What Is Low-Code Development?
Low-code development is a platform that allows applications to be created with minimal coding. It leverages visual development interfaces (GUIs) for processing simple logic and features drag-and-drop functionality. This approach shortens coding time and speeds up the creation of business applications.
What Is No-Code Development?
No-code development is a platform designed for creating applications without the need for any coding. It empowers both technical and non-technical users to develop software applications without prior coding knowledge. This approach is closely associated with visual programming languages.
The popularity of no-code development has surged due to the speed and flexibility it offers businesses. By addressing the constraints of conventional development methods, it has emerged as one of the most effective platforms for application development.
The rise of low-code no-code
In recent years, more businesses have started embracing low-code and no-code development platforms. Gartner predicts that by 2025, these platforms will make up over 65% of all development. Likewise, Forrester reports that the low-code development market was projected to reach $21 billion by 2022.
Several factors contribute to this trend, including the need to accommodate tight budgets and achieve faster project turnaround times.
How do low-code and no-code work?
In traditional software development, programmers write code to implement specific features and functions within an application. This process demands a strong understanding of programming languages, development tools, deployment methods, and testing procedures.
Low-code and no-code platforms streamline these tasks by handling the behind-the-scenes work, often referred to as back-office functions. Users can visually select and connect pre-built components (which contain the actual code), linking them to design the desired workflow.
Instead of writing code line by line, users create applications similarly to creating a flowchart. These platforms also offer tools for experimentation, prototyping, testing, and deployment, with built-in security measures to safeguard apps from cyber threats.
This development method is sometimes referred to as point-and-click, featuring drag-and-drop interfaces to make the process more intuitive.
How is low-code/no-code app development used?
According to a recent survey by Gartner, it is projected that by 2025, low-code/no-code (LCNC) platforms will be utilized in over 65% of global application development. This growth is expected to accelerate at an impressive rate of 165% every two years. As businesses start adopting LCNC tools, the number and sophistication of citizen developers rapidly increase, as users recognize the advantages of swift and precise app development across various business sectors.
Examples of LCNC Applications:
1. Supply Chain Management: LCNC tools can help create applications that tackle various challenges such as pandemic-related delays, trade restrictions, and climate change impacts. They can address these issues in three key ways:
- By developing adaptive applications that enhance collaboration and provide comprehensive visibility throughout the supply chain, improving both trackability and traceability.
- By automating workflows and business processes to optimize supply chain operations, from sourcing raw materials to delivering products to customers.
- By digitizing legacy data and integrating it with both existing and new data sources, which leads to more accurate analytics and actionable insights.
2. Manufacturing: LCNC platforms can facilitate the modeling of processes and contribute to the advancement of smart factories and digital manufacturing environments. They also enhance the capabilities of robotic process automation (RPA) and Internet of Things (IoT) systems. From raw material processing to packaging and distribution, LCNC solutions streamline manufacturing operations for greater efficiency.
3. Accounting and Finance: Teams in these sectors can create tailored business applications to support diverse workflows and information management tasks. For instance, an accounting firm could develop a portal that guides clients through tax filing by streamlining the reporting of expenses and income while reducing reliance on emails and paper documents. Similarly, financial institutions can automate workflows for loan approvals, risk assessments, and information management, saving time for both clients and advisors.
4. Human Resources: HR teams can leverage LCNC tools to customize job postings, automate recruitment processes, filter candidates, and design comprehensive training programs—all without overburdening IT resources.
5. IT Departments: IT teams benefit from LCNC platforms by streamlining complex tasks and increasing efficiency. With citizen developers taking on more app development, IT can focus on higher-level work while maintaining oversight. Hybrid models that combine pro-code and low-code approaches are particularly effective, as IT professionals and citizen developers collaborate on over 60% of LCNC projects. According to the Harvard Business Review, one IT developer can support 10+ citizen developers, boosting overall productivity.
6. Process Automation: As businesses seek better business process automation (BPA), LCNC platforms are key to enhancing robotic process automation (RPA). By empowering subject-area specialists to fine-tune processes, LCNC allows RPA bots to work more effectively, resolving inefficiencies and bottlenecks in workflows. This collaboration between LCNC and RPA leads to more productive, self-learning bots.
How to choose between no-code and low-code
To determine if a platform aligns with the needs of both business and IT, consider the following questions:
- How does the platform facilitate collaboration and communication between business and IT teams?
- What AI functionalities does the platform offer?
- Can developers enhance the platform using custom code and reusable design languages?
Choosing a platform goes beyond just the technology; it’s crucial to plan how the deliverables will meet user expectations and requirements.
The focus should be on fostering collaboration by forming fusion teams of domain experts. Each member brings their expertise to the table, contributing to the common goal of building an application. This collaborative approach results in higher-quality apps that are better optimized for business outcomes.
Advantages and Disadvantages of LCNC
Advantages of Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC)
Low-code/no-code platforms offer a variety of benefits, including:
1. Accelerated Development and Deployment: LCNC significantly enhances the speed of enterprise application development. Features such as web-based drag-and-drop tools, reusable components, and built-in libraries streamline the application design process. As a result, organizations can quickly launch applications and implement changes on short notice.
2. Flexibility in Configuration: The degree of flexibility offered by LCNC platforms can vary, allowing users to configure features according to their needs. A greater number of configurable parameters enables end-users to tailor applications more effectively to meet their specific requirements.
3. Tenancy Extension Capabilities: While LCNC platforms can address most needs, some unique requirements may not be fully supported by the platform’s framework. Therefore, it is essential for these platforms to facilitate tenancy extension through simple scripting languages, enabling users to modify the platform’s behavior to accommodate specialized needs.
4. Fostering Innovation: LCNC empowers developers to quickly prototype and showcase their ideas during implementation phases. Rather than merely presenting theoretical concepts, developers can demonstrate tangible project outcomes, which helps secure executive support and encourages management to allocate additional resources for development initiatives. The innovative potential is further enhanced by the platform’s flexibility and tenancy extension features.
5. Enhanced Customer Experience: Consumers who are accustomed to digital technologies expect seamless interactions when using applications. Low-code solutions facilitate rapid integration with various services, ensuring a consistent omnichannel experience.
6. Reduced IT Infrastructure Requirements: Most LCNC applications are cloud-based or deployable on the cloud, offering on-demand scalability and significantly lowering initial IT infrastructure investment costs. This approach accelerates innovation while minimizing staffing needs in IT departments.
7. Improved Efficiency: No-code and low-code applications enhance everyday operational efficiency by requiring less development effort. IT teams can independently address their operational challenges by creating custom versions of familiar applications or quickly implementing essential functionalities without relying heavily on coders.
8. Streamlined Governance: LCNC platforms enable IT and DevOps teams to efficiently manage a diverse portfolio of applications while ensuring compliance and governance standards are met. This reduces reliance on third-party solutions for quick fixes and fosters a collaborative work environment.
9. User-Friendly Design: Traditional coding can often be complex and difficult to interpret due to contributions from multiple developers, making debugging time-consuming. In contrast, low-code and no-code platforms are more straightforward, facilitating easier identification and resolution of configuration or script errors.
10. Greater Agility: In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses must quickly adapt to changing conditions and seize new opportunities. Traditional development methods can be too slow for this dynamic environment; however, LCNC tools enable rapid deployment of a wide range of requirements with minimal risk.
Disadvantages of Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC)
Despite their advantages, LCNC platforms also have some drawbacks:
1. Limited Customization: While traditional coding allows for extensive software customization based on user needs, LCNC solutions often come with built-in functionalities that may not fully meet specific requirements. Although this limitation can be mitigated through tenancy extensions using simple scripting languages, it remains a consideration.
2. Security Risks: LCNC platforms depend heavily on their providers for managing IT risks and security vulnerabilities since users lack control over the underlying source code. If a provider discontinues services, security updates may cease, leaving applications vulnerable to threats. Businesses utilizing LCNC products from vendors face risks regarding data exposure and system security breaches; however, this concern does not apply to in-house developed solutions.
3. Vendor Lock-In: Organizations that rely on a specific LCNC platform may find it challenging to transition to another provider, leading to increased dependency on that particular vendor. This lock-in effect does not affect applications developed in-house but is a significant consideration for those using third-party LCNC solutions.
Low-code vs no-code development
Low-code and no-code platforms streamline the app development process but cater to different requirements.
Low-code:
- Development: Speeds up application creation without fully eliminating coding. Developers can incorporate traditional code for more sophisticated features.
- Use cases: Suited for organizations needing to rapidly develop complex applications while preserving customization options.
No-code:
- Development: Built for non-developers, with a fully visual interface that requires no programming knowledge.
- Use cases: Ideal for business users or citizen developers looking to quickly build simple applications without technical expertise.
Low-Code and No-Code Platform Vendors
Low-code and no-code development platforms are offered by numerous vendors, each catering to different development needs. Below are some of the most well-known platforms for low-code development:
Low-Code Development Vendors:
- Microsoft PowerApps: A low-code platform from Microsoft that enables users to quickly build applications and connect to data sources. It utilizes Excel-like expressions for logic and can be used across multiple devices.
- Zoho Creator: A cloud-based platform that enables users to create custom applications without needing coding experience, primarily focused on speeding up development time.
- Mendix: An American no-code platform for building, testing, deploying, and iterating applications, known for improving success rates in application development.
- Salesforce Lightning: A no-code platform from Salesforce that facilitates building apps that enhance functionality and transform ideas into working solutions.
- Appian: A low-code platform focusing on automation, helping organizations rapidly develop apps and workflows.
No-Code Development Vendors:
- Airtable: A cloud-based no-code platform designed for creating apps that handle various business functions, such as project management and customer relationship management.
- AppSheet: A no-code tool for building mobile and web apps using data from sources like Google Drive, Dropbox, Office 365, and databases.
- Nintex: A platform focused on project management and workflow automation, enabling users to standardize, manage, and optimize business processes without writing any code.
- Bubble: A visual programming language and no-code platform that allows non-technical users to build fully functional apps without coding.
- Zapier: A global company that specializes in integrating web applications and automating workflows. It acts as a bridge between different web APIs, automating their interactions.
- Kissflow: A workflow automation platform that integrates with Google apps, offering user-friendly experiences similar to Gmail and Google Docs, and providing comprehensive automation solutions.
The future of low-code/no-code application development
Industry analysts anticipate that low-code will continue to gain traction among enterprises, particularly for rapid development tailored to specific business requirements, although it is not expected to completely supplant traditional application development procedures.
“Gartner analysts anticipate that the low-code market will generate $44.5 billion in revenue by 2026, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.2% from 2021 to 2026. In particular, the low-code platform sector is expected to grow to over $18 billion by 2026, boasting a CAGR exceeding 20%.”
The adoption of low-code and no-code solutions is likely to rise among line-of-business (LOB) employees, while professional developers will also utilize these platforms for simpler programming tasks.
“Forrester reports that the primary applications for low-code remain in business process and workflow applications, as well as web and mobile front-end solutions and customer-oriented applications. Experts foresee that low-code will eventually extend into wider domains, including the reengineering of technology stacks and ecosystems.”
Traditional development practices will remain in place for applications that necessitate extensive functionality, data governance, and deployment within specific architectures or environments. Security remains a critical concern across all development methods. Additionally, the integration of AI is anticipated to increase steadily, as many vendors are now promoting AI capabilities within their offerings.
