Two organizational trends emerged over the past couple of years that will continue in 2022 and beyond. One is remote work environments. The other is no-code application development. These trends were initially unrelated. But as it happens, each supports the other. And going forward, each will make the other more effective.
Remote work, of course, was initially driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. The good news is that organizations forced to embrace remote work found that with the right technologies, they could complete many workflows from any location. In fact, a large portion of those processes are now more efficient and cost-effective.
As a result, a remote or hybrid workforce is here to stay. By September 2021, 45% of full-time employees were working remotely either all or part of the time, according to Gallup. Nine in 10 remote workers expected to continue that arrangement going forward. And because 30% of employees say they’d change jobs if their organization stopped allowing remote work, a hybrid work environment is likely to be permanent.
No-code application development, for its part, solves several emerging organizational issues. One is a growing shortage of trained application developers. Another is a heightened need for faster, more cost-effective development cycles. And third is the desire among an increasing number of employees to quickly build their own workflows to optimize processes.
It’s no wonder the use of no-code and low-code app builders will nearly triple in the next few years, producing 70% of new applications by 2025, according to Gartner. Already, nearly 60% of applications are built outside the IT department, and 82% of companies say “citizen developers” are increasingly important to their business, TechRepublic reports.
Remote Work Demands No-Code. And No-Code Amplifies Remote Work.
Your remote workforce has heightened the need for no-code platforms. At the same time, no-code tools can make your remote workers progressively more efficient and effective. To optimize this mutually beneficial relationship, take these five steps:
1. Pivot to automation – Your company needs to maintain workflows that suddenly must be completed by dispersed teams from a variety of locations. In the past, most business operations were structured around the idea that all employees had access to a central office. Today, remote workers need new ways to remain connected with your office and with one another. Their workflows have to be automated to replace the manual interactions that once occurred face-to-face.
No-code apps are an effective way to enable remote workers and optimize remote work. No-code tools deliver robust interfaces that make web applications easier to use. They provide secure forms for fast data capture, sharing and reporting. And they assemble sophisticated workflows that automate and accelerate both internal and customer-facing processes.
2. Empower your employees – Projects managed by your development team have most likely been slowed by the shift to remote work. That leaves your business users waiting for the software functionality they need.
But those business users have firsthand knowledge of how their processes must be carried out. They’re the people best suited to building the interfaces, forms and workflows that enable their work.
No-code app builders allow your non-technical remote employees to quickly design and produce those capabilities. There’s no longer a need to go through the time-consuming, costly design and review cycles of traditional application development. Nor is there a need to wade through procurement processes and the aggravation of bringing in an external development vendor. With no-code, your business users get the workflows they need, when they need them.
3. Ease the burden on your developers – No-code application development isn’t just for citizen developers. Your development pros also face new challenges in working remotely and with impacts of staffing shortages. With fewer team members collaborating face-to-face and onsite, developers need new tools to simplify and accelerate development.
No-code platforms offer an elegant solution. They allow developers to rapidly create standardized and secure interfaces, forms, and workflow steps they can incorporate into their larger applications. Developers can speed up their development processes – and gain time to focus on complex and strategic applications.
4. Optimize customer experiences – Today’s customers demand new ways of engaging with your company. Increasingly, they want contactless experiences. At the same time, they might no longer be able to interact with your employees at a central access point.
No-code can deliver digitized, contactless processes for serving both internal and external customers from any location. Your business users can easily create user-friendly online forms and web apps that allow customers to submit information or request services. They can quickly implement new automated workflows that improve customer experiences and strengthen customer relationships. And they can accomplish those tasks while working remotely.
5. Innovate and succeed – Finally, the shift to remote work has shaken up old ways of doing business and released a new wave of innovation. Organizations like yours are finding new ways to improve operations, optimize customer service and gain competitive advantage.
No-code can build on your momentum. The no-code approach is an effective way to recruit the brainpower of a larger portion of your workforce to address new challenges, improve internal processes, and enhance customer experiences. You can enable your remote employees to ideate and collaborate on getting the job done faster and improve customer satisfaction.
Many organizations initially adopted no-code tools to augment their application development. Today, they’re discovering that no-code not only can enable their remote workforce but it can also continuously improve the effectiveness of remote work.
