Low-code automation platforms are becoming an increasingly popular way to automate business solutions and applications. Whilst traditional development will remain vital, the demand for software is currently growing much faster than the world’s developer workforce. Gartner predicts that by 2024, low-code application development will be responsible for more than 65% of application development activity.
If you’re looking for software to aid your automation efforts that’s easy to use, that will save you time and money, and improve agility across your organization, then low-code can offer you all these benefits and more.
One of the most obvious benefits of low-code is that users do not require an in-depth knowledge of software development. The visual approach, based on business models and incorporating intuitive features like drag and drop interfaces and one-click deployment, makes it easy and straightforward to use. It takes less time to build and automate processes, and users can see results fast.
The straightforward nature of low-code development is easy to understand and can be used throughout the business, without relying on skilled developers, which leads us on to the next benefit…
The low-code revolution is fuelling a generation of citizens developers: business users who can create their own automated processes to aid their work, without the need for IT intervention. According to a 2019 Gartner report, 61% of organizations either have or plan to have active citizen development initiatives.
As organizations ramp up their digital transformation plans to keep up with competitors, it has put pressure on IT teams to deliver new business applications. The advantage of low-code is that employees outside of the IT department can now help them to meet this challenge of keeping up with new developments by sharing the burden.
By enabling citizen developers to map and automate their own processes, they don’t have to wait for developers to write code and develop applications for them. This means that ideas can be realized more quickly, seeing faster solutions to business problems.
This has actually been happening in the background of many organizations for a while, in the form of Shadow IT, when business users go rogue and create their own applications without the knowledge or approval of the IT department. Low-code automation platforms are an effective way to govern Shadow IT, as they offer a standardized approach to process modeling and automation, which means that business users can help themselves, while IT can rest happy in the knowledge that best practices are being followed.
This also takes the pressure off IT, who are increasingly dealing with growing backlogs of requests. In some cases, it may even be more efficient for the business user to model and automate their own processes, because they have the knowledge themselves. They don’t have to spend time briefing the developer and reviewing the process before deployment. It all equates to increased productivity and faster time-to-value.
One of the immediate benefits of low-code is the speed of deployment. The drag and drop functionality allows process models to be built quickly, and can then be implemented with your other applications and systems using pre-built connectors and APIs. Processes can then be automated and applications can be deployed in just one click. So, time that would be spent on coding and development is significantly reduced.
Forrester reports that the current usage of low-code platforms indicates that software development can be propelled to 10 times the speed of traditional processes. And the benefit of speed continues past the initial deployment phase, as if there are changes required, it is quick and easy to update processes.
When the process is the application, it’s much easier to manage requirements and even change them in an agile way. The simple approach building and amending processes means you can make agile changes to process without having to worry about changing complex code. This helps to keep up with regulatory changes, adapt to market changes or respond to customer needs.
This is where low-code technology has particularly shown its worth in the last year. “Low-code/no-code tools have been instrumental in helping businesses respond quickly to COVID-19 by allowing them to build new enterprise applications and automate work quickly,” reports TechRepublic.
Low-code platforms have aided business continuity and helped organizations adapt to new ways of working in the face of the global pandemic. This agility will continue to prove its benefits in the years to come as businesses adapt their processes and applications to keep up with evolving marketplaces.
The agility that comes with low-code platforms is particularly useful when it comes to keeping up with ever-changing rules and regulations, particularly in highly-regulated industries such as finance and manufacturing. Documenting and automating workflows using a low-code platform is the ideal way to ensure that specific requirements are met, and that operations can be agile enough to evolve when regulations change.
Additionally, templates play a large role in low-code automation, with many applications originating from process templates. So, providing templates that adhere to best practice for users to follow when building and automating processes means they will be created in a compliant manner.
Thanks to the wide availability of connectors, widgets and APIs, low-code platforms can easily integrate with legacy systems that are already in place within an organization’s infrastructure. In fact, low-code platforms can act as an integration layer between applications, so your users have a centralized platform to access information that is held in different silos across the organization.
Connecting your silos and systems across the organization can help to provide better customer service, as all data is centralized and visible, and helps to ensure operational efficiency and compliance through visibility and connectivity.
Costs savings can be seen in various aspects of low-code platforms. Costs can be saved on initial training, and money doesn’t need to be spent on hiring skilled developers who demand a high salary. Additional cost savings can be also be seen from the faster time to market, being able to do more in less time and produce a solid ROI.
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.
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