COVID-19 prompted many businesses to shift to online working. The pandemic has increased the need for digitization and automation. Since the pandemic began, the number of executives describing low-code development platforms as a priority investment has almost tripled.
Read on to learn how you can use low-code development to digitize your workflows.
What Is Low-Code Development?
Low-code development is exactly how it sounds. It's a way to produce a digital solution with minimal coding skills. Many low-code development platforms use a drag-and-drop interface for creating custom apps. It's very visual and highly intuitive.
As a result, anyone can use the solution, regardless of how sophisticated their coding skills are. It also means you can demo working prototypes in a short time.
Low-code development platforms also handle scripts and integrations. Users define what the application needs to do using visual tools, and the system manages the schema and technical functions behind the scenes.
Why Do I Need a Digital Workflow?
A workflow is a process that defines the steps your business takes to complete a particular service or task. For example, if you're a photographer, your workflow might include the following steps:
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- Take photos
- Load them onto your computer
- Process them appropriately
- Export the finished files
- Send the images to the client
- Archive the images
Depending on your process, you may have additional tasks, such as client approval steps, in between.
A digital workflow lets you digitize as many steps as possible. You can standardize processes and formalize requirements. Furthermore, digital workflows open the lines of communication. Large or distributed teams can access the digital workflow to review information or add input independently and asynchronously. Accessibility helps minimize bottlenecks to keep the flow moving forward.
Digital workflows also help you manage data and automate specific tasks. Let's return to our previous photography example. A digital photography workflow could automate the export and archival process based on triggers such as time or capacity. This way, the photographer can focus on perfecting his craft and scheduling jobs.
Organizing and documenting your workflows also makes it easy to onboard new staff. It's easy to demonstrate how things work when the process follows a standard and logical format.
Why Use Low-Code App Development for Digital Workflows?
Creating a digital workflow is easy when you use a low-code development platform. It reduces the need for you or your staff to have specific coding skills.
You don't need to spend time recruiting developers to create digital workflows. Existing staff can learn how to use these tools so you can get up and running relatively quickly.
For example, imagine you want to create a digital workflow for managing inventory. At the most basic level, you'll want to document each asset and its movement through the supply chain. You can use a low-code development platform like Filemaker to record and store the information in a database. Then you can configure reports to track the status of your assets and manage stock supplies. Learn how we helped an electrical and mechanical service company track and maintain their equipment with a custom app built with the FileMaker Platform.
Digitize Your Workflows
Using a low-code development platform lets you create your digital workflows with ease. It gives you the flexibility to design custom solutions that support your unique needs. In addition, the whole team can get involved in setting up your digital workflows.
Are you ready to set up your first digital workflow? Here at The Support Group, we offer FileMaker training and custom app development services to help get you started.
