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What is Low-Code and Why Should You Use It?

What is low code

Did you know there is more than one way to code? We don’t mean different coding languages, we mean low-code development and no-code development. Today’s blog goes over what low-code development is and why you should use it in the future.

What is Low-Code Development?

If we had to sum up low-code development in one word, it would be: streamlined.

Though, what is low-code development? It’s a program that is developed with very little code, if any at all. How is this possible? Well, it’s a visual approach to software development that optimizes the entire development to accelerate everything. By breaking down traditional silos of business and IT, your organization can develop solutions that meet the needs of your business.

Low-Code vs. No-Code Development

No-code and low-code aren’t entirely the same. Low-code has little coding, while no-code has (as you guessed) no coding involved. It is for those who don’t know actual coding languages or who don’t have the time to develop the app, as it is faster and simpler to use.

Everything the no-code vendor thinks the user needs to build an app is already built into the tool, thus eliminating the need for coding entirely.

Why Use Low-Code?

The world of digital development has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. Now, there are niche specialities and it’s nearly impossible to find a single developer who is a jack-of-all-trades. If you know a developer like that or have one on your team, keep them. There are a precious few out there.

That’s where low-code comes in. Low-code platforms provide visual editors and reusable actions that allow users to drag-and-drop into processes for rapid development. It’s all about streamlined speed and simplicity and allows your team to quickly assemble new processes and build applications without having to research, write, and test new scripts. The right low-code tool can turn almost anyone into a reliable cross-platform developer.

On top of that, low-code only continues to grow. The market is projected to have a

compound growth rate of 30.9% between 2021-2027.

The Benefits of Low-Code Development

There are a few features that most low-code development platforms have in common, including:

  • Direct integrations
  • Drag-and-drop workflow designers
  • Workflow testing

They also have the potential for:

Increased Agility

Low-code eliminates time as a barrier to innovation. What once took months now takes only days, or sometimes even less!

Low-code applications also include tools that simplify the process life cycle, alert teams of potential problems and risks, and help reduce time lost trouble-shooting an issue.

Most low-code platforms have the ability to directly integrate with major vendors, which allows your team to easily turn almost anything — including APIs, web services, and command lines — into reusable building blocks. So instead of recreating everything from scratch, it’s all already there for you to use.

Reduced Cost

Unsurprisingly, low-code development is more affordable than regular development. It can also have a better price than white label apps and software as well!

Low-code development also reduces the need for more developers, thus reducing hiring costs, as well as increasing productivity because it is so much faster and efficient to do.

Faster Automation

Low-code platforms with the right devops tools can accelerate the development speed for automating tasks and end-to-end processes.

Rapid Iterations

Low-code can move as quickly as your business does, which means developers can implement rapid updates and changes as needed.

Better customer experience.

Low-code development impacts more than your development team. Increased development speed and implementation speed = a better customer experience. With low-code development, organizations can quickly adapt to market changes or customer needs.

What are the Uses of Low-Code Development?

At this point, you have a solid understanding of why you might want to use low-code development. So the next question is, “what can I use it for?” The answer: not everything. While low-code is certainly a huge step forward in many aspects, the uses for it are still limited. However, it works great for prototyping, workflow management, and customer and supplier portals.

Prototyping

Suppose your team of engineers has a fantastic idea for a new app, but you need to get buy-in from other stakeholders. Although your final project will be built with custom code, you can prototype faster using a low-code development framework, such as mocking up a capture form, a database, automations, integrations, and more.

Workflow Management

Low-code allows you to easily create a complete roadmap for planning, visualizing workloads, and tracking progress toward milestones.

Customer & Supplier Portals

These are cornerstones for great customer service and there is no reason for you to reinvent the wheel. Low-code offers simpler implementation and integration of existing tools, such as Microsoft Flow and Sharepoint, to create a single point of information for your customers and suppliers.

If you’re interested in low-code development, ! We’ll be happy to help you with your next project.