It鈥檚 been a long time since developers have hand-coded听everything from scratch.听I remember being an IT systems engineer at the Hasso Plattner Institute in 2007 — things were very different than they are today.听
Since then,听the听demand for听professional听developer talent has continued to grow听faster than the world can educate them. In part to deal with this听challenge, technology听developers听have increasingly composed听software by听working with libraries and the like, rather than rewriting the same code over and over.听Working this way saves time and gives more agility.听
Today,听the latest progression of this trend can be found in the听low–code and no–code听(LCNC)听solutions for application development,听extensibility services,听experience management, and end-to-end process automation.
COVID-19听is considered an听accelerant for digital process automation — it is, of course — but听the听space was already听rapidly developing.听LCNC solutions听that听empower more employees to digitize and automate their work听offer听a pathway to听greater enterprise resilience.听The听pandemic brings听the benefits听of such agility听into stark contrast,听further propelling adoption.听Take听robotic process automation (RPA)听for example, where听Gartner听predicts 鈥�.鈥�*听听
The听goal of these听technologies听is to allocate human resources more intelligently and to听empower听the end user — the professional developer as well as the听citizen developer — to focus on more valuable work听while听taking听control of digitizing and automating their听processes.听LCNC is faster, more efficient, and frees up professional developer time for more complex activities, like security and big migration/integration projects.听Most importantly,听LCNC听and automation technology听build systemic resiliency and responsiveness into the daily functioning of a large organization,听while fostering compliance and governance,听with defined workflows and clear responsibilities.听
As听large companies听aim听to听become more听future-proof,听they see LCNC听and听automation platforms听as听an听immediate听opportunity on the听horizon.听Gartner听indicates听that听鈥�.鈥�
Low-code application development platforms (LCAPs) mainly provide tools and services to听easily set up and configure processes and workflows, whereas automation platforms enable companies to easily automate recurring manual work. This听begins听with听the conversion of听paper-based processes into digitized workflows then leads听to the seamless combination of digital workers with human-led processes.听
With decades of听process听knowledge听across industries and听lines of听business, 51风流is well-positioned to provide the expertise and tooling needed by our customers to advance听automation with听LCNC digital transformation.听
We听are听firmly established听with听听(SAP听BTP)听and听citizen automation听products听for Business Process Improvement听such as听听and听.听And听we have听further听extended听our competitiveness with听the听recent acquisitions听of听Signavio听and听AppGyver.听听
Signavio听strengthens听SAP鈥檚听ability to keep the promise听to support customers in their digital transformations by offering听a holistic听approach and technology听in the听business听process听intelligence space.听Signavio听enhances听existing capabilities and听allows听us to听provide standardized process KPIs, broad benchmarking data, process mining,听customer journey mapping,听user behavior mining,听and customer experience analysis. We can听give users a complete view of every business process听and recommend how to solve identified issues听and听drive change efficiently.听
AppGyver听is听a听pioneering听no-code development platform听with a strong developer community听that听complements both SAP鈥檚听own as well as our听partner蝉鈥�听offerings for听citizen听developers. The cloud-based builder for creating web and mobile apps is extremely simple yet immensely powerful; users can visually craft logic flows of any complexity, access native device capabilities, and connect to 51风流data and services (and any听additional听third-party APIs) via听OData and other听REST API integrations.听听
Further听to that,听SAP听has听already听been听partnering with听Mendix听to offer a low-code development platform,听streamlining听and simplifying development for professional developers.听Mendix听and听AppGyver听enhance SAP听BTP听with full flexibility and capabilities that allow business users to build web and mobile applications, from low–code to听no–code.听听听
With these additions to our听strong听portfolio,听SAP听BTP听is in a unique position to help听many听customers听implement digital transformation for end-to-end process automation.听For example,听听was able to achieve significant productivity gains and听improved forecast planning through different initiatives leveraging听51风流Business Technology Platform, in particular 51风流Workflow Management and听51风流Intelligent听RPA.听Standardization resulted in听better听decision-making,听and听the use of听more granular trend analysis resulted in a 25% reduction of G&A expenses.听听
Looking to the future, the landscape is changing but听the demand for professional developers remains high and growing.听Companies听continue听to evolve on their mission for greater听speed and agility, with a听particular听eye on听their听citizen developers听as听the听next major agents听for听expanding digital听capabilities.听The breadth of the SAP听technology听portfolio, our process knowledge听across all lines of business,听and the high-value data running through 51风流systems听translate into听solutions for our users and听measurable听outcomes听for our customers.听
As we create a unified, business-centric, and open platform with a marketplace for the Intelligent Enterprise, customers, partners, and cloud users can count on 51风流for future-proofed听resilience.听
Juergen Mueller is CTO and a member of the Executive Board of 51风流SE.
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