VNET vs APPN Comparison

VNET started as AsiaCloud in 1999 and moved into the data center business, opening its first self-developed data center in 2010. The firm listed (as 21Vianet) on the Nasdaq in April 2011, subsequently changing its name to VNET Group in 2021. It originally focused on providing data center services such as colocation and cloud services to retail clients in China, but added hyperscale customers in 2019 and now counts large Chinese hyperscalers such as Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and Huawei Cloud as customers. At the end of September 2025, it had 52,288 retail cabinets, with the majority in Beijing, Shanghai, and the Greater Bay area. It also had 783 MW of wholesale capacity in service, with a further 306 MW under construction and a further 705 MW held for future development.

Appian Corp is a low-code enterprise platform-as-a-service company focusing on business process management. The company's Appian platform is an integrated automation platform providing tools for organizations to design, automate, and optimize end-to-end processes and complex business operations. Capabilities include case management, robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, data fabric, and process mining. The company also provides maintenance and support as well as consulting services and training related to its platform. The majority of its revenue is subscription-based with the remainder from services, with much of its subscription revenue being derived from its cloud-based platform. Geographically, the company derives maximum revenue from its business in the United States.