The traditional software development process no longer serves business interests in today’s fast-paced world. Businesses must roll out projects fast before competitors beat them or the concept becomes obsolete. Side-by-side, most enterprises face a crippling skill shortage. Skill development has lagged behind advancements in technology. Many enterprises put projects on hold because they cannot hire talent to execute the project. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics estimates companies in the US will face a shortage of more than 1.2 million developers by 2026.

Low-code platforms become a solution for enterprises to overcome such challenges.

Low-code software development means building applications with minimal hand-coding. These platforms offer intuitive visual interfaces. Most of the functionality needed for the application is in pre-defined scripts packed into building blocks. Users can drag and drop these building blocks to design the application layout and functionality. They can build apps, automate processes and workflows, create websites, or connect data sources.

Gartner estimates that 70% of new enterprise apps will use low-code or no-code technologies by 2025, up from 25% in 2023.

Empowered business users

Most enterprises or users still lack well-optimised software to execute their jobs well. Creating websites, developing apps, and running scripts require coding expertise. Relying on the overworked IT team becomes a frustrating experience. Business managers and the coding team often have conflicting priorities. When business teams do not get the needed resources or data as expected or on time, their productivity suffers, and they are unable to seize opportunities. Thus, delays and mismatched expectations lead to dysfunctional teams, inefficiencies, and underperformance. 

Low-code development platforms empower enterprise users who do not know coding or are too busy to spend time on it.

The easy drag-and-drop interfaces allow even lay users to create impactful business apps. Business users who understand customer needs best can execute application design and development without submitting a request to the IT team and waiting. They can leverage automation development platforms to automate workflows, create web-based forms, bridge data and content across software-as-a-service applications, and run scripts to visualise data. They get their work done better and close opportunities faster.

Such empowerment has a transformative effect on an organisation. The spin-off benefits include reduced HR costs, as the organisation relies less on coders.

Faster and more flexible development

In today’s evolving digital world, businesses must respond fast to changing scenarios. They must adapt to the changing dynamics and evolve to leverage potential opportunities. The traditional development purpose does not serve such ends. It is too rigid and time-consuming.

Low-code platforms deliver agility. They enable business teams to create apps on the fly, adapting to changing market expectations. 

In traditional app development, business managers make a request, and the enterprise IT team takes their time to deliver. By the time the app sees the light of the day, the opportunity will have passed. The lengthy time to research, write, and test code becomes unsustainable. Low-code platforms, on the other hand, enable quick adaptation and response.

Low-code platforms are not a replacement for professional coders or developers though. In fact, they can be a valuable tool for these professionals, making their work easier and speeding up project execution. Business users mostly use low-code platforms to run basic scripts or develop basic applications. In high-end projects, low-code platforms aid professional developers.

Low-code platforms have built-in components, such as workflows, reports, and dashboards. These resources help developers complete the basics instantly and allow them to focus more on complex features and customisations.

Low-code platforms also improve code extensibility. IT teams can leverage APIs and data connectors to integrate and reuse code across projects.

OpenText App Works, a good example of a low-code platform connects and orchestrates information flows across applications. Developers do not have to build and deploy a separate business intelligence tool. Integrated collaboration tools enable developers and business teams to work seamlessly. Improved collaboration speeds up development cycles.

Intelligent process automation

Advanced low-code platforms offer ready-to-use pre-built Artificial Intelligence (AI). Components such as image recognition and sentiment analysis make AI adoption easy. Users can drag and drop these components into their workflows. Some platforms also offer AI-powered assistants to guide users through enabling intelligent automation.

Platforms such as OpenText AppWorks offer RPA and intelligent document processing tools. They allow users to co-opt their business rules within processes. Doing the same through coding involves considerable hard work and time. That is if the business can get the talent needed to execute such high-end coding in the first place.

Better prototyping

The successful deployment of any software project depends on extensive testing. Testing, however, is a time-consuming process. In today’s busy world, where project managers face severe time pressure, there is a temptation to cut corners on testing. Some developers even release products with known deficiencies. Such an approach might enable business managers to release the project on time. But the product acquires technical debt. The software becomes dysfunctional soon and requires extensive rework and updates. The IT team have to spend more time reworking the software. The business eventually pays a heavy price for the degraded customer experience.

Low-code platforms offer prototyping tools that streamline and speed up testing. Faster testing cycles lead to quick problem identification and resolution. The pre-defined functionalities reduce the complexities, making identifying and testing core features easier. Integrated collaboration features enable developers to iterate on prototypes fast and share feedback. All these reduce technical debt and leave the development team with more free time.

 A viable alternative to outsourcing

Many businesses outsource software development projects to cut costs and overcome skill shortages. While outsourcing does provide these benefits, it also delays project execution. Often, expectation mismatch results in back-and-forth iterations.

Low-code platforms deliver the advantages of outsourcing without the downside of delay. A spin-off benefit is improving security, as the project remains in-house.

Promoting innovation

Innovation has become the key catalyst for competitive differentiation. But innovation succeeds only when there is freedom and resource availability to experiment.

Low code platforms lower the technical barriers to innovation and facilitate digital transformation. The reduced technical barriers save time and costs, and make innovation viable. Business users use these platforms to experiment with new applications without the involvement of IT. Even developers can showcase their proof of concepts and ideas without wasting much time or effort. 

While low-code solutions have their uses, they are by no means magic wands. Benefiting from these platforms means selecting a robust platform in the first place. 

A robust low-code app development platform such as OpenText AppWorks helps to optimise business processes and bring customer-centricity into the software development process. Business teams and developers use these platforms to develop intuitive apps that deliver seamless digital experiences with lower costs and effort.