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Digital Transformation and Low-Code Platforms

Prittam Bagani
June 1, 2017

What is digital transformation? What is a low-code app development platform? How can a low-code platform accelerate digital transformation for your organization? What are the key capabilities to look for in a low-code platform?

If any of the above questions spike your interest then you are at the right place! Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing my views through a series of blogs about low-code application development and its ability to drive digital transformation for enterprises.

I hope you find the information useful and enjoy reading it!

Part 1: Digital Transformation and Low-Code Platforms

How much longer before you ditch the driver's seat of your car? Or get a drone-delivered pizza through the window of your home?

We live in a world where technology is making a big impact on everyday lives. From the way we buy and sell to the way we communicate, everything is changing. Rapid technology advances are creating new consumer behaviors and expectations. In order to stay relevant, organizations have to constantly innovate the way they do business and bring new products and services to the market. Digital transformation is this constant change that businesses undergo to address changing market needs.

We asked a number of people to describe what digital transformation means, in one word, and here are the responses we got:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALY14LOAesE

Let's put this in perspective. Last week I was shopping for a new auto insurance policy and after doing some research I decided to call a few companies to get quotes. One of the companies that I called asked me to download a form from their website, fill in my information, and mail it to them in order to get a quoteÖreally? Did I hear it right? If the company is asking me to go through all this work to get a quote, then how much work will I have to do to get a claim processed? Obviously, I moved on to the next company.

In this case, the insurance company has an opportunity to improve customer experience by providing a simpler way for prospective customers to get a quote. Maybe a self-service web/mobile interface that allows customers to enter their information and get a quote instantaneously. Digital transformation is all about rapidly capitalizing on such opportunities. The faster a company can address market opportunities the more digitally transformed it is.

However, this is easier said than done.

What will it take to create a shiny new mobile/web app? A rock star team of UX designers, software developers, product managers, database designers, maybe even data scientists if you wish to build some smarts into the app. The list goes on and onÖand by the way, how much time will it take? Years? Months?

Unfortunately, most companies lack the resources and skills needed to rapidly execute such projects. That's where low-code application development comes into the picture. A low-code platform offers the ability to rapidly build modern software applications, it requires minimum coding skills, and can be used to build many different types of applications.

So in essence, a low-code platform helps companies become more agile and responsive to market and customer needs, and as such, helps drive digital transformation.

In my next post, I will try to provide a perspective on how enterprises should think about a low-code platform to get the most out of it.

Prittam Bagani

Director, Products