Low-Code Application Platforms:

A Turning Point in Process Automation

Process automation across the enterprise has gone from nice to have to necessary.
But streamlining core business functions that are still email- and paper-heavy, as well
as connecting siloes of people, data and systems takes a significant investment in
complex business process management (BPM) or business process automation (BPA)
software and developer time.

BPM and BPA suites, which evolved as a means of helping companies achieve innovations in customer
service, better products and improved business models, do add value, but they are often huge systems
that require a high level of expertise and training to implement and use. As a result, these systems can
take so long to implement that they quickly become counterproductive.

In addition to slow implementation cycles, many BPM systems are unable to streamline the untamed
processes that hold core processes together, which often involve a mix of unstructured content, such
as emails, collaboration portals like SharePoint, and social streams. BPM solutions need to be able to
integrate with these collaboration points, in addition to line-of-business systems and cloud file-storing
services like Box, Dropbox and Google Drive.

To meet these needs, low-code business application platforms have become an important way for
technology management and enterprise architecture professionals to quickly deliver software to win,
serve and retain customers, and to keep that software evolving.1

1
 ichardson, Clay and John R. Rymer. Vendor
R
Landscape: The Fractured, Fertile Terrain of
Low-Code Application Platforms. Forrester.
April 11, 2016.
BPM and BPA platforms may have changed the way businesses approach process automation, but
low-code has altered the way business actually build automation applications. Low-code platforms have
changed two dimensions of traditional platforms:

1. Low-code platforms rely on visual and declarative tools instead of traditional programming
languages, allowing IT teams to develop and deliver custom apps much faster.

2. Most low-code platforms are available as public cloud services, meaning they don’t require
the big upfront financial commitments typical of enterprise BPM or BPA software. This model
also allows developers, architects and their business partners to quickly test an idea in a working
application, gain feedback, and iterate toward a finished product.

COMPARING LOW-CODE RESULTS WITH CODING RESULTS: FOUR CASE STUDIES

APPLICATION TRADITIONAL LOW-CODE

ENTERPRISE
BUILT CODING PLATFORM

U.S. Government Document compliance

100 person-months 5 person-months
(Affordable Care Act) module

Unknown − the project

British insurance was in the IT backlog for 10 days to minimum
Agent portal
provider years with little hope of viable product
ever starting

Customer-
Call center operator 4 months 3 weeks
specific app

Spanish insurance Web channel and

2.7 years estimated 13 weeks
provider administration system

Source: Forrester

2
LOW-CODE APPLICATION
PLATFORMS: A TURNING POINT
IN PROCESS AUTOMATION
The speed at which the development cycle can A comprehensive low-code process automation
be accelerated and the ability to run in the cloud platform needs to support the full range of BPM
aren’t the only criteria technology management needs, including:
and enterprise architecture professionals should
use to evaluate low-code platforms. Build rich solutions that interoperate with
external sources and systems
As Forrester notes,
Provide unified data access

Offer centralized control and management

“The best low-code platforms
Test new applications at a low risk and cost
are more than just tools to solve
Scale across the enterprise
an immediate pain point; they
Measure new processes, end-to-end, against
are platforms that can produce the originals
business value over a period Choose the design and process-
modeling method that best matches their
of many years.”² organizational goals and competencies

With today’s modern technologies, implementing BPM and/or BPA doesn’t need
to be a long, drawn-out process. Low-code platforms like K2’s offer IT teams the ability
to deliver successful, intuitive process applications that actually affect change — in less
time, with less money.

See how you can build a low-code workflow with just a few clicks. Try K2’s design
experience now.

1
Richardson, Clay and John R. Rymer. Vendor
Landscape: The Fractured, Fertile Terrain of
Low-Code Application Platforms. Forrester.
April 11, 2016.

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