Businesses in the APAC region are in a race against time to stay afloat in the rapidly digitising business landscape.

Over 60% of business applications in the region run on legacy systems with rigid architectures. These applications hinder business agility. It also drains on developers’ productivity with high maintenance demands.

Side-by-side, Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially genAI, is changing businesses and lives. Those who lag in AI adoption will soon become left out and obsolete.

The case for digital transformation is clear. Businesses that invest in AI-powered applications can reap huge competitive advantages. They now have the golden opportunity to leapfrog and join the AI bandwagon when doing so.

The latest IDC FutureScape AI and automation predictions 2024 reveal over 70% of respondents in the APAC region are exploring or investing in genAI. The comparable figure for North America is 46%. Also, Asia’s top 1000 companies will allocate over 50% of their IT spending to AI initiatives in 2025. By 2026, 65% of organisations in APAC will have seamlessly integrated AI across their business technology.

The IDC-OutSystems survey also reveals how business users use or plan to use genAI-powered systems. Integrating genAI increases operational efficiencies according to 44% of the respondents. 42% of respondents realise cost savings and resource optimisation. 42% of respondents are confident of improving customer experiences and personalisation. And 41% of respondents leverage genAI integration to enhance creativity and innovation.

But digital transformation is easier said than done, especially when it comes to building AI capabilities.

Low-code platforms come to the rescue.

AI-powered low-code platforms simplify and speed up the application development process. Machine learning algorithms automate complex processes.

Overcoming the Skills Shortage

The primary challenge when developing AI-powered applications is skills deficiency. Building AI applications requires expertise in machine learning algorithms. Developers also need data science skills, such as the ability to collect, clean, and interpret data sets. They also need expertise in building and maintaining data pipelines and neural networks.  Such skills are hard to come by, as technical education and training have not kept pace with tech advances.

Even when the enterprise has access to such skill sets, business users cannot afford to wait. They need instant results to please impatient customers or beat nimble competitors. By the time a programmer from the IT team develops an app for them, the opportunity would have passed. Or they get frustrated by the low productivity caused by the delay.

A low-code platform empowers business users to develop cutting-edge AI applications. They can leverage their soft skills to design intuitive apps. The platform bridges their technical knowledge gaps.

Streamlined Development Process

Business users leverage low-code platforms to develop intuitive apps directly in double-quick time. Making changes to align with the changing business demands also becomes easy. The application stack becomes future-proof.

Many a time, the project is too complex for empowered business users to execute it all by themselves. Technical experts come into the picture. But low code platforms still have uses to accelerate the project. Low-code platforms enable the rapid development of prototypes. Business users or even specialist programmers can validate ideas quickly. They can also use the platform for iterative improvement.

Low-code platforms also find use in developing test cases and automating the testing process. Machine learning algorithms identify test cases, and genI generates the code. The platform executes the tests automatically. 

Low code also coincides with the latest development approaches, such as modular development. For instance, a business user may plug in ready-made AI-powered chatbots to provide 24/7 customer support.

One in three enterprises in the APAC region recognises low code as a critical tool to drive automation. Within the APAC region, almost half of the enterprises in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong prioritise low code for automation.

More than six out of ten retailers in the APAC region already execute low-code development programs. These programs generate solutions for pressing challenges such as supply chain management issues, delivery tracking, and so on. 

Boosting Enterprise Resilience through Code Modernisation

Most code requires refactoring from time to time. Refactoring restructures and modernises the code without changing how the application functions. It improves code readability, maintainability, and performance and reduces technical debt. Such modernisation makes the code more resilient and responsive. Refactoring also becomes a viable short-term alternative to a full-blown digital transformation. It is far less expensive than a complete transformation exercise.

GenAI-powered low-code platforms automate code refactoring. The underlying machine learning algorithms understand legacy code architecture. The front end explains existing code to developers or users in natural language and makes changes. It also converts old languages like BASIC and SQL into more modern development languages.

Most businesses in the APAC region have made code modernising a priority to cope with rapid digitisation.

Furthering Innovation

The APAC region faces macroeconomic pressures that impact technology budgets. But AI and automation projects remain immune to budget cuts. Enterprises in the region are even willing to pay a premium of 11% to 20% for genAI features in their application development environments. The reason is the increasing priority given to supporting future growth. Innovation is becoming increasingly important to thrive in a fast-changing business environment.

The easy development option enabled by low-code platforms suits experimentation and innovation. Developers and business users can conjure up apps without much effort. They can indulge in trial and error without spending too much time or effort. Machine-learning algorithms go a step ahead in bringing out innovative products or ideas. The genAI interface of the low code platform generates code to actualise such ideas.

Over 40% of APAC enterprises consider low-code application delivery methodologies as very important to boost their innovation initiatives.

Unlocking Better Insights

The combination of AI and low-code development works to unlock better insights and enhance existing experiences.

Integrating AI-driven analytics into low-code applications makes explicit customer preferences at a deeper level to drive personalisation and create customised offerings.

One in four enterprises in the APAC region focus on customer-facing apps when integrating genAI. 

The use of AI-powered low-code solutions has seen a massive uptake of late. By 2026, 40% of new applications developed in the APAC region will be intelligent apps that co-opt genAI. 61% of the enterprises in the region who adopt low code platforms benefit from increased productivity. 50% of the enterprises unlock creativity, and 40% of enterprises speed up the app development process.

Deriving the above benefits, however, depends on the selection of the right low-code platform.

One low-code platform that has a strong base in the APAC region is OutSystems AI-powered low-code platform. The full-stack platform supports end-to-end enterprise-grade application development. The platform co-opts the front-end user interface, the back-end logic and database integration. Robust integration capabilities enable seamless connection with existing CRP, ERP, and other databases. Pre-build AI components and connectors, with drag-and-drop options, make development a piece of cake for even lay users. The entire development process gets completed in a fraction of the time than before. The high-quality output delights customers.