Many people have heard of the term “low-code,” but what exactly does it mean? Learn more about the low code platform as a new technology, its popularity, and its advantages: lack of IT talent, time to market, accessibility, and connectivity.
Lack of IT talent
Many organizations have found themselves in a bind due to a lack of qualified IT specialists. A recent study by DevOps and Appian found that 82% of businesses cannot retain both the quantity and quality of software engineers. These problems are not limited to low-code platforms. The lack of IT specialists has several negative effects on businesses, and one of the most common is an inability to respond to demand.
While low-code platforms enable almost anyone to create enterprise-class mobile applications, skilled developers will still be required to build them. Moreover, the shortage of IT talent remains a top concern for many organizations. According to the Global Talent Report 2016, 86 percent of organizations find it challenging to hire technical staff, and 75 percent report that the time to fill technical positions has increased over the past three years. The solution is a low-code development platform that helps fill in this shortage.
Time-to-market
Low-code platforms have a much shorter time to market than traditional development processes. Because they focus on internal workflow management, low-code platforms provide an intuitive visual environment similar to spreadsheets and presentations. Users can customize applications by adding their logos and colors. Moreover, the lack of a high-skilled development team makes low-code platforms a prevalent choice among enterprises.
According to a recent Gartner survey, over 60% of companies have already developed citizen development initiatives, while the remaining 20% are in the process of doing so. As citizen development systems become more popular and better known, organizations will fill the growing demand for them. Currently, 47% of developers don’t have the necessary tools to meet deadlines, and 41% want to build half of their apps on low-code platforms.
Companies should consider whether the product is scalable when choosing a low-code platform. If low-code development is not scalable, the platform should be able to scale as the company grows. Moreover, low-code platforms should also provide enough flexibility for the organization to grow. With the help of low code, companies can bridge the gap between legacy systems and newer architectures.
Accessibility
While low-code platforms are easy to use and accessible, you should consider some important things when implementing one. For starters, you should choose a low-code system that provides out-of-the-box functionality, eliminating the need to build core modules from scratch. Some examples of these features include data management, customer service management, and visual modeling. Another benefit of using such a system is that it includes pre-configured modules with core functions required for several apps. You can also reuse these modules for multiple solutions.
Another great advantage of low-code platforms is their low initial investment, training, and implementation requirements. They differ in price and functionality, but they generally require very little coding expertise. Low-code platforms are accessible to any department or team and are designed to enhance collaboration, agility, and team productivity. Traditional programming professionals should be consulted if they aren’t sure how to use the platform. You can also benefit from the guidance of experienced developers who have experience in working with low-code platforms.
Connectivity
When you use low-code platforms, you can connect and unify existing applications. One customer used 40 SaaS applications to support their business processes, creating an unnecessary bottleneck in their operations. One of these processes involved cutting between a marketing automation platform and a backend system. It was time-consuming, which resulted in lost customers. Moreover, the customer onboarding process was slowed down by these disconnections. Low-code platforms can provide a single source of truth across all these systems.
Low-code development platforms are particularly useful for professional developers within enterprise IT departments. These developers have the skills and desire to develop innovative software solutions using modern technology. They can also leverage the low-code platform’s sophisticated toolbox and dedicated IDE, integrate multiple data sources, develop mobile apps, and leverage microservice architecture. Low-code platforms also enable developers to build complex applications without learning to code. In addition, low-code platforms provide a flexible environment that allows users to integrate new features and easily make changes to existing ones.
