No-Code Agility post COVID-19 - a New Paradigm

The corona-virus pandemic has forced businesses to make big changes – that’s not news. But there are two different sets of changes. The first are short-term (fingers crossed), like furloughs and cuts to capital investments. The second set of changes – things like a hybrid workplace model, increasing use of collaborative tools, and revised corporate priorities like resiliency and agility – are likely to endure as part of a new paradigm.

IT features heavily in both. In the short-term businesses will prioritize cash, likely squeezing IT budgets. More significantly though, IT will be a key enabler of the remedial action that forms a new business paradigm and the latest iteration of Enterprise Digital Transformation. 

Immediate Response

Many CIOs are immediately responding to COVID-19 by pulling the plug on new projects. Entering 2020, Enterprise Technology Research (ETR) indicated executives were expecting a 4% increase in global IT spend. It’s now expected to remain flat, with a chance to fall into the negative. ERP giant SAP recently stated in its quarterly statement from April “as the impact of the Covid-19 crisis rapidly intensified towards the end of the quarter, a significant amount of new business was postponed.”

But despite this austerity, businesses must continue to digitally transform in selective areas to drive productivity and competitive advantage. How can they do this on a short leash? They need a powerful, but thrifty tool.

The Rise of No-Code Again

No-Code has been building momentum for years, and perhaps now more than ever is its moment to shine. No-code allows any business user to develop software applications without writing a single line of code. This differs from low-code platforms that are more accessible to seasoned coders. Organisations can deploy new capabilities at higher speeds and with lower overheads than custom-coded projects. As COVID-19 delays intensive IT development and shrinks technical teams, No-Code offers organisations the capability to maintain business continuity. It serves two key needs:

1.      10x10 Speed

Pressing business threats may put certain IT needs on the backburner. No-Code provides an alternative path. It enables business managers to build, test and deploy solutions in days, without the need to involve scarce IT resources.

Furthermore, it has what we call a 10x10 benefit. App building with no-code is ten times faster than traditional code. So is low-code. However, with its ease of use and rapid adoption, no-code can increase the number of people across the business that can build and deploy apps in a secure and scalable environment dramatically. Low-code gives organisations the ability to deploy solutions ten times faster. No-Code gives organisations the ability to deploy solutions ten times faster with ten times as many app builders.  

2.      Cost containment

Modifying existing ERP systems to fit new requirements is extremely costly. Implementing new systems is not an option for many. A no-code, web-application platform like Softools is not only a cost-effective tool to build new solutions, but a platform to host existing business applications chewing up precious budget. One client migrated 10 third-party applications to Softools, eliminating GBP 800k of annual licensing fees and reducing the overall complexity of the software footprint across the business.

Savings aside, No-Code gives companies the foundation to innovate when the storm passes. Moreover, it gives companies what they need most in a post-COVID world – a lean and agile business.

Remedial Action

Some business responses will be more permanent, namely a more digital workplace, fluid safety protocols and the increased importance of business agility. The right IT toolkit will make this transition much simpler. 

Remote Digital Workplace 

PWC’s COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey suggests 68% of CFOs believe in workplace flexibility, and several Silicon Valley giants have recently embraced remote working for good. This hybrid model creates new demands: Executives need confidence that remote teams are following best practices and better performance visibility and accountability measures. Employees will need tools that replace conventional office collaboration.

A cloud-based, no-code tool like Softools checks both boxes. Softools ensures consistent adoption of best practices even when employees are no longer physically present on a day-to-day basis. Digital applications also allow management to track, in real-time, the correct execution of business processes. For example, executives can be notified immediately if performance in any area of the business has gone off-track.

Applications also enable collaboration where all parts of the business – including customers and suppliers – can work and share data on a single web platform.

Real-time reporting, charting and dash-boarding capabilities - either in stand-alone format or integrated with BI tools like Power BI – puts critical information in Executive’s fingertips. But unlike BI tools that capture only ‘hard’ data that is currently available in Enterprise systems, Softools goes a step further to gain real insights, making ‘soft’ data typically buried in disconnected systems or in Excel spreadsheets  readily available.

A Safe and Compliant Return to Work

Not all businesses can operate remotely. Industries like manufacturing inherently require on-premise staff and will need to implement new health and safety guidelines to comply with government guidance. Ford recently shared a Return to Work Playbook as its new comprehensive safety plan. 

This is something companies need to do. At a basic level, they can issue a PDF and be done. But new safety protocols are bound to have a shelf life. They’ll eventually scale down as governments relax requirements, or perhaps tighten in the case of secondary outbreaks. Agility is essential.

How do companies disseminate ‘return to work protocols’ across multiple factories/offices? How do they adjust the playbook as risk guidelines change?

Digitising corporate safety standards allows businesses to rapidly amend protocols as needed, and provides improved process visibility and control. They can easily tailor mobile-enabled checklists and risk assessments that capture data instantaneously. Executives can track performance and adherence and use this real-time information to drive immediate corrective action.

Ultimately, digital corporate safety standards are more agile and flexible, a hallmark of the post-COVID corporate environment.

Business Agility and Resiliency on the Cloud

COVID-19 has exposed failing legacy systems that cannot adapt quickly to external shocks. An outdated government insurance system is a sad example. It’s overwhelmed by current job losses and there aren’t enough coders to sort the problem. Preventing these unexpected blunders through increased agility will be a priority of business and government.

The majority of CFOs (72%) surveyed by PWC believe their companies will be more agile going forward and many (49%) believe investment in the right technology is the way there.

Investment in cloud technology and zero-code is a powerful one-two combination, and a crucial first step for businesses looking to stay on their toes in a post-COVID environment.

Five Benefits of No-Code on the Cloud 

1.      People and process-focused

No-code builds capability across the business. Business process owners, say a project lead, can build fit-for-purpose solutions. A project lead can build software that reflects the unique processes of a new project. A sales manager can implement new dashboards that monitor sales rep activity and performance. Since designers are process owners, they can embed best practice and the unique, but ever-changing ways of working, quickly.

2.      Quick training and deployment cycles

This democratization of software has huge implications for business agility. Enterprise software projects take a long time to complete and have trouble keeping up with evolving market demands, or in today’s case an exogenous shock, and in the end might not solve the issue. With No-Code, employees can learn to build simple apps in days (and complex systems in weeks) and deploy them instantaneously.  

3.      Rapid cloud enablement

Increasingly, companies are adopting a cloud-first strategy. However, many organisations have business applications that are not cloud-ready and require tedious, expensive migrations. These applications can be quickly replicated with no-code quickly and deployed on a cloud platform in days. Using Softools, applications are hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud and can be accessed on any device, even offline.

4.      Scalability

Businesses can scale IT resources hosted on the cloud up or down based on demand. They can scale business applications from 1 to 1,000 and onboard or offload users as necessary. This type of flexibility is especially handy in volatile business conditions.

5.      Future proof through connectivity with new technologies

As PWC’s survey suggests, many businesses intend to (and need to) exploit rapidly developing technology to prosper. This is inherently available on cloud services. Solutions built on Softools are future-proofed through connection with emerging tech. The platform utilises the MS Azure services - including Analytics and Cognitive Services making it possible to build advanced IOT / Ind4.0 solutions with virtually no code and in a matter of hours.

Moving Forward

A stressed business environment is squeezing budgets but also exposing cracks in companies’ systems and processes. Quickly fixing these is essential for business survival, continuity and transitioning to a ‘New Normal.’ Digital Transformation must accelerate as companies accept they cannot 'continuously improve out of a crisis'.

We at Softools are working with sector leaders such as Coca-Cola, Honda, and British Airways to enable a remote digital workplace and optimise business performance - equipping them with the digital tools to build lean, agile solutions. Please get in touch if you’d like to know more about our platform. info@softools.net

No-Code Agility post COVID-19 - a New Paradigm — Softools