Imagine, if you will, a world of wizardry...in a time not so long ago... in a place not so far away.
A low-code wizard comes to town with a magicalplatform, and discovers a tribe of skeptics (called no-low-coders), who fearfully hide from the frightening menaceof digital disruption.
It turns out that the wizard's platform is one of those way-way-way-faster, low-code app development platforms. Whichhelps the no-low-coders unleash the power of digital transformation, and defeat the digital disruptors. Sounds like the plot for a JK Rowling movie, right?
But here's the thing. The transformative power of low code is not magical thinking. It's the real deal. It has a bright side, an environment thatallows businesses to innovate faster than ever before. But, the power oflow-code has also sparked a parallel explosion in the dark side of digital disruption, with ripple effects that can be more disruptivethan the original disruption itself, according to Gartner.
Back in the day, youcould make products andservices incrementally better and cheaper, and pretty much bank onbusiness success. There was no sense of urgency. No digital wave. No mobile lifestyle. No Internet of Things. No algorithms drivingthe behavior of billions of people. But those days are long gone. Today, there is a constant acceleration in the pace of innovation... and consumerexpectations.
And the disruptors? They can now take away market share, in no time flat. Shake up entire industries. Anddrive sales and revenue from bupkis to billions, with little more thana websiteand a proprietary algorithm. In other words, no matter your line of business...How large your brand...Or how long you've been in businessÖ You areapotential target for digital disruption.
Whichmay explain why 90% of business leaders expect their industries to be disrupted by digital trends, according to researchers at MIT Sloan and Deloitte. As a digital transformation leader, if this sounds familiar...If you find yourself worrying about digital disruption, then perhaps it's time to invoke a low-code solution.
The alternative is to end up on the wrong side of the digital disruption curve. Better to take a low-code approach that enables you toinnovate faster, work smarter, and move at digital speed.Imagine the value you could create, if you could accelerate time to market, speed time to revenue...outthink and outmaneuver your competitors.
Like the major wireless carrier that put 5,000 vehicles on the road across 30 major cities, and brought the retail experience directly to customers. There was a real sense of urgency about this story. Company officials wanted to implement-- and scale -- an innovative retail program before competitors got wind of it.
Powered by the Appian Digital Transformation Platform, company officialstook the program from concept to implementation in just three weeks. One week later, it was expanded to two cities. Then, to 30 cities shortly after that.
This is the kind of digital transformation you need to compete and win in the digital economy...to overcome the challenges, threats and risks posed by digital disruption. Of course, there will always be the skeptics, naysayers, and wait-and-see'ers. Those who will continue to seek refuge in no-low-code systems, designed for yesterday's economy.
The story of a major Life Science companyis the opposite of this. The company wanted to accelerate clinical trial start-ups, a key competitive advantage for getting new drugs to market. With the help of the Appian Digital Transformation Platform, the company was able to reduce clinical trial startup times from six months to just two months.
Back to the allegory of the low-code wizard.
As a digital transformation leader, if you fear the constant acceleration of expectations, then you are on the wrong side of the digital disruption curve. Andnobusiness model is safe there.
Of course, there is no world of wizardry to escape to. But like the low-code wizard, savvy digital transformation leaders can invokethe fantasticpowerof low-code platforms... to acceleratedigital transformation... And defeatthe scary beastof digital disruption...like Bing, Bing, POW!
Roland Alston
