Autopilot low-code software aims to close tech skills gap

A Cape Town-based software company, Autopilot Workflow Solutions, a low-code workflow software solution, has won Microsoft South Africa Strategic Partner of the Year award in the “new or emerging ISV” category. This comes just months after integrating with the Microsoft Teams platform that enables users worldwide to streamline and automate their business processes. 

Autopilot automates more than 100 000 workflows per month for companies in an array of sectors replacing any manual business process with a seamless, automated solution that ensures compliance and mitigates risk. Since the pandemic companies have seen the value in remote working but have had to overcome various challenges linked to HR processes and workflows.

By utilising the power of Microsoft Teams, one can create tasks and assignments, automate sequences, and get important reporting, all in a fraction of the time and cost by using Autopilot, who were the 15th company in the world to be transactable on Microsoft Teams. Leave requests, expense claims, purchase order requisitions, IT support requests, and customer, vendor, or employee onboarding are all automated and available via the app.

South Africa is known for its world-class talent with some of the most profitable global tech businesses having been founded by South Africans. But talent, especially at senior level is very limited. To overcome this, junior developers need to find a way to fast-track their careers so they can work on highly technical software development.

The problem with this is that companies are not employing junior developers due to the skill that is required to perform these tasks. The other option is to reduce the barriers to entry by switching to low-code development, like Autopilot. Low-code development is gaining more popularity because this technology helps developers and those with limited coding experience to build apps and websites.

By 2024, more than 65% of application development activity will be based on low-code development, and 75% of large enterprises will use at least four low-code development tools for both IT application development and citizen development.

“There is no doubt that remote work is here to stay and innovation to streamline processes will become even more progressive. To quickly adapt to fast-changing business requirements and conditions low-code software development is going to be essential.

“Not only will it improve the way we work remotely, but it will also open the door for junior developers to step in and gain much needed experience. It’s encouraging that Microsoft South Africa is recognising low-code software and means we are on the right track in closing the tech skills gap,” says Adam Shapiro, founder of Autopilot.

“Autopilot Workflow Solutions has been a valued Microsoft partner for many years, and we are excited to recognise the innovation they have delivered this year. The launch of an integrated ISV solution on Microsoft Teams is one of the world’s first and brings local innovation to the fore.

“We congratulate them on this recognition at our Partner Awards, and look forward to more innovation, and a solutions-based approached to solving business challenges,” says Lionel Moyal, global partner solutions director at Microsoft South Africa.

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