Low-Code No-Code Platforms – The Future of Software Development

A new phase of software development, famously known as low-code and no-code, is here to take over the digital space. As their names suggest, these new generation platforms enable users to design, build and deploy enterprise-ready applications rapidly with little to no code.

As per recent research by Gartner, 70% of upcoming applications developed by enterprises would be using Low-code or No-code technologies by 2025. And that will be a major jump of about 25% from 2020!

Here’s a deep dive into the what and why of the low-code/no-code technologies.

What does Low code/No code mean for software development?

The LCNC (Low-code No-code) approach lets developers build applications quickly as compared to the conventional line-by-line coding approach. And not just developers but also the rest of the users within an enterprise who have little to no coding knowledge can build powerful applications.

The Low-code development platforms (LCDPs) and No-code development platforms (NCDPs) typically involve a practical visual approach to application development. Using LCDPs, users are allowed to drag and drop features onto a canvas followed by integration of these through popups and simple coding language. And on the other side, NCDPs are quite similar to LCDPs, but additionally, allow non-technical business users to develop software with absolutely no need for coding knowledge.

The adoption of LCNC platforms leaves the business users aka “citizen developers”, with the power to build applications rapidly, automate business processes, improve existing workflows, and innovate on a faster scale. Thus, making software development accessible to all irrespective of their professional backgrounds.

Major features of the Low-code and No-code platforms

The rising implementation of LCNC platforms has made their outstanding features the talk of the town. Some of their noteworthy features are:

#1. A Drag-and-Drop user interface

LCNC eliminates the pain of typing out every line of code, and rather offers the drag-and-drop feature for business users to visually create scalable applications. Further, this feature enables a faster route to the deployment of fully functional applications.

#2. Increased security and privacy

LC and NC platforms relatively decrease the risk of data loss and cybercrime as the development is handled in-house and not by any third-party vendors. These platforms typically offer built-in security features and updates to ensure higher data protection.

#3. Lesser time to production

The ready-to-use infrastructure of LCNC platforms enables users to build, deploy, and deliver business applications much faster compared to the traditional development cycle. The business users can focus on other intricacies of their business rather than spending huge amounts of time and effort developing an entire software from scratch.

#4. Lowered costs

As there is a remarkable reduction in IT resources, be it IT-skilled users, third-party integrated applications, and so on, the implementation of LCNC helps drastically decrease development costs. Apart from this, LCNC also provides reusable components in building applications, thus eliminating the time

and additional costs of building major business workflows.

Key business benefits of using Low-code No-code platforms for enterprises

The customization, security, and scalability advantages of LCNC have attracted a wide range of enterprises to adopt them. These modern approaches have also given rise to several opportunities for in-house enterprise employees to build robust business applications. Here are the top 5 major benefits of using LCNC in enterprises.

#1. Improved scalability of business applications

The LCNC approach to application development leads the way to increased scalability in enterprise applications. The architecture of LCNC platforms ensures that each of its components is isolated from each other, thus allowing users to scale their applications easily with no dependencies.

#2. Cost-effectiveness – reusable components and features

The ready-to-use infrastructure of LCNC technologies enables enterprise developers to reuse existing components and features. Users can reuse modules like workflows, APIs, in-built plug-in features in case of NCDP, and so on. This saves a lot of extra bucks for enterprises as it eliminates the need to purchase any additional plug-ins from third parties.

It’s also noteworthy to point out the cost-saving benefit of adopting LCNC as it eliminates the need for outsourcing development activities. The internal enterprise employees can be trained to use and build applications using LCNC up until deployment.

#3. Seamless integrations

Powered by extensive capabilities to integrate with the existing system components within an enterprise, LCNC provides a streamlined integration process. They also aim to improve the existing components or legacy systems and bring them to optimized speed.

#4. Enterprise application modernization

Modernization of existing legacy applications within an enterprise is of utmost importance in this rapidly growing digital age. Without this, modern users would not find them on par with the latest trends in technology resulting in extreme losses. Also, the enterprises would have to make sure their systems and workflows are well optimized and robust.

This is possible through the adoption of LCNC approaches which ensure the legacy applications are enhanced to their full potential. Application modernization also reduces operational costs of an enterprise remarkably as the legacy systems would be fully functional.

#5. Faster time-to-market

For enterprises, this would be the most beneficial aspect of using LCNC. The platforms’ ability to deliver new applications and software rapidly allows enterprises more time to market their business applications.

Low-code/No-code eliminates many time-consuming operational and deployment processes that are otherwise part of the conventional programming route.

Use-cases of Low-Code and No-Code developments in the enterprise landscape

With their gaining popularity, LCNC is visibly taking over the software development segment for enterprises. Now that we are well aware of what exact benefits LCNC offers, here’s a look into a few enterprise-level use cases:

Use Case #1: Build Enterprise-IT Business Process Apps

Since LC/NC offers various built-in features, pluggable processes, and support, to name a few, using these platforms to build enterprise-ready applications is the right step into digital transformation.

Apart from these, through LCNC, enterprises benefit monetarily while building their business-critical applications. And, this is possible thanks to the reduced engineering time, optimum re-use of deployable components, and elimination of the need to outsource projects.

Use Case #2. Chatbots

Every enterprise would need chatbots to provide optimal support for its users. Chatbots offer 24/7 support to end-users and are relatively quicker in response compared to human help.

NCDPs are best suited while building Chatbots as they require no programming language and can be used to build using simple language.

Use Case #3. Microservices-based Solutions

Low-code platforms help enterprises to shift from a monolith approach to a microservices-based approach seamlessly.

LCDPs provide low-code microservices that can be used to develop flexible web applications. Enterprises can utilize these to develop various micro-applications that integrate well with each other.

The Bottom Line

With the constant change in technology, every business enterprise is expected to adapt and implement brand new strategies. And in this respect, low-code no-code platforms lead the way with their proven success stories.

Verinite helps modernize legacy systems making them onpar with the current technology trends and provides cost-effective solutions to business process improvements. Want to upgrade your systems and take a step towards digital transformation? Reach us here to know more.