The case for investing in modern data and workflow platforms

The rise of low-code platforms has become one of the most transformative trends in financial services. These platforms, spanning data engineering, analytics, and workflow automation, are enabling organisations to move faster, reduce costs, and unlock innovation. By putting powerful capabilities into the hands of non-technical users, data engineering and workflow platforms are reshaping how financial institutions operate.

At NextWave Consulting, we’ve seen this shift firsthand through our work with clients across banking, insurance, and capital markets. This article explores the five key drivers behind the adoption of modern data engineering and workflow platforms and shares insights from recent client engagements powered by platforms like Alteryx.

1. Realising ‘quick wins’

One of the primary drivers of low-code adoption is the ability to achieve quick wins. Some of the most impactful transformations are often the simplest to implement, especially with low-code platforms that support agile development cycles.

For example, we supported a FTSE 100 insurer in moving away from an Excel-based IFRS17 cost allocation prototype that was struggling under the volume and complexity of data. Within just nine weeks, our team re-engineered the solution in Alteryx, reducing runtime from two hours to one minute. The transformation allowed finance teams to run what-if simulations in real time, improve transparency for audit purposes, and shift their focus from manually managing spreadsheets to understanding and interpreting the numbers.

2. The rise of self-empowered automation

The low-code revolution enabled self-empowered automation, driven by non-technical employees trained to modern data engineering and workflow platforms. These users, often closest to the business, are well-placed to identify opportunities for improvement and implement them directly.

NextWave recently became an approved Alteryx Training Partner, the only one of its kind, delivering tailored training aligned to specific business needs. In our client work, we’ve seen firsthand how business teams, once trained, begin to rapidly improve processes with minimal technical support. In one case, we enabled a bank’s operations team to take ownership of ongoing regulatory analytics workflows after delivering an Alteryx solution for automated reporting, helping them extend and repurpose the model across departments with confidence.

3. The need for cost reduction

As transformation budgets tighten, traditional development and enterprise software programmes are often cost-prohibitive. Low-code solutions deliver value faster, with smaller teams and lower long-term costs, especially when supported by in-house business-users.

In one engagement with a major UK bank, we helped replace a heavily manual LIBOR regulatory reporting process, which previously took up to four weeks and involved multiple teams, with a fully automated solution using Alteryx. The entire process was reduced to just five minutes, freeing up hundreds of hours annually, while providing a reusable, transparent, and auditable solution that now supports both regulatory and internal reporting across other business areas.

4. Improved integration

For many financial services clients, automating manual processes and integrating siloed systems is a strategic priority. Alteryx offers seamless integration with both modern and legacy systems; allowing organisations to automate custom workflows that commercial off-the-shelf solutions can’t support.

NextWave worked with a UK insurer to automate the end-to-end bordereau reconciliation and approval process, which had previously been managed through spreadsheets, email trails, and manual cut-and-paste work. By combining Alteryx with a workflow management tool, we reduced reconciliation execution time from three days to under a minute. This improved auditability, enabled high-frequency re-runs, and eliminated nearly nine person-days of manual effort each month.

5. The power of AI

Low-code platforms are increasingly embedding AI features that boost efficiency and intelligence. Alteryx includes AutoML, natural language processing (NLP), intelligent workflow recommendations, and integration with external AI models. These capabilities empower users to automate insights, validate models, and accelerate business decision-making.

In practice, we’ve seen clients benefit from Alteryx’s ability to automatically identify key drivers of change, detect outliers, and generate plain-English narratives through tools like Auto Insights. These features not only reduce the burden on data science teams but also put powerful analytical tools directly in the hands of business users, helping them make faster, better-informed decisions.

In summary…

Modern data engineering and workflow platforms offer a cost-effective, agile way for financial services firms to address real business problems, without lengthy development cycles or large transformation programs. By empowering business users to prototype and implement ideas quickly, these platforms enable faster innovation, reduced overheads, and enhanced resilience.

At NextWave, we combine platform expertise with deep industry knowledge to help clients extract maximum value from their low-code investments. Whether through training business users, delivering strategic solutions, or embedding AI into everyday workflows, we help our clients build smarter, more adaptive organisations.