Neomind

Author: Felipe Bahiense

  • Low-Code: the detail that can make the difference

    Low-Code: the detail that can make the difference

    There is no doubt that technology has been increasingly important to companies in recent times. Besides the obvious examples, such as remote work and online meetings, we will go a little further to understand its impact on business.

    Imagine, for example, that the IT team is responsible for improving your company’s BPM software workflows so that business needs are met. The problem is that, at a given time, the team feels overwhelmed by this and other even more strategic demands.

    As a result, instead of the solution that your company has invested to adapt to your business, it is you who needs to adapt to the software, because without knowledgeable programmers it will be impossible to make the necessary modifications.

    This wouldn’t happen if the software in our example adopted an approach known as low-code, which is, with low need for programming. Since we don’t want you to go through the problem we showed in our example, we want you to understand what it is, why low-code is important and how a “simple” detail can make all the difference in a competitive environment.

    About low-code

    As explained on this post, “low-code is a concept that gives freedom to a user without experience and knowledge in programming to create their own applications”. This means that the approach allows non-developers to design, create and test new ideas with customers and interested parties.

    Thanks to the concept, instead of writing complex lines of code and syntax, any user can create forms for any situation – including complex ones. In other words, low-code development doesn’t need IT professionals even for the finishing touches. Because it’s flexible enough to meet a company operational needs as well as powerful enough to adapt to corporate projects, low-code gives the company much more control.

    A good example for you to understand the concept are the platforms for developing websites, such as WordPress CMS. When using it, the users themselves are the ones who select a predefined layout for their website and then have the opportunity to insert text and various media, create menus, adapt layouts, etc.

    Since it is a platform designed for both beginners without programming skills and real developers, it can be used by anyone. And this is the principle that follows low-code development: to give the users the power to make the adaptations they need to meet their own demands.

    What does your company get when using a low-code software?

    We understand that a low-code platform focuses on software development with minimal coding. Therefore, one of the most expressive advantages is that it is a programming method aimed at people with limited knowledge to encode their own applications, according to their needs and without having to depend on other people and the IT department.

    Because it has simple functions, such as drag and drop, it is easy to work with software with low-code functionality, also because the approach is extremely intuitive. Another attractive feature of the technology is its ease maintenance.

    Most of the platforms used in low-code were designed to adapt to the particularities of each company. But, what is the difference between low-code solutions and solutions that claim to meet the needs of an industry?

    Here it is important to understand that even if a software offers several functionalities and says it adapts to your business processes, this will only be possible if the platform allows your company to automate workflows without having to wait for a technician (or even the developers themselves) to do it.

    To sum it up, the low-code approach is practical (and as we explain on this post, there is a difference between being practical and being functional).

    What to expect from a low-code BPM

    The trend of low-code platforms emerged precisely because each company has its specific demands. If we take two organizations from the same segment, we will see that, although the functionalities they expect from a BPMS may even be the same, the needs are different.

    This is because each company has its own processes, demands and clients. At a time when we increasingly need to be fast to meet market changes, low-code is ideal for those who don’t have time to rely on IT staff to make each change, no matter how small it may be.

    Thus, we understand that a BPM software that allows the users to take control of their own processes and make automation on their own is not just another trend. On the contrary, it has come to stay for a long time.

    For your understanding, we reinforce that low-code offers a greater degree of customization in a much shorter time. Besides, it makes it easier to program BPM software and offers professional results without requiring a long learning process.

    These are the main points that have made low-code development an attractive method, in terms of both time and cost. So keep in mind that this approach makes companies agile to respond quickly to changing business and customer needs.

    In closing

    Faced with your customers’ immediate expectations, can your IT department keep up with the pace? This is a question to be asked when researching management software systems.

    It is important to make clear that a low-code solution does not eliminate the need for an internal development team and/or programmers. As we have explained here, for very complex applications there may be a greater difficulty to integrate the tool in your company. In this case, it will be necessary to count on the help of a professional.

    However, because it takes on adaptations considered less complex and avoids financial expenses that the company would have with traditional development, the low-code approach ensures that the organization meets its internal and external needs in a short period of time.

    Moreover, organizations that want to be part of the digital transformation, having low-code solutions is essential. Finally, if you still have any questions, please remember: solutions with low programming needs combine speed and power to meet customer needs.

    Fusion Platform adopts the low-code concept and therefore, in a very dynamic way, allows users to develop their company management processes and create the necessary fields, workflows and rules about what must happen.

    Want to know more? Visit our website and get in touch with us!

    Success Case – Nidec GA and Neomind.

  • What is BPMS and how can it add value to your business?

    What is BPMS and how can it add value to your business?

    Do you ever have the feeling that your management system excels at some processes, especially at the basic ones which are common to all organizations, but fails at those that could really make a difference to your company? For this reason, are you constantly arguing with your supplier trying to get him to update the solution to better support you?

    • If your answer to these questions was negative, it means your company currently uses a management solution that meets all your needs in terms of business processes (from billing to industrial), without excessive bureaucracy, errors in controlling approvals and without demanding a great number of manual activities. In this case, this article is NOT for you.
    • Now, in case your answer to the questions was YES, then continue reading this article and learn more about how it can help you.

    In the process of Digital Transformation each company establishes its processes looking to create a competitive edge, which makes many of these processes exclusive. This way, when the organization looks for vertical solutions, it is quite common for them to imagine that a software will offer support to the features of these exclusive processes (the so called “out-of-the-box” solution). When looking over to the suppliers of vertical solutions, it is possible to see that their softwares evolve in a way that enables them to offer their solution to as many companies, from as many sectors as possible.

    So, if this is how it works, how can a company such as yours, which has unique processes, be able to implement their business processes swiftly, and at the same time creating a competitive advantage and imposing the dynamic of continuous evolution within your organization? The answer lies within the BPMS – Business Process Management System Solutions.

    What is BPMS?

    We know that BPM refers to the process management discipline (Business Process Management). But what about BPMS (Business Process Management System)? BPMS is a tool used to design, implement and improve a task or a set of tasks that are used to reach an organizational goal.

    In other words, if BPM is a methodology, then BPMS is the tool to manage processes, being the Business Process Management System a type of solution that automates the information flow and tasks of a process. This way, a BPMS tool helps managers to continuously improve business processes by offering:

    • Process modeling tools;
    • business rules engines and workflow, and;
    • simulation and testing tools.

    In summary, BPMS is used by business process professionals, business analysts, IT professionals and system developers to improve productivity, efficiency, performance and profitability in the organization. However, in order to make it possible, the BPMS solution must add value to the management systems.

    BPMS: how to add value to the management systems?

    Whether it is an ERP, CRM, HR or any other type of solution, the fact is that there are some key aspects that must be considered about a BPMS, as follows:

    • Integration
    • Electronic forms
    • Automated processes
    • Documentation
    • Indicators, Key Performance Indicators and Dashboards

    Each of these aspects is detailed below:

    Integration

    It is estimated that 80% of projects for implementing the process management culture fail due to the complexity of the required integration. For this reason, we recommend you look for BPMS solutions which are highly integrable, called low code. Remember: BPMS solutions must allow the processes to be automated in a simple way.

    Electronic forms

    The topic of integration has already been tackled, but not being able to do it properly is not the only reason why your BPM strategy can fail. You certainly have already heard about electronic forms. As you know, these forms are structures of data that store the information about your processes.

    If it is necessary to develop HTMLs, build database charts and create a robust development to give these forms life, it is certainly the right time to make a cost vs. benefit analysis, after all, your business is not to develop a system (unless you are a software house).

    Automated processes

    You may have already seen, or even used a wide range of process modeling tools. Nevertheless, when we talk about BPMS we need to be aware that drawing the flow is important, but it is even more important that you hit ‘play’ and the process is automated.

    Having that in mind, make sure your solution allows you to, in a single environment, draw a process and create business rules in the transitions (also testing conditions with information coming in through the forms or other systems) that make it possible for the flow to be documented. Although these may seem like small details, they are the ones which will enable your company to rapidly evolve.

    Documentation

    What to say about documentation? We sure have tried to get rid of documents, but, the more automated a process is, the more we generate PDF files, reports, excel sheets and others, and this needs to be kept in check somehow. (Take a look at our article about the Paperless Company)

    We have already addressed integration, right? Well, if your BPMS has to be integrated to your other management systems, you should look for a BPMS solution that supports the integration to market ECMs, or better still, which offers an ECM embedded in its solution (I won’t even mention that this ECM should also have resources that allow a simple document management, because this will be the topic of another article).

    Indicators, Key Performance Indicators and Dashboards

    I bet you hear about these every day, isn’t that right? Well, you will either do that through a conventional BI solution, or check if your BPMS offers the option to extract indicators without the need for programming, and programming and more programming.

    If you hear any of the following: “For that you need to build a data extractor”, “all you need is to know SQL”, be careful. Sure, you will need technical support, but remember: you can’t depend on IT all the time.

    The best solution is that IT provides you with the information so you may create your own KPI or Dashboard yourself.

    Finally, Process Management Culture

    BPMS solutions aim at making business processes and workflows more efficient and adaptable to the constant changes that happen in the organization. That is part of the process management culture, and we know that there is still a lot of concern when it comes to the return on investment of BPM projects. To know exactly the return on investment your project will have, download our ROI calculator.

    Try Neomind Fusion Platform, a solution that optimizes and integrates Process Management (BPM), Documentation Management (ECM), Capture, Portal and Analytics, enabling integration to employees, clients, suppliers and any other individual in an easy and simple way.

    Read more: How BPM potentialize your ERP.

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