The year 2020 tested the mettle of countless businesses and industries, but those who were able to stay afloat had one thing in common: the ability to adapt to an increasingly digitized world by embracing future-facing technology.
For companies already steeped in the tech world, these changes came more naturally, but not all industries were equally equipped to transform. For those caught on their back foot, the key was to apply existing technologies to old systems and analog problems.
No-code platforms quickly shot to the fore of these innovative solutions, and their importance will long-outlive the pandemic that was the catalyst for their growth. At its core, the no-code revolution is leveling the development playing field and lowering the barrier to entry of digitization. Programmers and non-programmers alike can now create enterprise-grade application software through graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and configuration instead of traditional computer programming.
It is increasingly clear that these tools will form the prevailing wind of innovation, filling the sails of digital transformation for years to come—some have already called it the most disruptive trend of 2021. Yet many industries are only just beginning to realize the possibilities that no-code truly holds. Here are five of the industries that are benefiting most from the no-code revolution, and tips for how companies in each sector can continue to successfully implement no-code tools.
1. Retail
For years, online shopping was a convenience for many consumers. In 2020, it became a necessity.
After a decade spent struggling to keep up with the rise of online conglomerates, the fate of retail industries was already questionable when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Indeed, many of the businesses that first began to fail in the earliest days of the pandemic were retail giants who relied too heavily on their brick-and-mortar appeal. For brands that bit the dust, the “why” is no big secret: they failed to adopt new digital technologies and lost the loyalty of couch-bound customers.
With no-code tools, the transition from “customer-friendly storefront” to “customer-friendly front end” is becoming quicker and easier than ever before. By allowing retailers to develop brand-tailored digital storefronts and progressive web apps that are as easy to design as they are to use, these tools will undoubtedly be one of the keys to success as the retail industry fights through the pandemic and looks toward a sustainable future.
2. Insurance
As with many legacy industries, insurance was long caught in the shadow of flashy innovators from the tech sector. But the push for transformation in insurance came not a moment too soon—not only did the year leading up to the pandemic see insurance leaders set their sights on digital innovation, but it was no-code tools that played a crucial role in leading the charge toward change.
By allowing traditionally slow-moving enterprises to operate with startup agility, no-code tools are giving legacy insurance leaders in previously sheltered markets the edge they need to compete with digital-first newcomers.Today’s consumers increasingly expect a seamless digital user experience with everything from social media to gaming to insurance. With no-code tools, these expectations can be met without the need for high-level programmers or IT professionals.
As they look toward the future, insurers who implement no-code platforms will be able to spend more time focusing on the quality of their products and less time losing customers due to outdated tech, all while cutting costs and simplifying operations at every level of their organization.
3. Banking, Fintech and Payments
Banking, another industry rife with legacy enterprises, has faced many of the same hurdles as its insurance counterpart, and it is for many of the same reasons that no-code development tools have extensive potential in the ever-shifting landscape of banking and its adjacent sectors.
Mobile banking applications have already changed the way that everyday people think about, track and interact with their money. In a digital era where remote functionality is as urgent as it is practical, no-code tools can provide financial enterprises of any size with the opportunity to build, maintain and update consumer-facing platforms that meet customer standards, offer cross-platform integration and uphold necessary private data security.
4. Health Care
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a powerful accelerant for a diverse array of health care technologies, fueling rapid growth in fields like telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. As health systems continue harnessing technology to become more efficient and to improve patient outcomes, no-code tools can provide innovative solutions to multiple problems through the entire process of healthcare and treatment.
Calendaring and scheduling platforms that make it easier for patients to arrange appointments, and easier for providers to keep track of them, can be developed and curated without writing a single line of code. No-code platforms are also one of the simplest ways that health care practitioners can offer user-friendly virtual visits, saving time for patients and providers alike, and minimizing unnecessary trips to and from germ-filled waiting rooms. Additionally, the ability of no-code platforms to turn high-level back-end data functionality into a widely accessible tool will make it easier than ever for health care organizations to log patient data securely and swiftly, which can ultimately be leveraged to track illnesses and find treatments, fast.
With the ease of no-code development, health care professionals can spend less time addressing technical difficulties and more time addressing their patients.
5. Manufacturing
Manufacturing leaders have already expressed a keen understanding of the need for no-code solutions.
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) have long been tasked with coordinating, executing and tracking the processes at a given factory or plant, but the rigidity that makes MES so useful for IT components of the manufacturing process also makes it difficult to use for shop floor personnel.
Compared to MES, no-code platforms are cheaper to customize, quicker to implement and easier to update in accordance with changing operational needs. As manufacturers are increasingly expected to produce new, customized products with increasing speed and frequency, the need for no-code solutions will go from being a tech trend to an industry necessity.
Unlike many past disruptive trends, which have often been characterized by their uniqueness, the rise of no-code is making innovation easier and more accessible across the board. While the industries listed above—retail, insurance, banking, health care and manufacturing—are each particularly well-poised to benefit from the no-code revolution, these five sectors mark only the beginning of what is to come.
The development capabilities of no-code platforms will only continue to grow in the coming years. So, too, will the reach of these innovative tools.
