The demand for faster and easier ways to develop software is growing every day. To meet this need, many organizations are turning to low-code tools. These platforms are becoming a key part of modern application development. Indeed, 87% of enterprise developers use low-code automation software for at least part of their development work, as per this source. Moreover, by 2025, 70% of new applications are expected to be built with low-code or no-code technologies — up from just 25% in 2020, according to Gartner.
Low-code automation software allows developers to create applications quickly without writing a lot of code. They also make it easier for non-technical users to build simple tools. This flexibility helps businesses save time and resources. However, automation projects often face challenges. Issues like integration, scalability, and security still need to be addressed.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the common challenges in automation and explain how low-code tools can help companies solve them.
Low-code tools: short overview
Low-code tools simplify application development using visual interfaces and drag-and-drop features instead of traditional “hand-coding”. They are designed to make development faster and more accessible, even for non-technical users (often called “citizen developers”). These tools provide pre-built templates, reusable components, and automation features that reduce the need for specialized programming knowledge.
As a result, low-code platforms enable businesses to develop applications in a matter of days or weeks, rather than the months traditionally required. What other benefits can low-code/no-code automation offer modern businesses?
Benefits of low-code tools:
- Speed: Low-code automation software allows developers to quickly create and deploy applications, significantly reducing the time to market. Automated workflows can be built and updated rapidly to meet changing business needs.
- Accessibility for non-developers: With their intuitive, user-friendly interfaces, low-code tools empower non-technical employees to participate in building business process automation solutions, reducing the workload on IT teams.
- Cost savings: By minimizing the need for extensive coding and cutting development time, businesses can save money on labor and resources. Additionally, many low-code platforms come with built-in tools for debugging and deployment, further lowering costs.
- Flexibility: Low-code platforms are designed to integrate seamlessly with existing systems and scale as the business grows. They allow companies to build scalable automation solutions without extensive rework.
- Faster problem solving: Low-code makes it easier to iterate and adjust workflows, allowing businesses to quickly solve issues and adapt to new challenges.
How do the benefits of low-code tools help businesses overcome common process automation challenges? That’s exactly what we’ll explore in the rest of this article — keep reading to find out more.
5 common automation challenges and how low-code tools solve them
Challenge 1: Limited IT resources
As businesses grow and the demand for automation increases, there simply aren’t enough skilled developers and IT staff to handle all the automation projects needed to keep operations running efficiently. This shortage can lead to:
- Slower project timelines: Without sufficient IT professionals, automation projects often experience delays, slowing down the implementation of critical solutions.
- Increased costs: Hiring and retaining specialized IT talent can be expensive. Moreover, relying solely on IT staff for all automation tasks leads to higher labor costs.
- Bottlenecks in business operations: With limited resources, IT teams are often overburdened with multiple high-priority tasks, leaving little time for developing business process automation solutions that could significantly improve business efficiency.
How low-code solutions can help?
They allow citizen developers to create and implement automation workflows, taking the burden off IT teams. Here's how:
- Empowering business users
Low-code platforms provide an intuitive, visual interface that allows business users in departments like marketing, finance, and operations to build automation workflows without writing code.
- Drag-and-drop features
With simple drag-and-drop functionality, users can create and manage automation processes with ease, greatly speeding up development cycles.
- Reusable components
Pre-built templates and reusable components make it even easier for users to quickly create new automation workflows without “reinventing the wheel” every time.
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Challenge 2: Integration with existing systems
One of the biggest roadblocks in automation projects is integrating new solutions with legacy systems or existing software. Legacy systems, while often critical to daily operations, are typically built on outdated technologies that were never designed to interact with modern automation tools. This can lead to:
- Complexity in data flow: Transferring data between new and old systems often requires custom coding, increasing project timelines.
- High costs: Hiring experts to build and maintain custom integrations can be expensive and resource-intensive.
- Inflexibility: Traditional systems often lack the agility needed to adapt to new integrations, making future updates difficult.
How low-code solutions can help?
Low-code platforms are equipped to address these integration challenges by providing tools and features that simplify the process:
- Pre-built connectors
Low-code platforms often come with an extensive library of pre-built connectors for popular software systems, databases, and cloud services. For example, platforms like Retool and Appsmith offer connectors to integrate with ERP systems, CRMs, or HR software seamlessly. These ready-made tools eliminate the need for custom coding and dramatically speed up the integration process.
- APIs made simple
Most low-code platforms provide robust API management features that enable users to easily connect systems through REST or SOAP APIs. This reduces the complexity of connecting modern tools with older systems that still rely on API-based interactions.
- Unified interfaces
Low-code automation software can create a single interface to bridge multiple systems. For example, a retail company needs to integrate its legacy inventory system with a new e-commerce platform. Traditionally, this would take months of custom coding. With low-code tools like Retool or UI Bakery, the company can quickly build workflows or interfaces to sync data between the two systems using pre-built connectors. This enables real-time stock updates, streamlined operations, and an enhanced customer experience — all achieved in just days instead of months.
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Challenge 3: High development costs
Developing custom automation solutions often comes with a hefty price tag (and understandably so). These costs stem from several factors, including the need for highly skilled developers, extensive time commitments, and specialized tools. For many businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, these costs can be a significant barrier to implementing effective automation strategies.
How low-code solutions can help?
They can reduce development costs by minimizing the need for extensive coding and offering ready-to-use components. Here’s how:
- Ready-to-use tools
As mentioned above, low-code tools provide libraries of pre-built templates, widgets, and workflows that developers can drag and drop into their projects. These reusable assets eliminate the need to start from scratch, saving time and effort.
- Faster development cycles
With visual development interfaces and drag-and-drop functionality, low-code platforms cut development timelines from months to weeks — or even days. This reduces the labor hours needed for each project, directly lowering costs.
See how a Retool-based app saves 120+ hours per month for a travel company in this case study.
- Lower maintenance costs
Low-code solutions are easier to maintain, as updates can be implemented quickly without overhauling entire codebases. This ensures that automation systems stay up-to-date with minimal additional investment.
Challenge 4: Difficulty in scaling automation
As businesses grow, their automation needs evolve, becoming more complex as they scale operations, expand their user base, and add new processes. Traditional automation solutions, especially those built with custom code, often struggle to keep up with this growth, leading to a host of challenges:
- Increased complexity: As businesses grow, workflows and processes become more intricate, and the demand for automation increases. Managing and modifying custom-coded systems to accommodate these changes can be time-consuming and complex.
- Performance issues: As more users and processes are added, the system may experience performance degradation, resulting in slower processing times, increased errors, and system downtime.
- Limited flexibility: Custom-built systems are often rigid and difficult to modify. When business needs change rapidly, it can require a complete redesign or rebuild of the system, further increasing costs and development time.
How low-code solutions can help?
Low-code platforms are designed with scalability in mind, enabling businesses to grow and adapt their automation solutions without the high costs and complexity of traditional methods. Here’s how low-code tools help businesses scale effectively:
- Flexible and adaptable workflows
Low-code platforms allow businesses to quickly modify and expand their workflows as needs change.
- Seamless integration
Scaling often involves integrating new tools, systems, or software. Low-code platforms come with pre-built connectors and APIs that make it easy to integrate additional technologies or scale up existing ones without extensive rework.
- Built-in scalability
Many low-code platforms are cloud-based, offering automatic scaling based on workload demands. As the number of users or the volume of data increases, the platform can handle the growth without requiring manual adjustments to infrastructure.
- Cost-effective scaling
Because low-code platforms reduce the need for custom development, businesses can allocate their budgets toward other strategic initiatives, such as innovation or customer experience improvements, instead of investing heavily in infrastructure and development costs.
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Challenge 5: Difficulty in adapting to changing business needs
Evolving market demands, regulatory changes, or shifting business goals… These often require frequent modifications to automation workflows, whether it’s updating business logic, altering integrations with external systems, or adapting to new compliance requirements. Traditional automation solutions, often built with custom code, can make this process cumbersome and time-consuming, leading to:
- Slow response times: Custom-built systems typically require manual coding and thorough testing to implement changes, leading to delays in adapting to new requirements or opportunities.
- High costs of modifications: The process of updating or modifying a custom-coded solution is resource-intensive, involving skilled developers and extensive testing, which increases both time and costs.
- Risk of downtime: Making changes to traditional systems can cause disruptions or downtime, affecting business operations and customer experience.
How low-code solutions can help?
Low-code platforms are designed to support agility and flexibility, enabling businesses to rapidly adapt to changing needs without the extensive costs and delays associated with traditional development methods. Here’s how low-code can contribute:
- Rapid iteration and updates
Through their visual interfaces and drag-and-drop tools, they allow users to make quick changes to workflows, logic, or integrations. This means businesses can implement new features, fix issues, or adapt to changes in regulations without lengthy delays.
- Minimal coding required
With low-code, changes can often be made by non-technical users, reducing the dependency on specialized developers and streamlining the process of implementing modifications.
- Flexible integrations
Their pre-built connectors and APIs make it easy to integrate with new or updated systems. This ensures that businesses can quickly adjust their workflows to meet new requirements or incorporate new technologies.
For a deeper look at how low-code solves business challenges, check out this particular guide. Or visit our low-code blog section to explore more about tools, challenges, benefits, and tips on choosing the right platform and finding the right low-code specialist.
One last thing: key considerations when choosing a low-code tool
When choosing a low-code development service, keep these points in mind:
- User-friendliness: While low-code platforms are mainly designed for non-technical users, some may offer advanced customization options that require more technical expertise. Choose a platform that balances ease of use for both technical and non-technical users, enabling everyone to build solutions effectively.
- Scalability: Ensure the platform can grow with your business, handling more complex workflows and increased demand.
- Seamless integrations: Choose a tool that easily connects with your existing systems and tools to avoid disruptions.
- Customization flexibility: Find a platform that allows you to tailor workflows, logic, and UI to suit your unique needs.
- Security potential: Prioritize platforms with strong security measures, especially for sensitive data or regulatory compliance.
- Know your needs: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Understand your business priorities to make the best choice.
Need help with low-code development?
At Akveo, our business automation experts are here to guide you in selecting the ideal platform for your business and kickstart your low-code development process. Drop us a message to get started!
Streamlining Gifting Marketplace Operations with Retool
Afloat, a gifting marketplace, needed custom dashboards to streamline order management, delivery tracking, and reporting while integrating with Shopify and external APIs.
The solution:
We built two Retool-based dashboards:
- A Retail Partner Dashboard embedded into Shopify for managing orders and store performance.
- An Admin Dashboard for handling deliveries and partner data.
Both dashboards included real-time integration with Afloat's Backend and APIs for accurate, up-to-date data and scalability.
The result: enhanced efficiency, error-free real-time data, and scalable dashboards for high-order volumes.
Billing Automation for a SaaS Company with Low-Code
Our client needed a robust billing solution to manage hierarchical licenses, ensure compliance, and automate invoicing for streamlined operations.
The solution:
We developed a Retool-based application that supports multi-tiered licenses, automates invoicing workflows, and integrates seamlessly with CRM and accounting platforms to enhance financial data management.
The result:
- Achieved 100% adherence to licensing agreements, mitigating penalties.
- Automated invoicing and workflows reduced manual effort significantly.
- Dashboards and reports improved decision-making and operational visibility.
Retool Dashboards with HubSpot Integration
Our client needed a centralized tool to aggregate account and contact activity, improving visibility and decision-making for the sales team.
The solution
We built a Retool application integrated with HubSpot, QuickMail, and Clay.com. The app features dashboards for sorting, filtering, and detailed views of companies, contacts, and deals, along with real-time notifications and bidirectional data syncing.
The result
- MVP in 50 hours: Delivered a functional application in just 50 hours.
- Smarter decisions: Enabled data-driven insights for strategic planning.
- Streamlined operations: Reduced manual tasks with automation and real-time updates.
Lead Generation Tool to Reduce Manual Work
Our client, Afore Capital, a venture capital firm focused on pre-seed investments, aimed to automate their lead generation processes but struggled with existing out-of-the-box solutions. To tackle this challenge, they sought assistance from our team of Akveo Retool experts.
The scope of work
The client needed a tailored solution to log and track inbound deals effectively. They required an application that could facilitate the addition, viewing, and editing of company and founder information, ensuring data integrity and preventing duplicates. Additionally, Afore Capital aimed to integrate external tools like PhantomBuster and LinkedIn to streamline data collection.
The result
By developing a custom Retool application, we streamlined the lead generation process, significantly reducing manual data entry. The application enabled employees to manage inbound deals efficiently while automated workflows for email parsing, notifications, and dynamic reporting enhanced operational efficiency. This allowed Afore Capital's team to focus more on building relationships with potential founders rather than on administrative tasks.
Retool CMS Application for EdTech Startup
Our client, CutTime, a leading fine arts education management platform, needed a scalable CMS application to improve vendor product management and user experience.
The scope of work
We developed a Retool application that allows vendors to easily upload and manage product listings, handle inventory, and set shipping options. The challenge was to integrate the app with the client’s system, enabling smooth authentication and product management for program directors.
The result
Our solution streamlined product management, reducing manual work for vendors, and significantly improving operational efficiency.
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The scope of work
Our team developed a custom reconciliation tool designed specifically for the needs of high-volume transaction environments. It automated the processes and provided a comprehensive dashboard for monitoring discrepancies and anomalies in real-time.
The implementation of Retool significantly reduced manual effort, as well as fostered a more efficient and time-saving reconciliation process.
Creating Retool Mobile App for a Wine Seller
A leading spirits and wine seller in Europe required the development of an internal mobile app for private client managers and administrators. The project was supposed to be done in 1,5 months. Considering urgency and the scope of work, our developers decided to use Retool for swift and effective development.
The scope of work
Our developers built a mobile application tailored to the needs of the company's sales force: with a comprehensive overview of client interactions, facilitated order processing, and enabled access to sales history and performance metrics. It was user-friendly, with real-time updates, seamlessly integrated with existing customer databases.
The result? Increase in productivity of the sales team and improved decision-making process. But most importantly, positive feedback from the customers themselves.
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The scope of work
Our experts ensured the client that all the requirements could be covered by Retool. And just in 40 hours a new software was launched. The tool had a flexible and easy-to-use interface with user authentication and an access management system panel – all the company needed. At the end, Retool was considered the main tool to replace the existing system.
Testing New Generation of Lead Management Tool with Retool
Our client, a venture fund, had challenges with managing lead generation and client acquisition. As the company grew, it aimed to attract more clients and scale faster, as well as automate the processes to save time, improve efficiency and minimize human error. The idea was to craft an internal lead generation tool that will cover all the needs. We’ve agreed that Retool will be a perfect tool for this.
The scope of work
The project initially began as a proof of concept, but soon enough, with each new feature delivered, the company experienced increased engagement and value.
We developed a web tool that integrates seamlessly with Phantombuster for data extraction and LinkedIn for social outreach. Now, the company has a platform that elevates the efficiency of their lead generation activities and provides deep insights into potential client bases.
Building an Advanced Admin Portal for Streamlined Operations
Confronted with the need for more sophisticated internal tools, an owner of IP Licensing marketplace turned to Retool to utilize its administrative functions. The primary goal was to construct an advanced admin portal that could support complex, multi-layered processes efficiently.
The scope of work
Our client needed help with updating filters and tables for its internal platform. In just 30 hours we've been able to update and create about 6 pages. Following features were introduced: add complex filtering and search, delete records, styling application with custom CSS.
Together, we have increased performance on most heavy pages and fixed circular dependency issues.
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Facing the challenge of unoptimized cloud resource management, a technology firm working with Google Cloud users was looking for a solution to make its operations more efficient. The main idea of the project was to create an MVP for e-commerce shops to test some client hypotheses. Traditional cloud management tools fell short.
The scope of work
Determined to break through limitations, our team of developers turned Retool. We decided to craft an MVP Dashboard specifically for Google Cloud users. This wasn't just about bringing data into view; but about reshaping how teams interact with their cloud environment.
We designed a dashboard that turned complex cloud data into a clear, strategic asset thanks to comprehensive analytics, tailored metrics, and an intuitive interface, that Retool provides. As the results, an increase in operational efficiency, significant improvement in cost management and resource optimization.
Elevating CRM with Custom HubSpot Sales Dashboard
Our other client, a SaaS startup, that offers collaborative tools for design and engineering teams, was on a quest to supercharge their sales efforts. Traditional CRM systems were limited and not customizable enough. The company sought a solution that could tailor HubSpot to their workflow and analytics needs.
The scope of work
Charged with the task of going beyond standard CRM functions, our team turned to Retool. We wanted to redefine how sales teams interact with their CRM.
By integrating advanced analytics, custom metrics, and a user-friendly interface, our developers provided a solution that transformed data into a strategic asset.
In 40 hours, three informative dashboards were developed, containing the most sensitive data related to sales activities. These dashboards enable our customer to analyze sales and lead generation performance from a different perspective and establish the appropriate KPIs.
Building a PDF Editor with Low-Code
Our client, a leading digital credential IT startup, needed a lot of internal processes to be optimized. But the experience with low-code tools wasn’t sufficient. That’s why the company decided to hire professionals. And our team of developers joined the project.
The scope of work
The client has a program that designs and prints custom badges for customers. The badges need to be “mail-merged” with a person’s info and turned into a PDF to print. But what is the best way to do it?
Our developers decided to use Retool as a core tool. Using custom components and JavaScript, we developed a program that reduced employees' time for designing, putting the data, verifying, and printing PDF badges in one application.
As a result, the new approach significantly reduces the time required by the internal team to organize all the necessary staff for the conference, including badge creation.
