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Low-Code Application Platforms are in high demand. An estimated 75% of all enterprise software set to be built using low-code technology in 2021, according to Forrester analysts.
This demand stems from various requirements, led by the need for an agile way to help teams develop business applications faster while keeping costs down. And it can be used throughout the business, from HR processes like vacation requests to procurement for vendors and suppliers or project management. Pick your process challenge and a low-code application platform can help provide a solution.
The latest study from Forrester investigates the economic impact of Bizagi’s low-code intelligent automation platform. Results showed that customers saw an average ROI of 288% thanks to end-user productivity gains, cost savings and overall business impact. According to the previous Forrester research, “Vendors of low-code platforms for process applications seek to replace heavy, complicated BPM suites that require significant upfront financial and training investments.”
In our fast-changing world, every business leader is charged with the huge challenge of digital transformation. Processes and the application platforms that power them go a long way to providing the digital agility needed. But it’s important to note that none of it can happen without people.
Yet acquiring digital talent can pose cost problems, and there is often a shortage of skilled coders in the talent pool. This is where low-code has a significant advantage, because it requires less technical effort so processes can be built or modified by those already in the business. And this can be a benefit in itself because they will be subject matter experts (SMEs) who deeply understand the challenges they are trying to solve.
A low-code application platform empowers business users to become citizen developers. They can create or make changes to simple processes themselves using low-code workflows. This means they don’t have to approach IT to have a system recoded, which gives IT time to focus on more complex processes.
“The fact is that citizen developers are in your organization already (whether you know it or not),” says Forrester’s John Rymer. ” Most people are now accustomed to running their personal lives on their phones, so digital work is much more natural for them.
“Citizen developers usually start with simple workflow or tracking apps — tracking defects, inventory management, logging hours, varied approval processes, whatever. If the platform is powerful enough and the developer is ambitious, apps grow in sophistication and scale from there.”
For example, if a business user sees a way that a process could be made more efficient once the first version has already been launched, they can make this process improvement directly in the process model and apply the changes in the low-code platform to quickly adapt. This can save organizations time and money in development costs.
When it comes to application development, the key to success is getting everyone on the same page. In enterprises that means collaboration between the many silos within a business – in this case Business and IT.
In addition to creating citizen developers within the business, low-code application platforms can also unite business users with IT, helping to strengthen the relationship between departments.
As Rymer explains, “Viewing IT as the sole provider of technology solutions in a business is truly last-century thinking… Modern low-code application platforms represent an opportunity for IT to empower [citizen] developers, collaborate with them, and act as mentors, all in a governed and visible environment. In short, low code isn’t a threat to IT — it’s likely the best solution to shadow IT we’ve ever had.”
A common symptom reported and observed during digital transformation is that business and IT departments don’t always work well together. So how can companies foster and fuel more effective collaboration? Three things stand out:
Common goals – It’s often said that two heads are better one, and on the journey of digital transformation both the business and IT perspectives are required for success. Both should be involved from the start – working towards the same end goals.
Common language – The biggest barrier to collaboration is bad communication. The problem is that business and IT people speak different languages. To achieve smooth process transformation the steps required and KPIs for success must be defined in a way that makes sense to both business and it – not one or the other.
Common ground – Collaboration always requires a space for working, one that is conducive to the task required. When it comes to process automation, the best platforms use the process itself as the basis of the application. That process becomes a living and easily understandable map of the requirements of the application – one that can be changed down the line if needs evolve.
As we’ve seen, the benefits of process development using low-code application platforms are abundantly clear. But there are further benefits to found in the deployment when low-code platforms are used to automate process applications. The majority of Bizagi’s benefits in Forrester’s Total Economic Impact Study manifested as end-user productivity gains, as illustrated in an infographic summarizing the study.
Automating tasks through a single, low-code application platform helped a financial services organization save more than 500,000 hours per year for its front-end workers, as they could view all customers’ information in real-time through a single platform. Not only does this help employees to carry out their daily jobs to a higher standard, but it also delights customers with improved service and experience.
Low-code automation can also help to redistribute employees to areas in the enterprise where they will be of better use. A logistics company was able to repurpose several FTEs by achieving an automation rate of more than 90% for a duty billing process.
If you would like to find out more about the benefits realized by Bizagi customers, download the study, The Total Economic Impact™ Of Bizagi’s Low-Code Intelligent Process Automation Platform.
You can find out more about the benefits of using a low-code automation platform and how to measure its effectiveness across the enterprise in our Ultimate Guide to Low-Code Automation.
