The secret weapon for small businesses: why low-code is the future of innovation

Tired of slow, manual processes and inefficient workflows? The good news is you don't need a team of expensive, hard-to-find developers to solve these problems. The solution is professional low-code development.

Cathy

25 August 2025 •

3 min

Are you tired of manual spreadsheets and inefficient paper processes slowing down your business? Do you feel the pressure to do more with less, while your competitors seem to be innovating at light speed?

The good news is that you don’t need a team of expensive, hard-to-find developers to solve these problems.

The solution lies in low-code development. With a low code platform, such as Claris FileMaker, you get the best of both worlds to solve real business challenges: the speed of low-code development and the advanced capabilities of traditional solutions or programming.

What is low-code?

Traditionally, custom software development was a costly and time-consuming process. But low-code platforms have changed the game by offering visual, drag-and-drop tools that let you build powerful applications without writing extensive lines of code.

This means you can build apps fast, and you’ll never hit a wall when you need to add more complex features, so your apps grow with your business.

With a platform like Claris, you can tackle critical business problems and create custom apps that:

Track inventory in real-time
Manage sales leads and customer relationships
Automate order fulfillment
Communicate with off-site staff
Collect payments and donations

This isn’t just about saving time; it’s about giving your business a competitive edge.

Real-morld applications driving results

Businesses across industries are leveraging professional low-code platforms to solve everyday challenges. Here are some examples:

Sales: Capture leads and track commissions with a single, streamlined app.
Operations: Automate inventory management and order fulfillment to keep things running smoothly.
Customer service: Create custom portals for booking appointments and answering customer questions.
Healthcare: Develop patient information tools that simplify data collection.
Finance: Build secure systems for payment processing and donation collection.

With the power of pro low-code, you can digitize and optimize almost any manual process, freeing up your team to focus on what matters most.

Proven return on investment

The results speak for themselves:

Increased productivity: 90% of businesses report increased productivity using pro low-code tools.
Significant ROI: Nearly half see a return on investment of up to 60%.
Faster development: Ideas are turned into functional apps in minutes, not weeks, speeding up your time to market.
Optimized IT resources: IT teams are freed from routine tasks to focus on strategic, high-value projects.
Critical developer gaps filled: With a third of tech jobs going unfilled for months, low-code helps companies avoid millions in lost productivity each year.
Empowered team: Give employees the tools to build the solutions they actually need.

Choosing the right low-code platform

With so many options on the market, how do you choose a low-code platform that will truly transform your business? Don’t settle for a solution that might look good on the surface but has frustrating limitations. The right platform should be able to grow with you.

No ceilings: Claris won’t hold you back and provides capabilities that scale with your business—so you won’t hit frustrating limits down the line.
Flexible deployment options: Host your app on-prem or in the cloud—Claris offers both, giving you reliability, agility, and offline support when needed.
Strong ecocystem: From certified developers worldwide rrrfto free training and resources, Claris offers the support you need at every stage of your app journey.

With its 30+ years of experience, Claris has pioneered professional low-code. Businesses of all sizes already trust it to drive digital transformation and fuel growth.

Getting started with low-code

Adopting a professional low-code platform doesn’t require a massive overhaul of your existing systems. The best way to begin is by pinpointing routine, manual tasks that frustrate employees or cause operational slowdowns. These everyday inefficiencies are often the best starting points for your first custom app.

Begin with straightforward projects that offer quick wins, such as a simple inventory tracker or a customer inquiry form. Once your team experiences the time savings, improved accuracy, and ease of development, momentum builds and it becomes easier to expand low-code adoption to more complex workflows and higher-value processes across departments.

The future of business is agile

Low-code isn’t just a trend; it’s an essential tool for business agility. As market conditions change rapidly and customer expectations evolve, organizations need the ability to adapt their technology quickly.

Empowering employees as problem-solvers accelerates innovation, streamlines workflows, and builds a more agile business, turning adaptability into a lasting competitive advantage.

Start transforming your business today

Outdated processes and inefficient workflows shouldn’t hold your business back.

Low-code platforms offer a proven path to digital transformation. Whether you’re tracking inventory, managing customer relationships, or streamlining internal

The question isn’t whether your business can benefit from professional low-code development—it’s how quickly you can begin realizing those benefits.