Low-Code/No-Code platforms can help manufacturers digitally transform themselves by making it easier to integrate with IoT.
IoT is one of the key components Industry 4.0, the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry. The International Society of Automation explains: “IoT is responsible for the super-fast evolution of Industry 4.0, where everything is connected within a common network and the operations are mostly automated, thus eliminating the need for much human intervention. Real-time data monitoring improves the decision-making process, and predictability helps reduce the chances of future hazards in the industry, accompanying management of the assets for future workability.”
But there’s a problem with IoT: Programming the devices and integrating them with other systems can be devilishly difficult. It typically requires an extremely high level of expertise, and there simply aren’t enough IoT experts to go around. They typically charge top dollar as well.
Low-code/no-code platforms can solve the problem, points out the article by Linda Rosencrance, “Using Low-Code and No-Code in IoT App Development.” The article says that with the platforms, business users and developers can “accelerate IoT development without needing experts.”
It quotes Charles Cote, chief architect for enterprise architecture, Capgemini North America as saying, “Once set up in the IoT platform, end users can easily create complex scripts and processes on the managed devices without any technical knowledge – enabling faster development and more reliability from a business point of view, as it is directly developed by the business owners.”
He adds, “Low-code/no-code can be seen as an extension of IoT platforms. For example, it is very useful for a utilities company to manage and monitor their production more accurately and ensure regular business upgrades…It’s a must-have for companies with custom alerting, data analysis and other IoT services in place to create business value.”
Jason Wong, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner told Rosencrance that because of the complexities of IoT, manufacturers need to do a great deal of research to choose the right low-code/no-code platform. In particular, they need to make sure the platform does a particularly good job of integrating with multiple systems.
The article “4 Benefits of Using Low Code in Industrial Manufacturing” adds, “Low-code and IoT go hand in hand” and concludes: “By drastically reducing the amount of custom code that businesses must write to implement new features, as well as providing pre-built integrations, low-code development allows for much faster application development and updates. By some estimates, low-code can make software development as much as ten times faster than traditional methods.
“That’s a critical advantage, not just when businesses are rolling out IoT software for the first time but also whenever they need to update it in response to shifting business needs.”
The Ideal Low-Code/No-Code Platform for IoT and Industry 4.0
Alpha Software can help resource-constrained manufacturers looking to digitally transform their businesses and leverage IoT, analytics, AI and more. Alpha TransForm quality management software utilizes the latest mobile features (photos, GPS, time/date stamping, bar code scanning, voice recording, etc.) for fast, accurate data collection on the manufacturing floor or in the warehouse. Built-in analytics and dashboards provide quality leaders with insight into the data and KPI reporting.
Book a meeting with us to learn how to get free access to our pre-built manufacturing solutions and how we can customize them for your unique needs.
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