Five Key Aspects of Citizen Roles:
- Citizen roles generally refer to the duties taken on by citizen integrators.
- A citizen integrator is usually a non-technical specialist who takes on data integration efforts through low-code and no-code tools.
- Citizen integrators should have in-depth expertise related to business processes, understand the needs of the majority of their users, know the data requirements of their projects, and be tech-savvy.
- Marketing specialists, customer support managers, and finance managers are common positions that take on citizen roles within an organization.
- Recognizing business needs, being a problem-solver, building apps, and assisting the IT department are typical citizen roles.
The term "citizen roles" generally refers to the duties taken on by a citizen integrator. Citizen integrators are usually non-technical specialists who work within a line of business of an organization and are asked to take on data integration efforts through low-code and no-code tools. With IT departments and IT teams being stretched thin, citizen integrators are being utilized by more and more companies to help move data integration and software projects forward more efficiently.
Related Reading: What Is a Citizen Integrator?
Common Types of Citizen Integrators or Citizen Developers
The concept of citizen integrators is relatively new. However, with more low-code and no-code tools available for non-technical staff to utilize, the implementation of citizen integrators by various companies continues to rise. Overall, citizen integrators, sometimes referred to as citizen developers, generally shape up to be the experts of a particular department's workflow and business applications. While these individuals are not tech professionals, they are business users who are tech-savvy and have a firm understanding of their specific departments within a larger organization.
Citizen integrators of citizen developers are individuals who are ready to take on data integration projects and initiatives while also being willing to learn new integration tools and integration tasks along the way. Individuals who take on citizen roles are always looking to achieve some sort of digital transformation for their organization.
While citizen integrators can come from any department, individuals are more likely to become successful citizen integrators if they possess the following characteristics.
- Possesses in-depth expertise related to business processes
- Understands the needs of the majority of their users
- Understands the data requirements of the project
- Has a firm understanding of technology and is tech-savvy
Common work positions within an organization that also commonly serve as a citizen integrator include:
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Marketing Specialist: Marketing specialists often use their specialized knowledge to integrate company marketing data with a CRM or customer relationship management platform.
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Customer Support Manager: Customer support managers often use their specialized knowledge to integrate helpdesk ticketing data with sales data.
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Finance Manager: Finance managers often use their specialized knowledge to integrate their department's data into a functional and more efficient dashboard.
Related Reading: The Citizen Integrator: Key to Business Agility
Understanding Common Citizen Roles
Every citizen integrator will have a different set of requirements and expectations placed upon them by their company. However, there are common roles that many citizen integrators will take on regardless of what company they work at. Some common citizen roles that citizen integrators often take on include:
1. Taking on the citizen role of recognizing business needs.
One common citizen role that many citizen integrators must take on is recognizing business needs. Specialists within the company who can recognize where problems lie within the organization are also often the best people to build tools through low-code and no-code software that can fix or resolve these issues.
2. Taking on the citizen role of problem-solver and self-learning.
Citizen integrators must also take on the citizen roles of problem-solving. The best citizen integrators are individuals who can recognize problems and develop solutions for them. To develop proper solutions, citizen integrators must also possess a self-learning attitude. With technology constantly evolving, citizen integrators must be willing to continue to learn about industry changes to keep up with the times.
3. Taking on the role of building apps.
Another common citizen role is building apps. Through low-code and no-code tools, citizen integrators are able to build helpful apps for their organization without having to know a ton of programming. API management and application integration are extremely useful and necessary in business. The ability of citizen integrators to build apps through almost pre-built-like application software is extremely beneficial for organizations.
4. Taking on the citizen role of assisting the IT department.
While citizen integrators are not hardcoders like those in the IT department, they often take on the role of assisting the IT department within the organization they work at. When citizen integrators are able to build problem-solving apps for their company, it takes some of the burdens off of the IT department and allows them to focus more of their energy on critical software-related issues. Therefore, a major citizen role of every citizen integrator is helping out the IT department.
Related Reading: Citizen Integrators and Low-code Integrations: A Market Guide
Common Low-Code and No-Code Tools Used by Citizen Integrators
For citizen integrators to be able to carry out their citizen roles, they need the right tools in their arsenal. Some common low-code and no-code tools that can benefit every citizen integrator can be found on the following platforms.
- Integrate.io
- Mendix
- Quick Base
- Retool
- Airtable
- Microsoft Power Apps
- Zoho Creator
- Salesforce Lightning
- Caspio
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OutSystems
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Kissflow
Related Reading: The Role of the Empowered Citizen Integrator in Democratizing Technology Across the Enterprise
Overall, the Integrate.io platform offers all the low-code and no-code tools to help citizen integrators fulfill all of their citizen roles. Are you ready to discover more about the many benefits the Integrate.io platform can provide to your organization and your citizen integrators? If so, contact our team today to schedule a 14-day demo or pilot and to learn more about how we can help you start reaching your business goals today through our integration platform, automation services, ETL services, real-time data analytics, integration solutions, connectors, and more!