Low-code development and AI integration – key trends in IT that every business should be aware of

Modern technology, automation and digitalisation have all become part of both our personal and professional everyday lives.  Companies are using IT to streamline their businesses. Globalworth Poland, the leading office owner and manager in Poland has used a low-code platform to create a tool that completely covers the main process of the organisation, and to a large extent automates and facilitates the everyday duties of company employees. As a result the work of individual departments is more effective and time is saved. Such an approach follows the current trend of digitisation.

It is an everyday occurrence in business for work to be either partially or fully digitised and this is now becoming a necessity. Business environments such as Office365 can improve worker efficiency as well as streamline the work itself. Following current trends, this improves the work experience by providing users with every kind of solution such as low-code platforms and AI integration that we all now need.

Low-code development platforms are a modern solution that provide high development speed, easy integration, and most importantly, a low barrier to entry. They provide a development environment used to create application software through a graphical user interface. Such innovative and highly functional solutions combine features from systems like DMS (Document Management Systems). BPM (Business Process Management) and BPA (Business Process Automation). By using such platforms it is possible to create complete applications with minimal or even no programming.

Business applications can be created on low-code platforms by employees who have no knowledge or previous experience in coding, as well as those who are proficient in programming. It is an accessible solution for so-called ‘citizen-developers’ – employees from across various departments, analytics, financial, operational – and not necessarily just by IT. Low-code makes work easier for everyone, and it has developed to the point that independently created solutions can support any department in the company, and even the entire business

Low-code = high efficiency

Together with other analysts and programmers at Globalworth Poland, we have used these possibilities to streamline the business processes in our own organisation. Based on the MS Office365 platform, we have created solutions that:

• draw up draft contracts based on templates that include information already gathered
• ensure each part and stage of a process is completed in accordance with procedure and provide reminders of actions yet to be taken
• automate and centralise the tender process
• maintain integrity and transparency of the process including the documentation
• automatically archive documents according to the data structure, without the user having to learn the folder structure
• provide access to each app from any Android/IOS/Windows device
• provide integration with the SAP database and automated import accounting data into the system

The direct benefit of creating such solutions on a low-code platform is it minimises the workload of those involved while maximising how the information is used. As a result, human involvement is reduced to only the essential steps. This in turn results in better work organisation and time savings, leaving workers to focus on more creative, non-repetitive tasks. And it improves communication between workers, as well as collaboration between different teams in an organisation. Because information is only entered once and it is processed by modern technology much quicker, new possibilities are opened and we can save time to be used for other purposes. The way information is exchanged has been completely transformed – we all have much better access to it. This is extremely important in regard to the hybrid model of work where remote work and access to documentation in the cloud has become an absolute necessity for running a business. This is particularly important in a company such as ours where our operations require the continuous processing of hundreds of documents by dozens of departments, requiring the time of dozens of people.

My observations show that the new tool reduces the number of emails sent by nearly 7,000 every month and could reduce this number by over 10,000. Another benefit of using a low-code platform is that it can be integrated natively into other systems already in use by the company such as SAP. This is just another reason to choose it over other IT solutions currently available on the market.

Programming with ChatGTP/ Programming and ChatGPT

Programming internal tools using a low-code platform was a challenge. Some functions required the technology used to be broadened with programming languages that were not known well enough by our Microsoft PowerPlatform/SharePoint experts.  Using ChatGPT turned out to be effective in this regard. Using it we obtained the necessary scripts and our work could concentrate on developing particular parts of the code rather than creating them from scratch. Artificial intelligence helped us to create the OCR (optical character recognition) scripts and also systems for archiving, as well as migrating, exporting and importing data. As a result we created a comprehensive tool on schedule and without additional funding. It took six months of my work to create a functioning beta version of the solution from the concept design to the final testing with occasional help from others from the IT department.

New technology undoubtedly brings many benefits but some companies still approach it with scepticism. Often this is due to ignorance and fear of new technology. Many companies lag behind in their knowledge of all the solutions available. There are also those who have a chasm to bridge between a conventional office and a modern organisational configuration based on cloud technology. It is also sometimes the case that companies are too focused on their primary operations and do not have the time to consider what processes could potentially be automated.

At Globalworth we carefully follow the market and innovation is part of our DNA. In our strategy, digitalisation is not only used to automate and streamline office work. We are far advanced in our innovation. Among other things, this means using AI to manage the energy consumption of a building and our Globalworth App. This is our own intelligent tool that ensures touchless access within a building and helps the building user organise their office work by providing services such as making reservations for parking spaces, offices and conference rooms. All of this allows our tenants and our workers at Globalworth to work safely and ecologically in comfortable conditions.