The team embraces a “fast-fail” mindset, using structured service level agreements (SLAs) even during PoC stages. This ensures clarity and accountability throughout the innovation lifecycle.

Critically, innovation is not siloed at Tricon. The innovation team works closely with operations and IT to ensure every stakeholder is prepared when a project transitions to production. As Knutson put it: “Teams are more willing to help with bumps in the road when they’ve been part of the process from the start.”

Why this matters

In enterprise environments, alignment across departments is just as important as the technology itself. Without buy-in from operations, even the most promising PoC can stall.

Advice for the AI Journey

The panel concluded with advice for organizations looking to integrate AI into their innovation strategy:

  • Start now: Don’t wait for AI to be “perfect.” Start exploring use cases today.
  • Focus on outcomes: Tie AI projects to real business strategies and user needs.
  • Design for scale: Build on platforms that are secure, agile, and supported by strong partners.
  • Don’t underestimate the human element: Innovation is structured and collaborative. Not artistic or siloed.

As more enterprises look to bring AI into customer-facing experiences, the Tricon example offers a valuable roadmap: innovation succeeds when it is rigorous, inclusive, and rooted in solving real problems.

Author

  • Bringing more than a decade of varying experience crossing multiple sectors such as legal, financial, and tech, Sam Weston is an accomplished professional that excels in ensuring success across various industries. Currently, Sam serves as an Industry Analyst at Efficiently Connected where she collaborates closely in the areas of application modernization, DevOps, storage, and infrastructure. With a keen eye for research, Sam produces valuable insights and custom content to support strategic initiatives and enhance market understanding. Rooted in the fields of tech, law, finance operations and marketing, Sam provides a unique viewpoint to her position, fostering innovation and delivering impactful solutions within the industry. Sam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics from Colorado State University and is passionate about leveraging her diverse skill set to drive growth and empower clients to succeed.

    View all posts