In 2020, companies had just a few short months to transform the way they conducted business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. IT had to find new, more efficient ways to deliver powerful software applications that would keep businesses running. At the same time, IT teams continued to deal with three key challenges that plague every company: 1. Lack of developers. 2. Lack of time. 3. Lack of alignment between business leaders and IT.

The remote work revolution is here to stay. But making the emotional pivot to make remote work pay off won’t be easy. So says Joe Kennedy, a Partner and Technology Consulting Leader with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In the last episode of this two-part post, Kennedy reminded us that we’ve always had the capability to do remote work. He says that the challenge now is to find and fix the rough patches in our business processes to make work more efficient.

There’s no science to getting a good idea to spread, but it helps if you can get your idea across without the hype. Which is why automation expert Arjun Devadas talks about hyperautomation in terms a non-tech exec in any organization can understand. For example, Devadas talks about how insurance companies are using hyperautomation to process truckloads of documents to settle numerous claims.

On March 5, 2021, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) launched the CATALYST application. The CATALYST application integrates the people, processes, and data involved in the USMC weapon systems repair, part provisioning, and cataloging. Provisioning and cataloging are critical logistics support processes. They help connect the iterative acquisition and logistics sustainment life cycle management processes for weapon systems and equipment.

The demand for new software has exploded. According to IDC, over 500 million digital applications and services will be developed and deployed by 2023—the same number of apps that have been developed over the last 40 years. Unfortunately, the number of new developers who can help build those applications has not exploded.

The new normal in the next decade will be very different than the bygone era. COVID has impacted the world in a way seen only as recently as a century ago. It was different then and it is different now. Businesses are finding new ways to reach customers, supply chains are inventing new ways to operate, industries are innovating all-around to remain relevant in the new normal. Customer behavior is also changing and digital has found a new acceptance with evolving technology.

In grade school, Joe Kennedy taught himself how to code video games on his home computer. Today, Kennedy is a Partner and Technology Consulting Leader with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In the video call leading up to this week’s Digital Masters interview, Kennedy looked remarkably dapper in a navy blue blazer, dress shirt and slacks and a handlebar mustache curled to perfection.

But low-code automation can help. Amid the pandemic, banks are under enormous pressure to comply with stricter regulations and keep up with growing demand for new lines of credit. Here’s Appian Financial Services Industry Lead in Europe, Herbert Schild, on how low-code automation can help at a critical time. What are the challenges with issuing rapid stimulus loans?

This is the story of how Appian helped organizations worldwide get thousands of people back to work during the worst global pandemic in over a century, safely and legally. The Appian Workforce Safety Solution COVID-19 threw people worldwide into what seemed like a black hole of chaos. As infection rates rapidly grew, and related concerns grew even faster, communities struggled to respond.

Last week, insurance industry expert Rob Galbraith introduced us to “The 7 Fatal Flaws of Insurance." This week, Galbraith weighs in on low-code automation as a competitive advantage in the $5 trillion insurance industry. “For a $5 trillion industry as mature as insurance," says Galbraith, “technology that can help solve any one of the seven fatal flaws would make a pretty good business. There's a lot of room for improvement.”