When the global pandemic started weighing down on businesses around the world, innovation became one of the greatest challenges every organization faced. McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, summarized the need for innovation in a crisis with a few statistics from nearly 200 organizations. “Although most executives agree that innovating the business will be critical, few feel equipped to face the challenge,” they said. 90% believe that the pandemic will fundamentally change the way they do business from now until 2025. 85% are concerned about how the pandemic crisis will have a lasting impact on customer needs and wants over the next five years. Only 21% have the expertise, resources, and commitment to successfully pursue growth while 66% believe that this season is the most challenging moment in their executive career. If this is how established executives feel, how much more challenged are the small business owners whose organizations are barely surviving now or those who opened a new business during the pandemic?

While there are many ways to innovate a business such as sustainable practices, a critical component of most organizations today is the use of technology. Despite how technologically advanced we are today compared to a few decades ago, many don’t have the resources to hire expert developers for their business. Some even have to give up their ideas because they cannot find the right partners who are technologically equipped.

These are just a few of the many reasons that no-code/low-code (NC/LC) technology has largely impacted business owners who have very little tech knowledge. NC/LC platforms enable executives to create websites, mobile apps, incorporate AI algorithms, and so much more in their businesses without writing a single line of code. As a business owner, you would only need to understand logic derived from basic code to know which platforms are best suited for your business. 

For instance, Agorapulse is a social media management platform whose mission is to make “users feel like they are the one in the room when they need us.” Features include efficient engagement with capturing all messages across social media profiles, publishing queue categories by time slot and topic, and ad statistics to help increase ROI. Their services range from helping you popularize your podcast on Instagram, how to build an organically strong social media presence, and how to maximize the algorithms of various social media platforms.

Other businesses may need something more complex such as building a mobile app from scratch or implementing artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) solutions with the organization’s existing technology. Both require expertise, time, and resources that may be scarce during the ongoing pandemic. Several no-code AI/ML platforms such as Google ML Kit, Teachable Machine, and Obviously AI provide services ranging from features such as face and text recognition, dataset comparisons, and clear interpretations of complex predictive models. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple also have their own NL/LC platforms. More importantly, no-code platforms offer the same services for small local businesses without exhausting a significant number of resources. If you believe that it’s time for your business to innovate, start with a no-code tech platform.