Why low-code solutions are critical to optimize digital transformation strategies
How low-code works
Low-code platforms provide a visual application development environment featuring drag-and-drop components and model-driven logic. These and other features simplify and guide the application creation process, enabling developers of varying experience levels to create custom applications for web and mobile use.
Through the provision of such a user-friendly integrated development environment, low-code solutions broaden the horizon of application development, allowing experienced developers to collaborate easily with non-IT stakeholders. This brings more minds around the table, helping to increase the business value of low-code applications.
At the same time, the low-code environment helps developers to streamline their work, which reduces the application development and support load that is typically placed on the modern IT department. This injects more flexibility into the IT environment and enables skilled developers to focus on higher-value projects.
How low-code process automation advances digital transformation
There are five ways in which leveraging low-code solutions makes it simpler and quicker to develop applications and achieve streamlined process automation:
- Simplifies and demystifies process automation for non-IT users.
As highlighted before, the visual, drag-and-drop interface for workflow design enables business users—instead of just the IT team—to be able to build and modify their own processes without having to write lines of code. Involving the business units in the application development process also helps the organization to deliver applications that effectively address business needs.
- Drives scalability across departments while easily integrating with current systems.
As more organizations prioritize digital transformation, requests for applications across the enterprise are increasing rapidly. It’s therefore important for companies to put platforms in place that make it easy to ramp up application delivery to meet demand. Workflows that are built to accomplish just one process at a time will not work when trying to scale across business departments.
Leading low-code platforms are designed to support scalability, making it possible for organizations to deliver a broad range of applications, including departmental solutions and applications that optimize cross-functional and non-standard processes.
For the common use cases, low-code process automation platforms provide out-of-the-box workflows that can be used immediately within business departments. These workflows easily integrate with such programs as Box, Dropbox, and SharePoint and social media platforms such as Twitter, Yammer, and more, helping a business professional work within these systems without leaving the application.
- Minimizes workflow disruption by identifying bugs before application deployment.
During the process of deploying customized applications, a manual review is often required to identify bugs and glitches. This can waste time and resources, often resulting in issues being overlooked during deployment. However, a low-code process automation platform can help users diagnose and fix application issues before an application is launched. This approach helps to minimize workflow disruption and streamline the user experience.
- Reinforces native security systems.
Data security can be a concern when connecting business systems with any external platform. The right low-code development software protects data by acknowledging and respecting the native security settings of the existing line-of-business systems and other applications it integrates with.
In regulated industries and business units that handle sensitive information, including financial services firms and human resources departments, security breaches or misplaced data can have a grave impact on the success and reputation of a business.
- Optimizes analytics to continually improve business processes.
One of the key benefits of low-code platforms is that they provide both the tools and intelligence to drive continual process optimization. Business leaders have access to real-time analytics, so they can immediately identify and resolve issues. Derived from out-of-the-box reports or custom dashboards, these metrics provide the knowledge and flexibility required to monitor processes closely and constantly improve them.
Eliminating complexity
All in all, a low-code application development platform makes developing and deploying complex workflows easier—both for internal IT and business professionals. By eliminating the complexity of conventional programming approaches, low-code interfaces enable enterprises to accelerate and scale process automation. As a result, they reduce the time and cost that often go into the process of planning, coding, testing, and deploying a custom process application.
As more enterprises take their next steps in the digital transformation journey, many are leveraging the low-code approach to fully optimize the use of various new digital technologies within their businesses.
Due to their approachability and accessibility, low-code solutions enable those with basic technical and programming skills to create and automate their workflows, freeing up IT team members to focus on more strategic work.
With this type of technology framework in place, enterprises can reduce development time, eliminate roadblocks, scale processes optimization and automation enterprise-wide, and improve the bottom line—all key ingredients for a smooth and enhanced digital transformation experience.