Low-code/no-code solutions are especially effective in providing functional business divisions the option of creating and adapting software, processes, and workflows independently, without the support of the IT department, and largely without programming skills. In this blog article, I’ll explain what "low code" and "no code" actually mean, as well as the competitive advantages these approaches bring.
Demand for low-code/no-code platforms has increased sharply in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue to accelerate. In fact, MarketsandMarkets predicts that the global market will expand at an annual rate of 28 percent and be worth USD 45.5 billion by 2025.
The reasons behind this rapid surge are obvious. The shortage of IT specialists will continue to be a concern in the future, prompting companies to seek solutions that reduce the workload for their IT departments.
On top of that, business divisions are looking to design and implement their own ideas as a way to boost the automation of their business applications and workflows. Gartner projects that by the end of 2025, half of all new low-code users will come from non-tech sectors.
And finally, low-code/no-code platforms can help companies reach their strategic digital transformation objectives: maximum flexibility and agility at a manageable price. The COVID-19 crisis served to powerfully underscore just how important these factors are for securing and defending a company’s competitive advantage. Among the essential prerequisites in this context is the company’s ability to develop and adapt its software, processes, and workflows to external and internal realities very rapidly. This simply cannot be achieved with conventional monolithic software architectures and roll-outs that often take months or even years to complete. That’s exactly where low-code and no-code approaches come into play.
What do the terms “low code” and “no code” mean and where do they differ?
The boundaries between low code and no code are fluid. While low code assumes a minimal amount of programming input, no code reduces this effort to virtually zero – that’s the most important difference.
The key to both approaches is that users drag and drop graphical blocks of existing code into a workflow to create applications or modify them quickly. Instead of having to hand code a user management system, learn the latest programming framework, or run dozens of tests before a single line of code is implemented, users themselves directly create something unique and valuable.
For one thing, low-code/no-code solutions are ideal for non-IT staff, so-called citizen developers, who have an excellent grasp of the business and its associated processes, but won’t need much in the way of technical skills beyond a certain level of IT affinity.
Secondly, experienced developers stand to benefit by being able to focus on more complex work, leaving the routine tasks to the low-code/no-code platform.
What advantages does low code/no code create for businesses?
Low code/no code is the forward-looking response to the current demand to speed up application deployment and customization and to dramatically accelerate time to value. Experts in enterprise low-code application platforms summarize the benefits as follows:
- Speed: Low code/no code allows users to build apps for multiple platforms simultaneously and to show practical examples to stakeholders in a matter of days or even hours.
- More resources: When it comes to working on large-scale projects, there’s no need to wait around indefinitely for developers with specialized skills who may be tied up in some other long-running project. As a result, things get done faster – and at lower costs.
- Low risk/high ROI: With low-code/no-code solutions, robust security processes, data integration, and cross-platform support are already integrated and easy to customize – which translates into lower risk as well as more time to focus on the core business.
- Deploy with a single click: Low code/no code means that one click is all it takes to send an application into production. As a result, launch day isn’t a nerve-wracking affair anymore.
This makes low- and no-code platforms an excellent choice for implementing new software systems. Join me in my next post, where I’ll take a look at how one such cloud-based solution by Fabasoft works.
