The Secret Weapon Companies Are Using to Fight the Skills Shortage

The Secret Weapon Companies Are Using to Fight the Skills Shortage

One in two SMEs (54%) in Poland struggles to find qualified workers, according to a Eurobarometer survey[1]. As a result, nearly half (47%) of companies are dealing with falling sales, and almost one in three (30%) complains of stalled growth. The effects are also felt by current employees, who are burdened with extra duties. According to experts at Creatio, to ensure business continuity and boost profitability, companies should invest in technologies that do not require specialised skills to operate. No-code solutions are among those that can help.

Among the barriers to implementing IT tools that streamline company operations, businesses often cite the lack of an extensive IT team capable of designing, building and later maintaining them. The answer to this obstacle is the no-code approach, under which anyone in the company can develop ready-to-use business applications without having to write code and without programming knowledge.

- Launching a no-code application is a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Using a drag-and-drop method, we connect ready-made elements such as tables, lists or charts. From these we can quickly build digital tools for business at various levels of sophistication, such as applications for submitting holiday requests, an onboarding portal for new employees or a programme for managing registration for company events. No-code cuts the time needed to prepare an application by an average of half, and in some cases by as much as 90%, compared with traditional programming - explains Andie Dovgan, Chief Growth Officer at Creatio.

The time and resource savings that come from simplifying work with technology are directly proportional to the size of business processes – which is why they make the biggest impression in large enterprises with complex structures. The Creatio expert notes, however, that no-code technology is not reserved solely for big players. Thanks to its simplicity, it can be successfully used by companies of all sizes and in every case will bring enormous benefits. In which areas?

Automation instead of manual processes

With no-code solutions, any process in a company can be streamlined. In customer service, this technology makes it possible to create chatbots and virtual assistants for first contact with customers and answering frequently asked questions. In accounting, an application built on no-code can simplify the processes of generating and sending invoices, verifying payments and sending reminders about overdue amounts. Meanwhile, employees in warehousing and shipping will benefit from technology support in monitoring stock levels, ordering products and tracking deliveries. The digitalisation of further processes will help streamline the work of various departments and speed up tasks that in companies – especially smaller ones – are often performed manually.

Innovation instead of stagnation

No-code solutions foster creativity and creative thinking when developing offerings for customers. The ability to quickly prototype new applications and personalise them for specific target groups gives companies a chance to increase their competitive advantage and adapt to market changes. – At the same time, if in the process of creating a new product or service it turns out that demand for it is lower than expected, the company can quickly abandon an ill-judged idea without incurring high financial costs. This allows businesses to follow trends more boldly and look for niches where they can present their solutions first – suggests Andie Dovgan.

Data analysis instead of reading tea leaves

The gigabytes of information about operations and customers collected by companies are enormously valuable. However, for it to contribute to better business decisions, it must be properly stored, analysed and managed. No-code tools help create applications that automatically feed databases. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the risk of errors. Such data can then be used to identify areas of the company that operate inefficiently or to manage the budget better.

Scaling instead of standing still

Another advantage of no-code solutions is that they can be easily expanded as the company grows. This makes it possible to continuously adapt the tools in use to the company's needs without the need for extensive changes to IT infrastructure. In addition, no-code applications integrate easily with other systems, such as ERP platforms or project management programmes, creating a coherent technology ecosystem.

Gartner analysts estimate that by 2025, 70% of applications created by companies will use low-code or no-code solutions. Their potential is also reflected in strong investor interest. At the end of June 2024, Creatio announced that it had raised 200 million US dollars in an investment round led by Sapphire Ventures. The company plans to use these funds to increase spending on no-code and AI development, as well as to expand its operations globally in key regions of Europe, including Poland.

[1] Eurobarometer survey among small and medium-sized enterprises carried out on behalf of the European Commission. It involved 13,253 SMEs in Europe, including 597 from Poland. https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2961