How to remove IT bottlenecks

The IT teams at just over one-third (37%) of organizations completed all of their assigned projects last year, according to a report by Mulesoft. Digitalization can gather valuable data insights and optimize processes, but progress is often held back by the large IT workload such projects create. Low-code platforms can help to eliminate those IT bottlenecks.

Digital transformation is a megatrend for industry, with companies adopting sophisticated technologies to boost efficiency and improve value for customers. However, digitalization can be challenged by a cloud of data complexity, producing a substantial workload for IT teams. In fact, the Mulesoft report also revealed that the number of projects assigned to IT departments has increased by at least 30% each year since 2017.

What’s more, the report found that IT budgets are not rising in line with growing business demand. Paired with an industry-wide lack of developers, the IT delivery gap is widening.

Take the shortcut

With limited resources and a backlog of projects, the only way IT teams can speed up progress is to find a quicker way to complete tasks. Shortcuts are commonly associated with a job half done, but finding the most efficient and simple way to work is in fact the best approach. After all, as Albert Einstein famously said, “Genius is making complex ideas simple.”

Typical analytic platforms can demand extensive coding languages, which require highly trained and experienced developers to master, with each action taking a long time to implement. Companies can save time by switching to a low-code platform, which provides a multitude of shortcuts to usual processes.

Low-code platforms have visual interfaces with intuitive logic and simple drag-and-drop features. By relying on as little code as possible, low-code platforms are easier to use and don’t require experienced coders or software developers. The streamlined nature of a low-code platform means existing staff from other areas of an industrial business can easily master the platform. This opens up the potential to move employees from other departments to IT for support when necessary (Figure 1).

By sharing the IT workload across the organization, managers can ease pressure on individual employees and teams. This is particularly imperative, as a survey by Indeed of 1,500 U.S. workers found that over half are experiencing burnout.

Industrial businesses can accelerate their digital transformations by opting for a low-code platform, due to its overall quicker nature and ability to be operated by a wide range of employees. In fact, Forrester says that software development can be conducted 10 times faster when using a low-code platform, as opposed to traditional processes.

Additionally, almost 80% of IT developers believe that using low code frees up developer time to work on more advanced projects, according to a survey by Appian.

Figure 2: Designing, deploying and managing data flows are fast and easy for any user, thanks to pre-built modules and drag-and-drop features. (Source: Crosser)

Keep it simple

The simplest solution is often best. Designing, deploying and managing data flows are fast and easy for any user, thanks to pre-built modules and drag-and-drop features (Figure 2). Straightforward and logical systems mean the platform is suitable for those with minimal experience in developing.

Digital transformations can be fraught with complexity from limited bandwidths, thousands of tags, raw data and fragmented networks. For instance, the connected devices in a plant may be producing too much data for the bandwidth to cope with, creating a slow network performance. This issue can be overcome by streamlining and effectively managing data, meaning there is less resulting data for the bandwidth to handle.

Another benefit of selecting a centralized low-code platform is that they can be meticulously tested and approved, as they are going to be installed by many users and will affect a number of different systems and use cases. As well as making the code quality even better, this makes it quicker and easier to find and fix eventual bugs and issues, due to the high volume of users and applications.

Digitalization can revolutionize industrial processes, but IT bottlenecks impede its potential. These hurdles can be overcome if businesses opt for low-code platforms, which can be operated by employees across the company without extensive coding experience. This accelerates the digital transformation of an industrial business by increasing the efficiency of IT operations and proves that simplicity is key.