The Rise of Low-Code Development: What It Means for Your Business

Businesses are in a never-ending race to make the next innovative announcement or to adapt to the changing market dynamics. One of the most significant trends pushing the dynamism of this race is low-code platforms. These platforms are letting regular, everyday folk build applications with minimal to no coding knowledge, making software development far more accessible to non-developers. But what exactly does low-code development mean for your business?

What Is Low-Code Development?

Low-code platforms allow users to create applications through graphical user interfaces and pre-built templates instead of traditional hand-coding methods. The majority of these platforms let users have fun making applications by using drag-and-drop functionalities and pre-made templates. This allows people to quickly deploy their apps without learning new things, which many people love.

The Growth of Low-Code Platforms

Low-code platforms are on the rise and it’s obviously for good reason. An older study by Gartner found that by 2024, low-code apps will be responsible for more than 65% of application development activity. This is driven by the demand for digital transformation across all industries.

A report by Forrester also states that the global low-code development platform market will reach $21.2Bn by 2022, which is up from the $3.8Bn estimate of 2017. This growth shows the value businesses place on low-code solutions, especially when it comes to speed, cost-efficiency, and scalability.

Why Businesses Are Turning to Low-Code Development

Speed to Market: There is a massive drop off in time allocated to projects built in a low-code environment which means it’s been quicker now than it ever has to take an app from concept to production. Traditional development cycles would take months to even years, whereas low-code can take as little as a few days.
Cost Efficiency: Hand-coding is expensive. There’s no way around it.. With low-code platforms, there’s a reduction in the need for large development teams and extensive resources. With fewer developers and faster turnaround times, businesses can cut costs associated with app development.
Democratization of Development: One of the lesser named impacts of low-code platforms is the democratization of software development. With lower barriers of entry, these platforms allow business users to play a more active role in the creation process. This collaboration between IT and business units will and do lead to more innovative and effective solutions.
Integration Capabilities: Along with development ease, these modern low-code platforms offer a lot of integration options, allowing businesses to connect their existing applications. This interoperability is key for organizations that rely on multiple software solutions and need them to work together harmoniously.

Challenges and Considerations

Low-code platforms have a ton of benefits, we can’t deny that. However, you know the old adage, “we can’t have anything nice”? Low-code platforms aren’t all sunshine and rainbows. For one, there is a growing risk of “shadow IT,” which is where a business develops applications outside the purview of the IT department. Sometimes, this can lead to security vulnerabilities or integration issues. Additionally, while low-code platforms can handle a wide range of applications, they may not be suitable for more complex or highly customized projects that require extensive coding.

All-in-all, low-code development represents a big change in how businesses will approach software development. By reducing deployment time, cutting costs, and enabling greater collaboration between IT and business units, low-code platforms can lead organizations to better, faster, and more innovations.

Sources

Gartner. (2020). "Gartner Forecasts Worldwide Low-Code Development Technologies Market to Grow 23% in 2021"

Forrester. (2018). "The Forrester Wave™: Low-Code Development Platforms, Q2 2018"

Case studies referenced from Company Annual Reports and Press Releases (2019-2021)