With shrinking product lifecycles and service scenarios, low code development is helping firms face the fast-changing customers’ requirements with aplomb
Not long ago, we had to depend upon a professional coder to even develop a simple and straightforward app. This dependency handicapped many ideas and kept many novel solutions from coming to the life. But now thanks to the low code approach, developing apps and programs have become a child’s play. The simple and intuitive approach of low code development has come across as a game changer and its growing popularity has catapulted the category into a $28 billion strong market in 2022 from merely $5 billion in 2017. This translates into the exponential growth of 44.4% which is not a mean feat by any comparison. So why low-code approach has become so popular and importantly, has the time come to go full throttle on its adoption? Here’s the answer:
Simplicity is Key
According to a survey conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC), the total number of applications across segments and industries will exceed 500 million by 2023. The number is humongous and dwarfs all apps developed in past decades. The prominent reasons fuelling app development include digital transformation, changing customer expectations, and the need to have efficient decision-making.
A look at the app development ecosystem and it becomes apparent that there is a severe shortage of skilled developers who can meet such a huge demand. And this is exactly where the relevance of low code development comes into the picture. The simple and intuitive method of development offers a visual interface and drag-drop tools to allow organisations quickly develop new apps and programs without the help of a professional coder or developer.
Why organizations must choose Low Code Approach?
1. Meeting Demand: Gartner predicts that demand for app development services will outstrip the supply of professional developers by at least five times. To fill this vacuum, a low code approach will come in handy as it allows app development without the help of an expert developer or coder. This low coding approach is also helpful in decluttering so that managers and developers start focusing on enhancing the core capabilities of the organization.
2. High Safety and Security: When organisations outsource the development of apps and programs, it risks sharing crucial information with external parties, thereby leading to serious security challenges and concerns. Further, the software developed by the third party might not be that safe or could have implications for the entire process and functional ecosystem of the company. In contrast, the low code development approach lets the firm’s internal teams develop apps which, in turn, leads to enhanced transparency and visibility while mitigating the risk associated with third-party development.
3. Cost-Effective Solution: By developing applications in-house with low code platforms, organisations can save a considerable amount of resources, especially savings in terms of costs incurred are enormous. Firstly, there is no need to hire external experts for facilitating the development and secondly, the low-code approach lead to a faster development cycle. Both these aspects play a crucial role in bringing down the overall cost and the low maintenance cost of these in-house developed programs further facilitates the cost-effectiveness of solutions.
4. Optimized use of Internal Resources: Low code platforms allow organisations to use their internal resources for the development of applications and programs. With the help of an intuitively designed visual interface, anyone in the organisation can develop an app and the approach is helpful in enhancing the creativity of employees while fostering their problem-solving attitude in them. The drag-and-drop tool feature lets developers bring in their imagination to play and customized programs to deliver superior customer experiences. This proves helpful in allowing firms to develop more holistic solutions that are particularly aligned with the needs of clients.
5. Flexible and Agile: The importance of an organisation’s ability to quickly change gears couldn’t be overemphasized in the fast-changing business environment of today. Technology is changing quickly, customer expectations are skyrocketing, and novel solutions are making their way into the market every other day. In such a turbulent environment, low code platforms equip the organisation with desired speed to quickly develop and redevelop solutions and deploy them with desired automation capabilities. No wonder, low code platforms are now proving assets of strategic importance for companies.
6. Superior Experience: By bringing in the critically important automation capabilities, low code platforms ensure that multiple processes can be converged into one and final outcome is delivered to end customers without delays and technical glitches. All this leads to seamless and streamlined customer experiences which, in turn, helps organisations to enhance their profitability and market share in the long run.
7. Legacy System Integration: Many low code platforms offer the capabilities of integrating legacy systems frameworks of organisations. There are multiple benefits associated with this integration and some of the prominent benefits include faster processing of apps, development of resilient solutions, and enhanced capability to offer customized solutions among others.
8. Governance Capabilities: Low code platforms come equipped with a strong governance structure which means that these solutions can be effectively monitored and tracked before, during, and post their implementation process. This means that while anyone in the organisation can develop apps, they cannot be implemented without the go-ahead of top management and concerned departments.
The low code development approach is proving instrumental in helping organisations quickly develop new apps and programs without the expert help of coders and developers. Importantly, the approach is helping in the development of a holistic ecosystem by facilitating integration and collaboration between various development teams and stakeholders in the value chain. The optimal utilisation of resources and cost-effective nature of the process further adds to the benefits of the low code development approach.
A note of caution: Organizations should realize that a one-size-fits-all, low-code approach can become a Damocles sword. Not all organizations’ applications or use cases can fit the low code approach. It is essential to arrive at a delicate balance in deciding what can go in the low code approach and what needs to follow the time-tested path.
The article has been written by Zunder Lekshmanan, CTO of OpenTurf
