As a result of low-code frameworks and tools, developers may now make more flexible software. In conjunction with automated methodologies, low-code development has completely changed the game for organizations looking to create or streamline their existing app development processes.
Businesses have a great chance to build reliable apps at little cost and with minimal risk. Low-code projects utilize the existing infrastructure of a company. Recent business reports indicate organizations will create 70% of their new applications using low-code or no-code platforms—in contrast to 25% in 2020.
As the shift from traditional application development to low code continues, it’s critical to understand low code. Why does it matter, what are the challenges, and how can it transform your company?
Read on!
What Is Low-Code Development?
There was an immediate demand for innovative public and private sector web apps and services in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Rebuilding and expanding after the crisis required a company’s capacity to rapidly adapt to new circumstances, embrace change, and react swiftly to unexpected needs.
The COVID-19 epidemic has accelerated low-code adoption, allowing many SMBs and large corporations to deploy applications and web apps with minimal code rapidly.
With this, low-code development platforms tend to focus on the visual aspects of software creation, which speeds up application delivery with less manual labor. This method of creating software takes advantage of graphical user interfaces, which simplify otherwise complicated code. Compared to traditional coding, low-code app development empowers development teams and business users to produce more applications of any complexity rapidly.
What Are the Opportunities of Low-code Development?
A typical low-code platform offers direct integrations, drag-and-drop workflow designers, and workflow testing/prototyping. Depending on the platform, a low-code development tool may include monitoring, resource management, and sophisticated tools that accelerate DevOps.
However, whether you’re attempting to implement an application development platform or a more comprehensive solution that integrates enterprise processes, low-code development provides numerous benefits to the company:
- Speed
Working at digital speed entails creating the app features consumers require for seamless operation across multiple devices. For example, accessing data, collaborative tools, and apps should be possible on desktop computers and smartphones.
According to a survey, companies can reduce development by 65% with the help of low code. Pre-built integrations and other tools are part of these solutions, which reduce the development cycle length. Business users can easily construct prototypes using these tools to test new concepts quickly. Without contacting developers, they can test and improve the solution at that point.
- Increased Agility
The ability to quickly and effectively respond to market shifts and emerging opportunities is the hallmark of an agile firm. Companies can quickly adapt to the ever-changing demands of their customers and the market thanks to low code. For instance, you can adapt to your clients’ ever-evolving requirements by offering cloud applications with multi-platform compatibility. You may now provide software on various devices, giving your customers more options for interacting with your brand.
Benefiting from low code also means you can use tools for agility, like microservices and containers.
- Improved Productivity
Low-code platforms can accelerate development speed for automating tasks and end-to-end processes with the right DevOps tools. Your team can start workflow automation based on IT and business events and use templates to develop new procedures quickly. Meanwhile, prebuilt integrations and API access enable the automation of virtually any digital business process. IT can accomplish more in less time by streamlining the development process and increasing automation.
What Are the Challenges of Low-code Development?
Low code is without its constraints and challenges. However, note that these issues depend on your chosen platform, keeping in mind that low-code platforms are not created equal. Some offer advanced features and flexibility that mitigate these challenges.
Learn about typical problems when developing low-code applications:
- Limited Customization
Although the pre-built modules of low-code platforms are highly convenient to work with, they do not allow you to personalize your application. Low-code platforms can be altered, but not completely. Because low-code components are typically general, if you want to customize your app, you should invest the time and effort in creating a custom app.
Each platform offers a different range of customization choices. While others provide you access to the underlying code, some will restrict your customization. Make sure you are aware of your customization restrictions before implementing any platform.
- Vendor Lock-in
One issue with low-code platforms is vendor lock-in. Moving code or products from one LCNC platform to another is frequently prohibited. However, this issue varies depending on the vendor. Some developers, for example, use frameworks and open-source code to create applications. They create flawless, universally functional code you can maintain outside the platform. On the other hand, some generate complex, platform-generated code, making it impossible to edit your applications outside the platform.
It’s critical to understand each vendor’s policies. Check to see if you can maintain applications outside of the platform. In addition, request an early preview of the created code so you can see how easily it can be modified.
- Shadow IT
The fact that virtually anyone in a company can begin building in a new environment is one of the main concerns with low-code application development. Low-code application platforms make it simpler for employees to maneuver around IT controls and conduct business secretly, known as “shadow IT.” According to a report by McAfee, the average organization utilizes 1083 applications, but the IT department only knows 108 of them. Hackers now have new attack avenues to look into potential data leaks and security holes that the organization has to close.
Applications of low-code
- All Business Process / Workflows Apps (KYC , Risk and compliance, email parsing, clinical trails, STP, Loan Processing, Ticket Booking, Tax Processing, crew management, etc.)
- Complex Mission Critical Applications
- Innovation Apps (AI, ML, IoT, Augmented Reality) & Multi-Channel Apps (Progressive Web , Chatbot, Social media & Mobile Applications)
- Operational Efficiency Apps (Automate manual / paper-based processes, Data Processing, Employee Mgt & Tracking apps)
- Legacy Migration Apps (Meant to replace legacy apps that can’t support new processes)
- Automating Tasks & Batch Processes (Faster Deployment)
From mobile apps, web portals, applications specific to certain lines of business, right up to microservices, all applications can be built using low-code.
However, the industries where low-code has had a game changing impact both during and after the pandemic are fintechs, banking, insurance, retail and telecom. If you’re a fintech or a bank, then the digital transformation of your legacy systems would help in providing multi-channel onboarding features, secure interfaces, capturing transactions in real-time, faster handling of queries and AI/ML analytics for personalized digital experience. In the insurance and loan space applications with AI/ML it will help calculate the risk value and credit worthiness with customized plans to meet individual needs. In the retail space, digitalization could cater to the needs of having safe interfaces between the shopping site and banks, order management, customized promotions without disrupting the shopping experience. Finally, telecoms could use it for over a spectrum of cases right from adding new revenue streams by creating accelerated time-to-market offers, customized subscriptions, voucher management, e-wallets for mobile banking, and more…
Low-code is so modular and flexible, so you won’t need to indulge in a bit of hyperbole to say that the possibilities are endless! These possibilities, in turn, tie into business value.
Business value of low-code development
Having come this far, describing low-code, it almost seems superfluous to crystallize the business value that low-code development platforms bring-
- Significant savings in time-to-market, sometimes as high as 70% of development time
- The ability to rapidly build and test to reduce risks
- Standardized code that allows for an enterprise-wide security posture to be extended to these applications
- Best practices followed by default, as you no longer are the whole-and-sole custodian of the code written
In Conclusion
Low-code platforms offer user-friendliness and streamlined design. Traditional development requires a lot of coding and technical intricacy, which leaves little possibility for innovation. It would take a few days to a few weeks of labor to add a new feature, which is typically not enough to meet urgent demand. Low code allows non-programmers to build, customize, and scale applications.
The convenient, less expensive, and efficient no code low code solutions have all of our attention. No code low code has already started marking its place in the development arena and there’s no stopping that. They have proved that you don’t need to be a developer to build efficient and user-friendly applications and websites in no time!
The fact that business users may become citizen developers and create apps independently or in tandem with IT staff is another major selling feature. These low-code facts provided will help you make informed decisions when implementing the platform to support application development in your organization.
