A guest article by Michael Hülskötter
Far too many companies are still struggling with outdated applications and files
1984 was the year Lotus Notes was born, and it is still used in many companies. However, a lot has changed technically in these 35 years. This means that the “server-based document database” construct no longer really works today. Users want to be much more flexible than when Lotus Notes was invented. Data should be available anytime and anywhere, and not just on-premise (i.e. on the server), but also in the cloud with all its advantages.
It is therefore hardly surprising that even large companies such as Continental are switching from pure Lotus Notes application development to a type of programming that is currently causing quite a stir: low-code programming. Although the term “programming” is not quite accurate, because the special thing about it is the ability to “rebuild” Lotus Notes applications, for example, using low-code tools without in-depth programming knowledge. The result:
Fewer software developers (who are hard to find anyway) are needed and the project can be implemented in a fraction of the time.
What more could a company want?
When the Microsoft Access database no longer meets modern requirements
What applies to Lotus Domino can be applied to Microsoft’s Access database application in at least the same way. After all, it too is getting on in years, and its size limit of 2 gigabytes alone means that this database has long since ceased to be “state of the art” in the age of big data and the like. But is that why all the elaborately programmed database applications should be sent to the digital hunting grounds?
That doesn’t have to be the case.
This is another area where the right low-code implementation can help to solve the dilemma. This allows a database to be generated that meets today’s requirements. This includes access via smartphone and tablet as well as the integration of the database into the preferred cloud environment. So regardless of whether you want it to run on your own private cloud or in one of the numerous public cloud environments – low-code applications provide the right mix of convenient development and modern application environment.
One question that users of Excel and Access may ask themselves is how existing Microsoft applications can actually be integrated into a low-code process. The key words here are existing databases and Mindsphere. In many cases, this can be done relatively easily thanks to existing interfaces.
Microsoft Excel lists as a CRM application in the cloud
Who hasn’t experienced this: the originally manageable contact list in Excel form increasingly mutated into a CRM tool, albeit with all the limitations that such a “home-made application” offers. After all, such a contact database quickly becomes confusing, offers no sensible search function and this pseudo-CRM tool is not really cloud-compatible either. Of course, such a customer database can be made more convenient and efficient thanks to sophisticated macro instructions. But who still masters this type of programming? Exactly!
Alternatively, the entire Excel file could be converted into a cloud-enabled application using suitable low-code tools. This would not only give the data a modern look, but the resulting application could also be supplemented with useful functions with little effort, transforming a pure Excel list into a genuine CRM application. And the sales and marketing managers would certainly like that very much.
Conclusion: low-code enables a silent digital transformation
Whether Excel, Access or other applications that users have grown fond of: In many cases, the transformation into the digital age will not succeed at all or only to a limited extent. This is why the use of low-code platforms is the sustainable way forward. This is because the required applications can be created with relatively little effort and reused in a similar form for other projects thanks to the template approach. This pleases the CEO and CFO in equal measure.
If you would like to know more about low-code platforms, please contact us!
About the author:
Michael Hülskötter studied business informatics. He has been running his blog IT-techBlog since 2006, in which he mainly deals with the topics of AI, IoT and low-code.
He also works as a freelance video blogger and advises on PR and marketing issues.
He also acts as external communications officer for Hülskötter & Partner Consulting und Vertriebs GmbH.
He lives in Munich.
