Expand Your Business Data and Process Automation Adoption Through Citizen Development

In a previous blog post, we shared how automation maturity changes as your automation adoption grows. This raises an important question: how can you best increase the adoption of business data and process automation in your organization?

Part of the answer lies in understanding the concept of citizen developers and the differences between no-code, low-code, and pro-code automation.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, we hear from countless organizations that are constantly seeking ways to:

• streamline operations
• reduce costs
• improve efficiency

Business process automation (BPA) has emerged as a key strategy to achieve these goals, and there are two popular approaches:

• no-code automation
• pro-code automation

Each has its own set of benefits and drawbacks, so for successful automation expansion in your organization, it’s essential to understand both options and when to use each. Note that low-code automation sits in between these two options.

While many automation platforms are marketed to citizen developers – non-technical business users who can develop and implement solutions with a no-code platform – choosing the right tool is critical. That means understanding the strengths and limitations of a no-code/low code vs. low-code/pro-code automation platform so you can make informed decisions to grow your toolbox and scale automation across your business.

Business Benefits of No-Code Automation

No-code automation platforms enable non-technical business users to create and deploy applications without needing coding expertise. By democratizing development to business teams, no-code platforms offer several significant advantages for your business:

1. Lower development costs: Reduce your reliance on professional developers, leading to significant cost savings.
2. Faster time to value: Rapidly develop and deploy business automation applications, reducing the time to value for new business and data automation process.
3. Efficient resource allocation: Software developers, especially those with specific skills like API programming expertise with a given system of record, are scarce compared to the number of business data and process subject matter experts that already work within your organization. When business users are empowered to take control of their own automation projects, it drives greater innovation and efficiency.
4. Increased agility: Respond quickly to changing market conditions and customer demands.

Pros and Cons of No-Code Automation

As I mentioned, there are benefits and tradeoffs for each approach to BPA automation. Let’s sum up the pros and cons of no-code automation platforms.

Pros:

• Ease of use: Designed to be user-friendly, enabling business users to create applications with minimal training.
• Cost-effective: Frees up professional developers’ time, so they can focus on high-value automation projects rather than tedious manual tasks – ultimately lowering development costs.
• Speed: Enables faster development and deployment times. This shortens the time to value and enables you to stay competitive.

Cons:

• Limited customization: May not offer the flexibility of pro-code solutions.
• Performance limitations: User interface-based automation may not perform at the same level as an API-driven solution.
• Flexibility constraints: Some platforms might not provide the desired user experience or functionality unless it supports extensibility.

Business Benefits of Pro-Code Automation

Pro-code automation requires some coding and software development expertise in automation solutions – but offers deep customization and integration capabilities. This approach is typically used by professional developers and offers several benefits:

1. Fit-for-purpose solutions: Can be tailored to meet your specific business requirements.
2. End-to-end process automation: Seamlessly integrate with multiple systems of record and custom applications.
3. Scalability for complex workflows: Connect as many complex datasets as needed for any end-to-end business process.

Pros and Cons of Pro-Code Automation

Now, here’s your pros and cons list for pro-code automation solutions:

Pros:

• High customization: Can be designed to match your business needs.
• Solution complexity: Pro-code solutions can be as complex as needed to address the business process since they are created by software programming.
• Integration: Can connect with a wide range of systems – including legacy systems which may have specialized and/or dated technical interfaces.

Cons:

• Higher development costs: Require skilled developers, which are expensive.
• Longer development times: Development can take longer when compared to no-code platforms, which usually require more extensive testing.
• Development resource constraints: Because pro-code solutions rely on professional developers/programmers to create and maintain an ever-growing number of automated solutions, your ability to tackle new automation projects is limited.

Find the Right Balance for Automation Adoption

Both no-code/low-code and low-code/pro-code automation play essential roles in expanding automation adoption – but each have their own set of benefits and drawbacks.

• No-code platforms offer ease of use, cost savings, and speed – making them ideal if your business is looking to empower your non-technical users.
• Pro-code solutions provide deeper customization, scalability, and integration capabilities – making them ideal if your business has complex automation needs.

The right approach depends on your organization’s specific requirements and long-term goals – and ultimately, using both can help scale automation effectively within your organization.

If you’re currently exploring automation solutions, we’re here to help! Reach out to our team today to learn more about the best strategy and tools for your needs.

New updates streamline mass data uploads and API reporting, empowering organizations to overcome SAP automation challenges and accelerate digital transformation.  Read the press release to learn more.