Many people shy away from app development because they aren’t ‘tech people’. But what if you don’t have to be into tech at all? Well, say hello to the low-code/no-code development platform.
Now you may already be thinking that it sounds too good to be true. While we agree that it feels far-fetched, it really isn’t. We’re actually surprised that it wasn’t conceptualised earlier!
In early 2021, Gartner projected a 23% increase for the global market for low-code/no-code development tools. But what are they and how can they help your business?
What is no-code development?
No-code development is essentially a visual environment where uses can use simple mechanics such as drag-and-drop and choose from the given options to build an app. Allowing individuals with absolutely no knowledge about coding to create a fully-functional and easy-to-use app.
What is low-code development?
Low-code enables developers to create applications with as little hand-coding as possible. It is ideal for individuals who already know a coding language or two and are comfortable using a visual IDE environment to build apps.
Low-code gives developers a chance to leverage their existing knowledge to build applications without tediously hand-coding every aspect of an application and using blocks of pre-written code to overcome repetition instead.
What are the advantages of low-code and no-code development?
The intent of low-code/no-code systems is to liberate business from the need to rely on enterprise IT groups to launch new products, deploy campaigns, and provide ongoing support.
When deployed and leveraged properly, low-code/no-code applications and tools can reduce time-to-market by increasing the speed of development and testing and delivery of applications to meet evolving consumer demands.
In the end, it’s all about empowering employees to be more productive and more confident with technology, hoping to clear IT backlogs and reduce project timelines.
What is the future of no-code/low core development?
According to Gartner the adoption of low-code/no-code software development platforms is growing at more than 20% per year, with 50% of medium-to-large companies adopting low-code development.
They also estimate that the low-code/no-code market will grow to $30 billion by 2025 and by this time, 70% of new apps developed by enterprises will use low-code or no-code technologies.
In a January survey from IDC, around 49% of leaders say they are purchasing low-code or no-code platforms to move innovation in house
Assuming an organisation has people with some expertise in app production who know what the business wants, low-code/no-code options make it possible to leverage more people for development.
However, low-code/no-code still requires IT involvement in some fashion, especially when the apps interface and interconnect with mission-critical apps and enterprise-wide systems.
So, while low-code/no-code can offer potential cost-savings, time-to-market improvements, and error reduction, there will still be some level of IT involvement to scale the apps, maintain them, integrate with other platforms, and provide governance over.
In conclusion
No-code and low-code are the future of software development. In times to come, more and more application development will be done using no-code and low-code platforms alleviating a reliance on overworked IT development and support teams.
Although, it’s not always clear what types of applications or projects would benefit the most from a low-code/no-code approach, so there is potential for wasted energy and focus on a test-and-fail process that may not always produce measurable results.
Making sure there is some level of governance and oversight on app creation and sprawl should be top of mind for companies who do not want to waste resources.
If you’d like to learn more about no-code and low-code development, or if you’d like some guidance, contact our team of experts today.