According to Forbes the most disruptive trend of 2021 is low-code/no-code. This space is growing fast due to a lack of skilled software developers and the need to speed up development projects to solve business problems quickly.
IT teams are often overwhelmed with application requests and other priorities, with critical tasks frequently left on the back burner. Furthermore, IT departments are commonly understaffed, overworked, and with limited access to resources.
The demand for software far exceeds the supply of coders. Low-code and no-code development tools are helping an increasing number of organizations escape the software developer skills shortage and keep pace with the new demands and growth.
This new generation of low-code/no-code platforms are designed to make it relatively quick and easy for users to design, build, and launch apps, without the worry of operating systems or scalability requirements.
Low-code/no-code is a term for visual software development environments that enable anyone to easily create applications and technical solutions using a drag-and-drop user interface and simple commands.
Low-code and no-code platforms allow business users with minimal to no coding knowledge, to visually select and connect reusable components that represent particular steps or capabilities (which contain the actual code) and link them together to create the desired computerized workflow.
The rise of low-code/no-code tools is putting an increasing amount of development capability into the hands of relatively non-technical people, often known as 'citizen developers'.
These drag and drop interface tools enable people from any area of a business (finance, sales, analysts etc) to create and develop business applications for consumption by others, whether in a department or across an enterprise. They can also help experienced software developers and IT teams speed up their work and achieve more in less time.
Low-code/no-code environments provide speed, control, convenience, and extended development capabilities at a fraction of the cost of hiring technical talent. They increase productivity and efficiency and are increasingly valuable as companies ramp up their digital transformation goals.
A recent survey by KPMG shows that 100% of enterprises that have implemented a low-code/no-code platform have seen return on these investments. Low-code/no-code provides customizable, affordable means of solving problems, improving processes and workflows, building applications, and achieving development goals without overburdening the IT team or recruiting more developers.
Forrester came up with the term “low-code” in 2014. Their definition said:
“Low-code platforms enable rapid delivery of business applications with a minimum of hand-coding and minimal upfront investment in setup, training, and deployment”
It's key to differentiate between low-code and no-code platforms.
No-code platforms typically allow business users with no coding skills to solve their own problems and optimize day-to-day operations. The only learning curve is the tool onboarding and how to use the tool in your tech stack.
Low-code platforms are most often used by IT and others with some coding knowledge to create mission-critical custom applications. Can be used to run processes such as digital transformation initiatives.
A low code platform offers more freedom in terms of being able to configure application functionalities and appearance, as you can change some of its underlying code. In contrast, no code platforms provide preset templates to simplify application design and development.
Low and no-code approaches have been ideal for startups that need to quickly get apps to market, but they are just as suited to larger, established enterprises as well.
The no-coders
The low-coders
You could be a small business that lacks the budget to hire a software developer or outsource to a software development house. Or an enterprise needing to build web based productivity apps without relying on developers.
No-code platforms move the power of innovation into the hands of your entire organization and help propel your business forward. No-code development is appealing as it is easy to use and allows non-programmers to pump out apps or workflows quickly.
No-code can be useful to both developers and business users and is great for companies that have a backlogged development team and need to utilize business users as developers to meet the demands of faster application delivery.
Small and large-scale enterprises can benefit from low-code platforms. Such an approach to development introduces flexibility within the enterprise and boosts productivity.
Low-code development requires users to do some level of coding, but there are shortcuts. Skilled developers work smarter and faster with low-code because they are not shackled by repetitive coding or duplicating work. Instead, they can use their development experience and skills to architect it all, leaving the work to the low-code tool or platform.
Nigel Wilkinson
Global Programme Manager at Schneider Electric
First and foremost, low-code/no-code platforms speed the development and delivery of applications.
Professional developers are freed from mundane programming activities.
Developers can easily work on multiple projects rather than stuck on one mundane project endlessly.
Developers and customers can see what's going on at every stage and it allows everyone involved to evaluate, assess, and work together more easily.
Minimal code means fewer bugs and less time spent troubleshooting, freeing up time for developers.
A visual approach makes it easier to show customers how the actual app will look (rather than a load of code) and gives them a better understanding of what’s going on and what to expect so they can make any changes there and then.
Low-code is here to stay and allows developers to leverage innovative technologies and enjoy the greater accessibility that comes with it. They will not only become experts in using the technology but will also facilitate business growth.
Everyday workers can more quickly and easily create business apps that help them do their jobs.
A drag-and-drop interface means building apps is a lot faster. Testing is generally automated which further cuts down on development time.
Developers are expensive. No-code solutions give you a cheaper way to build apps faster.
Apps can be built at a much faster pace (think hours/days, rather than weeks/months) so IT staff aren’t overloaded with requests from every other department.
With no code, changing a functionality or feature can be done at the drop of a hat, something impossible with traditional hand coding.
Craig Wallace
Global Head - Emerging Technology Business Intelligence COE at CGI
Citizen developers are business users with little to no coding experience, who can build business apps using development environments sanctioned by IT.
Citizen developers can help meet the demand for building applications faster and with fewer resources. According to a Gartner survey on citizen development, 41% of respondents have active citizen development initiatives and 20% of those who don’t are either evaluating or planning to start citizen development initiatives.
The driving force behind this trend is the growing need to improve productivity. These are people who understand how the processes in their business work and how they can be improved through automation.
Citizen developers can use a no-code/low-code platform to accelerate their digital transformation journey by building apps like digital strategy, roadmapping, maturity assessment, capabilities mapping and change management.
Putting the development of an application in the hands of the people who will actually use it not only accelerates the development cycle, but also produces better outcomes.
Naturally many enterprises are cautious but IT will still be there to create the underlying enterprise IT infrastructure and maintain control.
Every company is becoming a software company and need developers. Non-tech companies are hiring developers rapidly causing a further shortage of skilled developers. This has given rise to citizen developers.
Gartner expects that the number of active citizen developers at large enterprises will be at least four times the number of professional developers by 2023.
Gartner identifies 4 segments of business developers:
Citizen developers are here to stay, so enterprise IT needs to learn how to harness and leverage the movement for maximum strategic benefit.
Using a platform with built-in Agile development tools helps business and IT groups collaborate, model, and build new functionalities together. It’s not only a way for IT to self-service its apps, it’s also a way to bring the business side into the development so that the final outcome is exactly appropriate to the organization’s specific requirements.
Citizen developers understand the challenges the business faces in the real world. Harnessing that knowledge and empowering those individuals to create and deliver applications enables organizations to avoid traditional bottlenecks and get things done more efficiently and effectively.
Phil Pitman
Rail Sector Innovation Manager at Costain Group PLC
Productivity in every organization depends on the systems and processes in place. No-code improves internal processes by enabling faster development and enhanced capabilities for business users.
Business users working with their team know their domain better than anyone. This gives them an edge in designing the best solutions to improve workflows and processes and hit their targets.
Citizen developers should brainstorm with their teams and continually get feedback to build the business-critical applications they need. Working with no-code tools, managers can ensure that the best processes are developed.
The growing popularity of productivity apps have changed how business owners work and make it possible to stay on task wherever you are. They offer easier methods for communicating and collaborating with team members across the world and make it easier to delegate responsibilities and track progress.
For many companies, this helps them digitize and automate tasks and processes faster than trying to hire and onboard hard-to-source development talent.
Nathan Dillon
IT Project Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific
Industry experts predict the future of low-code/no-code will see continued enterprise adoption, among both business workers for fast development and specific business needs, and professional developers to help them with more mundane programming tasks.
But there are plenty of reasons to keep using traditional development as well. Complex applications still require high-skilled developers who understand the requirements and functions of an application at the line-of-code level.
So perhaps the distinction between low-code/no-code isn’t about whether people need to code or not, it’s more about the types of people using these platforms to build applications.
SharpCloud is the platform, but the solution is yours.
SharpCloud is a no-code platform for enterprises to business productivity apps such as strategic roadmaps, innovation pipelines, portfolio roadmaps...you build it, we power it!
The SharpCloud platform allows firms of any size to build their own business apps and turn their unique approach, methodology, or process into a robust digital solution.
SharpCloud helps you and your teams to visualize interdependencies and progress, and to keep all your stakeholders on the same page with dynamic, real time data, all in one place.
SharpCloud brings together resources you currently use, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office 365 applications, and seamlessly integrates across multiple platforms, allowing you to communicate, interact, and collaborate across multiple documents and data in context and by topic.
By gathering information from different data sources in one place, SharpCloud users can quickly create and explore powerful business stories (apps) that can be used as presentations, strategic roadmaps, or project portfolios. With hundreds of customizable and interactive views, SharpCloud has the power to provide the insight required.
Thanks to embedded images, video, documents, and discussion, your business stories become visually impressive and truly interactive. Use SharpCloud for executive & leadership presentations, knowing your presentations are always showing the latest facts and figures or empower teams to display data on mobile, desktop, touchscreens, and more.
Through smarter, more informed decisions, SharpCloud enables you to increase business agility, solve business challenges and innovate faster across the organization.
Build business apps instantly using data from your existing line of business tools.
Say what your business will do for customers.
Access your data and stories from the cloud, on mobile, and touchscreen.
Discover how to build your own business apps and turn any unique approach, methodology, or process into a robust digital solution with SharpCloud
