The Coronavirus pandemic caught almost everyone off guard in 2020. Some organizations swiftly embraced new technology, enabling their workforce to transition smoothly to working from home. However, others found it challenging to adjust to this new reality and maintain a healthy cash flow.
Millions of people in the United States lost their jobs as their employers shut down temporarily — some permanently. The construction industry alone lost more than a million jobs between February and April of last year, though many had rebounded by fall.
Throughout this challenging time, providers of essential services such as hospitals, schools, and grocery stores continued their operations. This also includes contractors and utility crews who build and maintain our infrastructure. Often operating at reduced capacity, they incorporated new safety protocols into their workflows. These measures were to safeguard their employees and customers against COVID-19. Globally, adapting to a new normal became imperative. This new reality demanded agility, adaptability, and ingenuity from us all.
That’s where no-code development platforms can help.
Leveraging no-code for adaptability
No-code and low-code platforms are helping companies bridge the gap between business processes and software development. It’s no fad: Forrester predicts organizations will be spending $21.2 billion on no-code/low-code tools by 2022.
No-code platforms are an alternative to traditional software development, enabling non-programmers (sometimes called “citizen developers”) to build and modify custom solutions to their business problems using a visual, drag-and-drop interface. They can be web- or mobile applications (or both), and run the gamut from web-based CRM applications like Salesforce to mobile workforce solutions like Fulcrum.
Turning everyday employees into citizen developers is a win for both the employees and the organizations they work for: It allows the people who are closest to the problem to solve it, rather than putting that problem into a queue that competes for company resources, only to get back a solution that doesn’t meet the requirements of the people who have to use it. And for the employee, it increases their visibility within the organization and introduces valuable skill sets that can open new career paths.
According to Techopedia, a citizen developer is “an end user who creates new applications or programs from a corporate or collective code base, system or structure. This developer, in essence, is not a professional paid to code applications but an ‘amateur.’ They use available tools to build applications for their team’s use during work.
Your future citizen developers are those now involved in tasks you wish to improve. For organizations with mobile teams, it’s your project managers and leaders in the field.
Benefits of no-code development platforms
If your team conducts field inspections, installations, or maintenance, no-code app development offers significant benefits. Reduced costs and increased agility stand out as the top advantages. With no-code platforms, you can empower team members to create business-forward solutions without needing costly software developers. Leveraging pre-built modules, no-code platforms allow for quicker app development, testing, and modifications. According to Forrester, this can be up to 10 times faster than traditional development methods.
Facing new challenges that require changes in procedures, a citizen developer quickly updates the app’s framework. They do this through a web dashboard, ensuring instant deployment to field workers. An example includes adding face coverings and hand-sanitizer stations to safety checklists.
When mobile workers hit “sync” in their app, they instantly receive the latest version, ready for use. With a no-code platform in your toolbox, your team is well-equipped to adapt to future business challenges. And in today’s world, it means less face-to-face interaction which keeps your workforce healthy.
Fulcrum’s platform for data collection and automation helps organizations with mobile workforces streamline their workflows. It allows them to gain real-time visibility into their teams’ activities and derive insights based on data. Globally, over 30,000 users depend on Fulcrum to enhance the safety, quality, and efficiency of their field operations.
Want to see if Fulcrum is right for your organization? Request a demo today!