The pandemic has shown that companies must constantly evolve and adapt to new circumstances. Be it that a large part of the workforce works from the home office or that a restaurant switches to online ordering. With such changes, it must also be possible to adapt processes and workflows quickly and cost-effectively while still fitting in with the company’s digitization strategy. Low-code/no-code tools and especially AgilePoint show their strengths here.
AgilePoint is an innovative low-code platform for process digitization that can be used to quickly create everything from simple forms and workflows to business-critical processes, IoT apps and composite LOB systems. We have been partners with AgilePoint for more than 4 years and are convinced that AgilePoint, with its strengths, has always been a reliable product to succeed in the digital (r)evolution. For us, the following arguments are the most convincing for using AgilePoint:
Fast development cycles
With AgilePoint, the customer is able to develop a fully functional application within a very short time. It does not matter whether the application is accessed on desktop, tablet or mobile. From implementing the entire employee lifecycle, expense processes, course registrations or document management, we have already implemented many successful projects together with our customers. The platform can be operated by developers, IT experts as well as citizen developers. This is due to the way the platform is built. The entire platform runs as a web application in the browser. This means that no additional software needs to be installed and one can immediately start developing / administering / executing a workflow. The development of processes and forms is done in a WYSIWYG editor (What You See Is What You Get) and helps to make the process and form clear. The activities inserted in the process have a wizard for easy configuration. Reusability is a big plus here. Once created, processes can be called by external, other processes. This means that repetitive tasks only have to be developed once and can then be called up any number of times.
With all these functionalities and possibilities, the motto “Many roads lead to Rome” applies. It is important to find the right path for your company. For this to succeed, you need to understand AgilePoint at its core. With our training offering, we actively promote this and thus ensure a rapid build-up of knowledge in the company. For example, at Rhätische Bahn AG, around 15 workflows were implemented within the first year and more than 10,000 process instances were carried out.
Teams, SharePoint and Microsoft 365
Home office has further increased the importance of Microsoft 365 for workplace productivity. Teams, SharePoint or the Power Platform are ubiquitous and an integral part of everyday work. AgilePoint offers many integration options here and important functions such as creating users/groups on Azure Active Directory, creating/managing teams or sending messages are possible. With each update, more functions are also added. For example, Power Automation has been integrated with the release of AgilePoint V8. This allows workflows that are already running productively to easily interact with AgilePoint.
AgilePoint is particularly strong when it comes to SharePoint, offering many and deep integration options. It doesn’t matter whether the company is running SharePoint On-Premises 2013, 2016, 2019 or SharePoint Online. From simple list queries to automated SharePoint page creation, everything is possible. In addition, an AgilePoint process can be started via list item/document creation/update and the AgilePoint Task Completion Dashboard can be integrated into a SharePoint page.
AgilePoint forms and input masks
Forms are a central component of low-code/no-code platforms. Be it for starting a process, completing a task or simplifying data entry into a database/SharePoint list. AgilePoint provides a powerful tool with its simple drag-and-drop editor. With it, it is possible to quickly develop dynamic forms. Moreover, with over 65 field types such as drop-downs, rich text editor, file upload or Google maps and a powerful rule designer, almost any requirement can be addressed. If these are not enough, AgilePoint can be extended with .Net, JavaScript and HTML5 as needed.
Another strength is the integration of data sources directly into the form. Data from surrounding systems can be dynamically loaded, processed and displayed in the form, helping to reduce manual filling to a minimum.
The created forms can be operated not only in a process, but also as a stand-alone component. The form-based application can be used to create convenient input forms for AgilePoint SQL database, Salesforce, SharePoint lists, databases (MSSQL, Oracle, MySQL) or even Excel files.
Integration into the existing IT landscape
A low-code/no-code platform is only as good as its ability to integrate into the existing IT landscape. AgilePoint can be run entirely on-premises or in the cloud (private/public). Common authentication methods (Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, ADFS, Salesforce, Google, Okta, IdentityServer, CA SiteMinder, PingFederate) are supported.
Once in operation, running process instances can also be extensively evaluated, monitored or adapted. An important point here is maintainability, because processes can change constantly. This requires that processes that are already running can also be adapted. With AgilePoint, running processes can be migrated to a new or even older version at any time.
How AgilePoint is optimally operated/administered always depends on the company-specific circumstances and must be considered on a case-by-case basis. For this reason, we offer our customers workshops on this topic. The result is a comprehensive governance concept that ensures optimal operation.
Bottom line about AgilePoint
In today’s world, it’s critical to efficiently provide employees and customers with applications that are intuitive, simple and customizable. AgilePoint provides just that. Processes/forms can be created and customized quickly and easily. The versatile integration of surrounding systems allows existing IT systems to be integrated, thus achieving a high level of automation.
In one of the next blog posts, I will go into more detail about the innovations in AgilePoint V8.
With our experience and expertise, we support our customers in all aspects and thus ensure that AgilePoint also becomes a success story for them. Are you currently dealing with the question of how to get ahead with your process transformations? Then you should definitely talk to us now. You are also welcome to contact us to learn more about our current low-code/no-code projects.