Creating an Agile Environment with Apps and Automation

The age of apps and automation has arrived, enabled by a future where anyone can create, innovate, and implement new solutions into their business workflows. 

For years, companies have been discovering the benefit of custom-made apps and tools intended to simplify tasks from tracking changes in shifts and schedules, to ensuring the secure storage of valuable data. Unfortunately, the majority of this innovation was often reserved for larger brands, with the IT skills or budget to accommodate complex coding practices. 

Now, thanks to the revolution of low-code and no-code technologies, companies can transform at a much faster pace. The low-code ecosystem is paving the way towards an agile future, brimming with opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Gartner believes around 75% of major businesses will be deploying around four low-code development tools by 2024. 

How is low code transforming app development?

Low code and platforms are tools designed to allow any individual, regardless of their technical skills to build enterprise-grade business applications. Tools like Microsoft Power Platform, for instance, allow citizen developers in the modern landscape to build apps using drag-and-drop, visual platforms, with very little coding knowledge or experience. 

The obvious benefit of this approach is everyone and anyone in your team can develop apps, so you don’t have to spend a fortune on accessing the right skills to solve your business problems. At the same time, empowering anyone in your team to create applications in a simplified method means professional IT teams and leaders can spend their time on more complex tasks. 

For instance, if your HR team had trouble keeping track of shift change requests for employees in a hybrid workforce, they could use the Power Platform to build an app that collects shift information from each employee, and immediately notifies managers when a change needs to be made. 

Notably, there is a small difference between no-code and low-code. Low code development tools do require a very basic understanding of programming, while no-code options offer a completely drag-and-drop approach. While no-code is ideal for building smaller apps, low code allows members of your team to develop more sophisticated automations and workflows.

Why is low code app building so important?

For some time now, companies have been searching for ways to deal with the skill shortages in the IT environment and stay agile in an ever-evolving ecosystem. The pandemic increased the demand for agility significantly, making it so that all companies, regardless of their sizes, needed a way of pivoting and adapting to suit changing environments. 

With low code and no-code solutions, companies can quickly create and deliver business applications with minimal manual programming and less demand for coding expertise. Low code solutions can help companies to:

• Save crucial time: Traditionally, if a person in a business discovered a workflow bottleneck they believed could be improved by an app or automation, they’d need to begin a long-winded process of requesting support from a developer. Now, almost anyone in the company can develop an app without having to wait for a professional team to get involved. This means your team members can not only enable innovations faster, but they can leverage the benefits of their creations almost immediately too. 
• Improve productivity: Low code application creation supports business productivity in a variety of ways. First and foremost, your employees can discover gaps in their workflows and fill them with efficient tools and apps easily. Secondly, you remove the pressure on your developers and free up their time so they can focus on building apps and workflows which require more comprehensive, complex coding. 
• Reduce costs: For small businesses, accessing the assistance of an entire developer team would have been practically impossible in the past. Now, companies of any size, with any budget can leverage staff as citizen developers and keep costs low. 
• Enhance agility: As the workplace and business environment for most companies continues to adapt to post-pandemic standards, agility is key. Using low-code platforms allows companies to easily create, change, and implement applications without having to spend a lot of time on programming. 

According to Gartner, within 3-5 years, around 65% of all the coding done in business environments will be accomplished using low-code systems, no-code tools, and systems supported by AI or bots. Although low-code applications have their challenges, they make the overall process of innovation and digital transformation in modern businesses more straightforward. 

What can companies accomplish with low code tools?

Part of what makes the low code ecosystem so compelling to today’s business leaders is its flexibility. With access to the right low-code platforms and tools, it’s possible to create a host of apps and workflows for your team. For instance, you could use the Microsoft Power platform to create:

• Business process automation apps: If employees are wasting too much time on repetitive tasks like notifying staff members when a document is updated, or syncing data to the cloud, low-code apps can help to solve this problem. Small elements of business process automation can make a huge difference to the overall efficiency of a company.
• HR and staff management apps: In the age of hybrid work, many companies are looking for ways to update and improve their approach to Human Resource management. Low-code tools can create apps and automation to deal with everything from onboarding tasks, to handling shift changes and holiday requests. This can make it easier to align information about your workforce, wherever your team members are.
• Customer experience solutions: With the help of Microsoft partners like Resonate, companies can enhance their low-code Microsoft Power Platform apps to enhance customer experience. For instance, the Resonate Call Queue and Call Attendant app can help with the management of call attendants and queue workflows in a busy customer service environment.

Apps, automation, and intelligent innovations are all crucial components of a strong digital transformation strategy. With low code applications, citizen developers, and a more flexible approach to creation, companies can get their entire teams involved in building a brighter future.

If you'd like to find out how Resonate can help your business embrace the future of apps and automation, please don't hesitate to get in touch.