No-code/low-code will create seamless integration between cloud platforms, tools and utilities
Recent developments have created a massive shift to working remotely, which, according to a recent Gartner survey, is not a temporary move. The survey indicates that 74% of CFOs plan to continue some form of permanent remote working. This in turn paves the way to even greater adoption of cloud-based applications and software to enable businesses to stay connected, collaborative and productive.
While the ongoing pandemic has helped to underscore the importance of cloud-based applications, it has also revealed that these systems don’t always work well together—an oddity, considering the promises of seamless collaboration, transparency and productivity of cloud platforms. But the reality is that while many cloud solutions claim to be “platforms,” they are not. There are, in fact, only a handful of platform companies, including Salesforce, Adobe, SAP and Microsoft. The rest are tools and utilities that should snap into a larger ecosystem.
Many organizations think they can implement disparate cloud tools and seamlessly switch them on like a light bulb. But that’s just not the case. This is why no-code/low-code will both end the “cloud platform masquerade” and create seamless integration between cloud platforms, tools and utilities.
The Rise of No-Code/Low-Code
No-code solutions typically allow non-technical developers, such as business users, to build or modify apps without having to know any programming languages. Low-code applications, for their part, are enterprise-grade systems built by professional developers that offer drag-and-drop components and require little or no hand-coding.
The beauty of no-code/low-code applications is that they do not require an army of expensive IT consultants and systems integrators to get them to speak to each other. Instead, these applications are designed to plug seamlessly into an integration platform as a service (iPaaS), a suite of cloud services that connects various applications, systems and technologies within the cloud. As a result, no-code/low-code cloud apps can easily communicate and share data even when they don’t speak the same language.
Think of it as Google Translate for cloud software. With iPaaS, you can stitch together disparate systems that don’t even know they’re communicating to work together in one smoothly functioning, integrated process.
The Benefits of No-Code/Low-Code
The benefits are clear. Instead of handing over piles of cash to systems integrators, organizations can reinvest that money in their own companies. What’s more, they can gain greater visibility into their data, enabling them to correlate information and create contextual insights around many aspects of their business. Individual departments can interact with and combine various applications on their own, without the aid of IT, to quickly and seamlessly model new business processes. That in itself is transformational because it puts the power back in the hands of the non-technical professionals, who know better than anyone what they need to accomplish.
Going forward, I believe organizations should demand cloud-based tools and systems that offer a no-code/low-code component. After all, systems that don’t seamlessly integrate with each other pose a clear impediment to success. For instance, something as simple as a sales lead can have 10 different meanings in 10 different Martech systems. In one, a sales lead may be a click, while in another, it may be a personal contact. This kind of confusion can be deadly to your marketing efforts.
Moving Forward
Greater visibility and orchestration will be more critical than ever in our post-pandemic world. As organizations are figuring out how to respond to the rapid upheaval caused by COVID-19, embracing no-code/low-code applications presents a vital path for improved collaboration, transparency, efficiency, productivity and decision-making—all critical requirements if organizations are to overcome this period of crisis and succeed in the future.
