When you hear buzz words such as ‘Automation’, ‘Low-code’, ‘RPA’, or ‘Hyperautomation’, you may think it’s only reserved for the big-wigs or billion-dollar enterprises. Well, think again!
If there’s one thing the last year has taught us, it’s the need to innovate, adapt, and rapidly conform to the changing landscape among organizations of all sizes in order to survive the turbulent climate. Smaller companies that did not undergo digital transformation found it difficult to work remotely and collaboration was limited to tools such as email or spreadsheets. Many SMBs were also heavily dependent on manual or paper-based processes, which proved to be an impediment to continued business operations and sustaining growth.
Small to mid-sized businesses have woken up to the realization that adoption of new-age technologies stands to produce far-reaching benefits. As per a market research report, 63% of SMBs say automation allowed their company to quickly pivot as a result of the pandemic and 66% stated that automation was now essential for running their business. Automation technologies are no longer reserved for the top of the charts and are quickly stirring up the market that has got SMBs looking in their direction.
The shift in perspective is not without reason! Transforming small business operations with automation technologies can reap rich dividends, such as lower costs, improved productivity, reduced errors, increased efficiency, and most of all, a faster ROI. Owing to the need for speed, ease and agility, low-code platforms have emerged as one of the most promising tools in helping SMBs realize their transformation vision! Let’s find out why!
Why is low-code a perfect fit for SMBs?
Low-code automation platforms can unlock new possibilities for small businesses and help them scale up without having to invest in hiring more people or in revamping processes. Instead of taking the conventional route, platforms such as Appian combine intelligent automation with low-code development to empower businesses with the ability to build applications faster without requiring hard-coded programming.
These platforms come with not just BPM capabilities but also RPA, OCR, AI, ML and process mining capabilities all in one, making not just automation but also continued governance and maintenance much easier. Executing low-code automation doesn't need setting up a new foundation. The extraordinary nature of low-code automation permits it to coordinate with any framework independent of the development technology, making it pertinent enterprise wide.
Here are some benefits SMBs stand to gain by implementing low-code automation.
Automate more in less time
Low-code automation tools accelerate the development speed for automating end-to-end processes and tasks. Templates can be used to quickly revamp processes, new workflows can be set up at ease, and pre-built integrations and accessibility make it possible to virtually automate any business process.
Easily adapt to market demand
With the scalability and agility that low-code brings in, it’s easy to adapt to and handle market fluctuations that can help small-to-midsize enterprises stay afloat. For example, when Gulf Coast SBA Lending needed to adapt to the dynamic Paycheck Protection Program (round 2) regulations, Vuram leveraged low-code capabilities to quickly deliver a solution that helped them meet the demand, reduce manual resources by 40%, and achieve 25% efficiency gains. Read case study!
Cut back on costs
Low-code development makes it easy to build apps faster and reduces the dependency on IT by placing the power of digital asset development in the hands of the users. With the right technology driving the business, there’s a rise in productivity, reduced inefficiencies, improved collaboration, and a cut back on unnecessary expenses, thereby significantly reducing the costs. Existing workforce can be quickly upskilled to work on low code technologies thereby reducing the need to hire additional workforce.
Get Faster ROI
According to a Forrester Research Survey, 100% of enterprises received ROI from their low-code adoption. The best part is that you don’t have to wait months or years to see results post investment. Low-code’s speed and agility enables SMBs to start seeing ROI in just a few weeks.
Automation is no longer the niche that serves only larger enterprises, rather low-code has now made it possible for organizations of all sizes to tap into its potential for their business without burning a big hole in their pockets
It’s now the right time for small-to-midsize businesses to think about low-code automation as the innovation for change and gain the edge over competition with nominal investment and achieve optimal business agility.
One of the most important success factors for any successful implementation is choosing the right partner who can provide process-centric solutions to their customers and recommend the right use of technologies. Vuram is a hyperautomation services company that specializes in low-code automation. A trusted partner of Appian for 10+ years, Vuram has helped over 135+ enterprise customers across the globe realize their transformation vision, a majority of which are from the SMB segment.
Write to ask@vuram.com to consult Vuram’s experts on starting your low-code Appian journey!
Author Bio:
Pavithra Srinivasan is the Vice President - Delivery and Operations – Europe & UK at Vuram. Additionally, she also heads the Appian Center of Excellence team within Vuram She has over 20 years of experience in ideating, strategizing and executing information technology projects across legacy, business intelligence & data warehousing, low-code and RPA technologies.
