Top Five Features to Look For in a Low-Code Platform

To stay competitive in today’s market, businesses are continuously evaluating their production processes and identifying ways to improve reducing cost, increasing revenue and innovation speed. Companies that create an intelligent digital twin of their enterprise will more efficiently manage and compete in today’s global economy: significantly improving operational insight, increasing productivity, and easing integration with partners and clients alike.

So, how do you get there, and how do you gain an advantage over your competitors that are going through similar digitalization strategies? Your logical starting point is to identify an environment and tool set to facilitate your digital transformation.  To do so rapidly and efficiently, you can start with a visual low-code platform designed to accelerate and facilitate this type of digitalization. Selecting the right low-code platform that fits your industry and satisfies your requirements all while growing your expanding business needs is the challenge.

Here are the top features that our clients and prospects have identified as "most important" in their selection of a low-code IIoT platform:

1. Offers end-to-end functionality, from orchestrating streaming data to analytics and AI-driven actions

Business leaders want to make sure that all the data streaming in from hundreds of devices and multiple locations is aggregated into one control tower so their digital twin can give them the maximum insight needed to predict problems before they occur. Functionality must include everything from IoT device integration to data management to workflow automation. In addition, it is vital to have AI-driven actions that respond automatically to situations and minimize (or prevent) downtime.

2. Technology agnostic, designed to run on all IIoT platforms, and easily integrates within existing IT/OT environments

Manufacturers—regardless of if they have old, legacy systems or new cutting-edge technology—are primarily looking for solutions that easily integrate with all the other systems in their enterprise, including ERP and CRM solutions. Integration via an open architecture that can easily scale to handle the high volumes of data and transactions that are needed for modern manufacturing facilities is a must-have.

3. Includes Smart Manufacturing IIoT Applications with numerous pre-built smart manufacturing modules and widgets

In addition to industry-specific features, the most-desirable low-code platforms also offer a wide range of out-of-the-box widgets or modules that can be easily tailored to improve manufacturing operations. Most manufacturers require better visibility into production processes, greater control over energy usage, and more streamlined communication with suppliers and clients.

4. Empowers citizen developers to rapidly develop, deploy, and modify IIoT solutions

For the most part, the people running day-to-day operations don’t have a master's degree in programming. A visual low-code platform is a preferred choice for businesses looking to stay nimble and competitive in today's fast-paced global economy. Powerful features with an intuitive interface enable users from all backgrounds to create customized apps for their operations and gain a true 360-degree view of their enterprise.

5. Highly scalable and secure, able to manage tens of thousands of users globally

With entire systems running inside the IT environment, it is more important than ever to choose a solution that offers top-notch performance, reliability, and scalability, with a wide range of advanced security features to help protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with industry standards like MQTT, OPC UA, and REST APIs. In addition, the end-to-end solution needs to securely handle all of a company’s users around the world, regardless of how many and where they are located.

The low-code platform from Decisyon offers all this, and more. It is the ideal choice for businesses looking to optimize their IIoT initiatives and digital transformation journeys. If you are looking to compete in today's global economy, create an intelligent digital enterprise by implementing a digital twin with a platform that does it all. To find out more, get in touch today!