From rising operating costs to wage inflation, business leaders are facing challenges on an unprecedented scale. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, this is driving the need for more in-depth data gathering, understanding and insight generation to inform smarter decision making and identify cost-saving opportunities.
Some might remember when coding skills were required to operate a computer. This feels like it was a long time ago. We now have low-code/no-code environments that allow users to drag and drop application components, connect them, and create mobile or web apps - without significant programming knowledge. This has the power to transform a business.
Although low-code/no-code software has been around for some time, few SMEs take advantage of the technology. This isn’t necessarily a surprise - with hundreds of programming languages, platforms, and hardware constraints, many have tended to avoid using analytics and machine learning altogether, deeming the cost too high and something reserved for large, global organisations.
Low/no-code platforms also provide a commercially viable way for small and medium-sized organisations to take advantage of enterprise-level AI and analytics.
Research by Gartner shows that by 2025, 70% of new applications developed by enterprises will be created using low-code or no-code technologies. But what are the main benefits?
An agile platform
This adaptable development methodology allows businesses to be agile, flexible, and adaptable - which is more important than ever for SMEs given the challenging and uncertain economic climate.
Low-code platforms are more cost-effective
Low-code platforms also allow SMEs to save time and money on hiring additional IT teams. Low-code platforms make it much easier for the non-developers on the team to alter the applications themselves. This has become an important factor in recent years, given the shortage of data scientists available.
An accessible route into data and analytics
Even though start-ups and smaller companies tend to have fewer resources than their larger counterparts, low-code platforms enable SMEs to develop their applications in line with their needs. As users without deep expertise use these solutions, it offers a chance for some of them to develop their coding skills further.
The SAS® Viya® platform is now available in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, making industry-leading AI almost immediately accessible to SMEs along with an hourly pricing model, in-app tutorials and support for multiple coding languages. SAS Viya offers programming and low/no code options in a single visual interface. With support for SAS and open-source languages, including Python and R, data scientists can write code using their languages and techniques. The low/no code functionality makes it easier for individuals with limited coding experience or knowledge to fulfill complex operations.
Not only will this equip customers worldwide with access to an end-to-end AI platform with essential data exploration, machine learning development and deployment, but users will have access to the entire SAS Viya package that includes SAS® Visual Analytics, SAS® Visual Statistics, SAS® Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning, and SAS® Model Manager. These capabilities are proven and used globally to tackle some of the most demanding business challenges.
The pay-as-you-go pricing model enables SMEs to consume as much software as they need when resolving a one-off business problem.
Learn more details about SAS Viya on Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
