Why are low-code software platforms becoming so popular?

One of the main reasons for the growing popularity of low-code platforms is the speed at which they can be used to develop and deploy software. Traditional software development processes can be time-consuming and require extensive resources, including a team of programmers with specific skill sets. Low-code platforms, on the other hand, enable businesses to develop and deploy software much faster, reducing the time to market and allowing them to respond more quickly to changing business needs. Their ability to democratize software development is also a reason for the popularity of low-code platforms. With these platforms, non-technical users such as business analysts and domain experts can create software applications. This not only allows for more rapid development but also allows business users to be more involved in the software development process, which can lead to better alignment between the needs of the business and the capabilities of the software. Low-code platforms are also often more cost-effective than traditional software development methods. Because they require fewer resources and less specialized skills, businesses can save money on development costs and invest in other areas of their operations. Low-code platforms also add the flexibility to change and iterate on the software as the business requirements change or evolve, which traditional software development lacks. Let's take a closer look at this topic.

The benefits of low-code technology

Rapid development

The swift pace of digital transformation leads us towards new and more efficient approaches to accelerating development. The rapidly increased usage of low code has revolutionized the software industry. This kind of software development approach enables quick delivery and modernizes business solutions. Instead of extensive coding, the developer uses interfaces that include simple logic and the possibility of dragging and dropping functionalities. Low-code platforms contain features and code built specifically for the customer. Development becomes significantly faster than if the work had been done traditionally by completely programming from scratch. Professional developers' low-code development approach provides a fast track for creating applications that can be developed via different low-code platforms. In addition, they can focus more on more complex implementations, while other parts can be easily produced by low-code developers.

Proof of Concept

Low-code development approach is beneficial for Proof of Concept development. With the help of the PoC, it is possible to test if the idea is viable and if we can turn the concept into reality. With the help of this technology, it is possible to implement routine tasks, which enables faster development for the first version of the PoC. This will help stakeholders and investors to understand the outcome better, and in the best case scenario to also evaluate if the outcome is viable and profitable if created.

Agility

Depending on the low-code platform used, the approach offers possibilities to create, for example, mobile apps, portals, and desktop apps or automate and streamline some of the business processes. It enables development in a fusion or multidisciplinary team. This kind of team can be a blend of technology, domain, and business experts. Together as a scrum team of product owners, developers, and experts that collaborate toward completing the project and delivering the outcome, they all share accountability for business and technology outcomes.

Simplicity

The low-code development approach provides a framework for those who are not so much into coding. So they understand better their role in the development process. Professional developers' low-code development approach provides a fast track for creating applications that can be developed via different low-code platforms.

Maintenance

A wholly customized application built from the ground up can usually only be maintained by the person who created it. For companies, this is a risk. Low-code platforms make it easier to maintain applications. Since they offer largely the same basic features and functionality, a developer working for several different clients can expect to find more or less the same things in the same places - even though the applications would also contain numerous customized features. The maintenance of a new application implemented on the platform is also easier to take over by someone who already knows the platform in question well, even if he/she has not participated in the application development.

Lower-cost

Companies usually have several different applications for many different uses, which leads to siloing of workflows and data. In the worst case, this causes unnecessary work when employees have to switch between applications, and often also manually copy information from one application to another. The maintenance, development, and licenses of several separate applications also incur significant costs.

More resilient solutions

Low-code platforms are constantly developing and expanding their capabilities, which enables them to be used in more and more parts of the organization. In the long term, the organization gets more out of the platform, and the more it dares to take advantage of all the opportunities it offers.

Automating business ideas in just minutes

“Low-code app development is lowering the barrier to entry for innovation. People with no coding experience can now create digital products. Besides this, it’s also expediting development cycles. Flawlessly functioning products and visually appealing designs can be created in a matter of minutes instead of weeks. That’s game-changing.” (Marc Fischer, Dogtown Media LLC)

Low-code platforms allow users to create and automate business processes and ideas without writing extensive code. The specific capabilities and ease of use of different low-code platforms can vary. Some ways to automate business ideas quickly with low-code platforms include:

• Utilizing pre-built templates and modules for common business processes such as data collection, workflow management, and reporting.
• Drag-and-drop interfaces for creating visual process flows and building user interfaces.
• Integrations with other systems and tools, such as databases and APIs, to easily bring in data and functionality.
• Using natural language processing and machine learning capabilities to automate tasks and make predictions.
• Creating forms, dashboards, and reports with minimal coding.
   
  

Citizen developers

When speaking of low-code we often use the citizen developer term. It refers to an individual who creates or changes software on low-code platforms. A citizen developer is a persona, not a title or a role. It is crucial to note that although these platforms can be used by non-developers, a certain level of technical knowledge and understanding of the underlying systems and data structures is still required. In addition, appropriate governance and oversight must be implemented to ensure that solutions created by citizen developers align with the organization's overall IT strategy and do not pose security risks or compliance issues. Varying on the complexity of the application, professional software developers are responsible for developing the more complicated parts of the implementation. The phenomenon of citizen development can be a valuable tool for organizations, as it enables the rapid and efficient creation of solutions that meet the specific needs of a department, team, or organization, improving productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness.

A fragmented market

The low-code landscape is complex, with many solutions, platforms, and submarkets. For example, there are submarkets aimed at large, medium, and small companies. Low-code enterprise environments offer high scalability, performance, security, and integration with enterprise applications. They are usually more expensive. There isn't much crossover between enterprise and small business low-code platforms. Some small business platform providers are not known or recognized by big companies. Similarly, SMBs tend not to purchase enterprise platforms due to cost and complexity. Many low-code platforms are business process management platforms. BPM has long supported model-driven development, first showing how the software should work before building it. This model is similar to the BPM process mapping method, where you drag and drop shapes representing sub-processes in the correct order to define a business process. So process-centric, low-code solutions are quite popular. Low-code website platforms businesses of all sizes can take advantage of these platforms. Many of these platforms offer a wealth of plugins and templates for specific types of applications.

Conclusion

The popularity of low-code platforms is growing explosively for a good reason. They allow businesses to create software applications quickly and easily, without the need for extensive programming knowledge. These platforms are designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, with drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-built components that can be easily configured to meet specific business needs. In addition, they reduce technical debt and facilitate application maintenance. Fully customized application development can be slow and expensive, as many companies that have purchased business applications know. Low-code development is going to be a crucial factor in accelerating the digitization process in many companies. However, general guidelines and frameworks as well as skills in the basics of software development are required to verify the process. Based on productivity experiments comparing traditional development and model-driven development projects, a 5-7 times increase in productivity can be achieved with low-code development, 65% of application development will be low-code by 2024 according to Gartner.