Low-code – high value for Digital Transformation

In recent months, the topic of low code has resonated as a new method of application development. Low-code is a method that elevates encoding from textual to visual. Rather than a technical coding environment, low-code operates in a model-driven, drag-and-drop interface.

By 2025, 75% of large enterprises will be using at least four low-code development tools for both IT application development and citizen development initiatives. The analysis also found that around 70% of users who had no experience using low-code platforms learned to develop meaningful applications within a month.

We bring you an article on why low-code is a hot topic, its advantages, but also challenges associated with low-code.

Low-code (LC) is an application development approach. It combines tools that simplify the entire development process to enable accelerated delivery of business applications. Low-code requires little to no coding skills. Different low-code platforms provide thousands of elements/blocks ready to use – customer can just connect them, designing individual processes, automating various tasks in several clicks. Visual approaches to solution development such as graphical user interfaces, drag-and-drop options and point-and-click interfaces can be applied without need in a traditional code. In combination with numerous out-of-the-box accelerators (e.g., BI module, workflow engine, etc.) this allows organizations to build better enterprise grade applications faster.

Analysts predict that low-code will become the preferred software development method by 2025. Gartner states that up to 70% of all business applications will be developed through low-code platforms (Forecast Analysis: Low-Code Development Technologies, Gartner).

Leaders in large European firms focus on collaboration across employees and their ecosystem. Multiple business problems can be rapidly resolved with low-code by front-line teams rather than having to be added to a central execution team's lengthy backlog.

Reducing the time-to-market is perhaps the greatest competitive advantage of low-code.  IT backlog and external service partners are usually focused on large and complex projects. That backlog in many cases prevents a business from delivering simple but much-needed initiatives to respond market demand in a timely manner. Through low-code core business functions, with the support of operations teams, can significantly speed up time-to-market for their new apps and features.

Ways of work also changed significantly last three years in most organizations. At the moment, approximately 10% of the global workforce are those born between 1996-2010. By 2030, more than one third of employees and leaders will be from generation Z. Moreover, these individuals are growing up tech savvy, think mobile first, and know way more about manipulating data than most Gen Xers.

A strong leader, or at least the one who plans to not retire by 2030, should be looking for ways to harness the skills these young professionals bring to the workplace. As they'll be digital-first in their mindset, it is worth calling them digital citizens, no matter what their job is. And as such, their skills from technology to operations and sales will be useful. You can bet the farm now that low-code/no-code philosophy will be a part of their DNA.

Therefore, the time to start preparing for the impact these employees will have on your company and its culture is now.

Adopting low-code can have game-changing benefits for a business. However, successful adoption is often a result of proactively established communities of practice and governance models that enhance democratized development benefits of low-code efforts rather than inhibit them.