Small-Business Owners Expand with Home-Grown IT Solutions
TechsPlace | Today, we all are living in a modern era where technology has changed almost everything in our lives. From day-to-day activities to amusement and business, the technological impact is commendable. On one hand, technology has provided some great solutions for cost-cutting and on the other hand, automation helps us in speeding up the work and saving a lot of time. Several years back, people were amazed by the benefits of e-mail, features of Microsoft Office, and the assistance of various mobile apps. However, today we have much more than that with the help of IT Solutions. We are living in an era where we can use cloud computing, the fastest mobile 4G, and SaaS.
These things have shown us that technological advancement is increasing with the passage of time. Now, people are going for customized technological solutions for meeting their unique needs and demands. Both small and large-sized businesses are putting hefty investments in order to gain the benefits of technological advancements. Small businesses do not have much budget in comparison to the well-established and large-sized businesses. This is the reason that they do not usually have an independent IT department. IT outsourcing companies are also available, but then again, the cost increases, which becomes difficult for small businesses to bear.
Now, the question arises about how small businesses can compete in the modern world when they can neither afford to hire an IT expert nor outsource their IT requirements. Many small businesses have resolved their unique needs with customized programs without putting much investment and time. The solution to this great problem lies in visual programming.
What is Visual Programming?
Visual programming is the simplest programing language designed specifically for non-technical persons. It develops programs by using figures and graphics. Anyone can easily design a program through visual programming in two or more dimensions.
Thus, with the help of visual programming, any non-tech person can design programs with ease. It just involves simple drag and drop, which many of us are aware of through different websites and apps. Today, many small businesses are using visual programming and running their entire businesses on it. The solutions provided by visual programming are not only cost-effective, but they are unique and give the owner confidence that he himself has developed something for his own business that will resolve his future problems.
For instance, consider a small business of selling cellular repeaters growing at a very fast pace. The owner had only six employees in the beginning, but now the business has hired twenty employees. Management of these employees, along with catering to the needs of the growing customers, became a problem. The business owner then used visual programming to get a customized IT solution for his growing business.
He used built-in forms and automatic lead management though he had no technical knowledge at all. He only knew that visual programming could help him, and it has successfully resolved his problem. It used Microsoft Office and One Note before going towards visual programming, but these two things were not enough to manage his growing business needs. This business owner set an excellent example of developing his home-grown IT solution.
How Visual Programming Resolves Workflow Challenges?
Visual programming can be used to resolve any kind of workflow challenges. Whether it is related to cost-cutting or employee management, visual programming can do everything as per your needs. Many small businesses are unable to calculate and report their final expenses. The visual app builder can be used here for direct attachment of receipts and bills. This will remove the chance of human error and will give an exact calculation without consuming time.
In the same way, visual programming can help in managing HR roles. Small businesses can develop their customized solution for HR needs. Since they do not have much budget for creating their separate HR department, but if the business is growing and the hiring has to be increased, they do need something to manage the roles of employees. Hiring of employees and then dealing with their queries is not a simple task. Visual programming can be used to send automatic training programs to the new recruits or design a new training program as per the roles of the new hires. Similarly, it can also aid in the safety measures of employees and automate the verification process of documents. In short, a new portal can be created for streamlining and automating the HR roles.
Steps for developing your home-grown IT solution
- Identify the simplest problem in your first trial
If you are facing multiple problems in your small business. Do not try to resolve the most complex one in your first go. Pick up the simplest problem that is easier for you to resolve. It can be a spreadsheet issue, a document sharing idea, or anything related to small automation.
- Start prototyping by using free trials
You can easily do free experiments by going through the prototyping process on different visual programming platforms. You can assemble a data model very easily, and play around to bring together an interface or a dashboard simply by using the drag and drop options.
- Do adequate research on different online platforms
Some newbies might face difficulty in their first trial, but there are a lot of resources for help. A number of bloggers have given tutorials on visual programming and its basics. Besides this, different online communities are there to help those who have just started. Small business owners can join these communities to get in touch with other people who have developed their customized business solutions and got successful in it.
The requirements of the modern-day business are changing with each passing day, and small business owners need to stay updated with the latest tactics of automation and customized programming. Visual programming is one of the best blessings of technology that is helping millions of people across the globe. With a lot of prototyping and research, it is possible to attain the best-customized solutions without any coding and technical certification. Thus, small businesses can also achieve efficiency and effectiveness, just like large-scale businesses around the globe.
