Advertisement - The last two years have forced many medium-sized and enterprise companies to rethink their approach. The topics of "digitalization" and "digital transformation" have become even more important due to the changing market situation. According to the German Digitalization Index (as of November 2021), 46% of SMEs were able to adapt their business model and processes at short notice due to the pandemic. The modeling and automation of business processes will also become a key success factor for the rest. In addition to increasing efficiency, flexibility and cost savings, automated decision-making processes also enable the scaling of business areas. With no-code automation tools, this even works without burdening IT departments.

Meaning of No-Code

No-code applications are one of the biggest trends of recent years and will play a central role in companies in the future. The visual programming approach is not new. For decades, attempts have been made to reduce the amount of programming code that needs to be written and to make components reusable. And in a way that is also understandable for people without a technical background. The applications range from website, web app or mobile app construction kits to visual database editors and no-code automation tools. The term "no-code" does not mean that classic programming code is dispensed with in every respect. However, the user gets by without any programming knowledge at all, while clicking together digital applications in intuitive drag-and-drop editors.

How does no-code automation work?

No-code automation tools such as Workato work according to the "if this, then that" principle. This means that there is a trigger event, followed by various actions. Data flows into the entire process, which can be automatically processed, edited, saved or sent. Workato supports a wide range of apps that can be linked together. These include applications such as Salesforce, JIRA, Freshdesk, Amazon Web Services and many more. In addition to the existing apps, the company's own applications can also be integrated in order to seamlessly integrate Workato into the business processes.

We can see what such an automated process can look like using the example of an order in an online shop. If a customer sends a new order, this receipt is perceived as a trigger for the execution of an automation.

Building on the data received, automated invoicing to the customer and a parallel upload to the company's own accounting programme can then take place. A shipping label is then generated for the physical product and the appropriate department is notified to prepare for shipping.

No-code as a symbol of efficiency

The advantages of no-code applications are obvious. No-code allows faster and more cost-effective development of digital applications and automated processes. It is a well-known fact that IT specialists are in short supply and the demand for IT projects is simply too great to cope with. No-Code breaks down the entry barrier to the world of software development and also provides employees from business departments with tools to implement their own projects directly.

At the same time, this leads to the resolution of understanding problems between IT and business specialists. Where IT employees often do not interact closely enough with business processes, employees in the specialist departments can now take action themselves. No-code tools therefore lead to more self-determination in day-to-day work and create space for the important things by automating repetitive and manual tasks. This also reduces the number of sources of error that arise from the manual processing of tasks.

Potentials for SMEs & Enterprise

Many SMEs and enterprises are still lagging behind when it comes to digitalization. For many companies, a lack of IT expertise is the main reason why they are treading water when it comes to this topic. No-code tools such as Workato can help here. Where programming skills were previously required to link different applications and exchange data, employees from the specialist departments can now set up the automation themselves. This creates freedom and saves resources for the company.

Where previously key figures were laboriously researched and entered into Excel or paper lists, no-code automation ensures that KPIs are read, processed and compiled directly from the IT infrastructure systems. This not only enables the standardization of various reports, but also the continuous tracking of the most important company key figures.

Companies in the SME and enterprise sector are exposed to constantly changing requirements in the course of digitalization. Processes and systems must be continuously adapted or realigned. No-code automations are highly adaptable. This means that changes within processes can be implemented and tested in just a few simple steps. Process optimization is no longer a problem.

Scalability of no-code applications

Medium-sized and enterprise companies work with huge amounts of data on a daily basis. This raises the question of how reliable no-code tools are when it comes to processing thousands of processes and data records every day.

Workato processes millions of data records from its customers every day. These include Visa, Deutsche Bahn, Adobe, HP and Logitech. The fact that Workato masters scaling is underlined once again by a certification from the data warehouse provider Snowflake. According to this, it is possible to process up to half a million data records per second with Workato.

In addition to scalability, factors such as compliance and data security are important for the operation of no-code automation solutions. Workato has a data center in Frankfurt where data from European customers is stored and processed. The company also has SOC-2 and SOC-2 Type II certifications for data security.

Overcoming challenges with no-code

No-code automation tools such as Workato enable employees from all departments to optimize and automate processes. Communication barriers between IT and business departments are eliminated, resulting in shorter implementation times. By reducing repetitive and manual tasks, the company's own specialist staff become more independent and self-determined and can free up time for key areas. At the same time, it is possible to optimize processes at short notice at any time so that rapid changes can be responded to.