Enterprises that embrace custom apps have an easier and more reliable way of running their everyday business processes. However, the rising expectations from innovation-craving customers and the need to quickly meet market changes have increased demand for custom apps, creating severe IT backlogs across industries. The market demand for app development is expected to grow 5x faster than the IT to deliver.
While the pro-code software paradigm worked before, organizations can no longer rely on their IT teams solely to manage the growing demand for custom business apps.
Low-code/no-code technologies give enterprises the foundation to scale their development efforts by including business users in the app development process, paving the way for future growth.
Let’s explore what the future of app development is likely to look like and how you can unlock the potential of low-code and no-code technologies for your organization.
Low-Code, No-Code and Pro-Code: What’s the Difference?
Low-code, no-code, and pro-code are the three main frameworks used for building custom business apps. Every business today uses at least one or a combination of these frameworks to build functional internal workflows and applications.
The low-code/ no-code (LC/NC) approach involves building apps without using traditional programming languages (pro-code.) Regardless of their technical skills, anyone can create apps with a visual editor in just a few clicks.
Low-Code
With the low-code approach, developers and business users can build applications using a visual drag-and-drop editor and minimal coding. Low-code has up to 60 percent of the pre-built framework, allowing users to build apps without starting from scratch. It is more suitable for process owners who want rapid development of routine activities.
No-Code
No-code development empowers business users with an environment that lets them build fully-featured apps with simple drag-and-drop elements and no coding. No-code has up to 90 percent of pre-built frameworks. It is more suitable for business users who require same-day development cycles.
Pro-Code
Pro-code development is the traditional programming approach. Professional developers build complex apps with pure code using conventional programming languages such as JavaScript, Java, Python, and C#. There are no pre-built components, and applications are coded from scratch.
It is more suitable for cross-enterprise processes that have stringent rules and require complex integrations.
What’s Driving the Hype Behind Low-Code and No-Code Platforms?
According to Forrester, low-code and no-code development platforms can speed up software development time by up to 10 times compared to traditional coding methods. They can enable changes quickly and allow for scalable business adoption through many potential use cases.
By 2024, 65 percent of app activity will be developed through low-code/no-code.
There is a lot of hype around low-code and no-code, and it's undeniable that they will have a major impact on the future of development. However, organizations need the right strategy and platforms to implement low-code and no-code solutions realistically.
Here are some factors driving the hype for low-code/no-code platforms and the actual reality behind them.
Faster Time-to-Market
Low-code and no-code development is key to helping organizations build apps at scale. With 60-90 percent pre-built components and visual drag-and-drop editors, building business apps becomes easier and quicker, leading to faster time to market and value (TTM and TTV).
Reality: Introducing low-code/no-code platforms is not enough to scale development. Businesses need to adopt platforms that are majorly focused on rapid application development to achieve faster time-to-market. These platforms should make it easier for business users and IT teams to build applications quickly.
Banishing Shadow IT
Low-code empowers employees to create the necessary solutions using IT-approved platforms instead of unapproved third-party tools.
Reality: The idea that LC/NC adoption somehow achieves this instantly is far from reality. Change is difficult, and your organization will struggle with many aspects of adoption, including getting rid of shadow IT.
Democratizing application development can worsen the Shadow IT problem instead of solving it if mishandled.
There’s a need to implement a governance structure for low-code development to ensure that apps are built and managed securely and compliantly.
Encouraging Citizen Development
Citizen developers embracing low-code/no-code platforms have the potential to solve the developer shortage and IT backlog problem.
Reality: You can’t expect business users to pump out hundreds of applications independently. Citizen developers are not a replacement for your traditional IT department and will never be.
Building apps with a co-development methodology that prioritizes the convergence of IT and business can achieve rapid development. With this approach, business users focus on the form and function of the apps while IT departments manage permissions, performance, and integrations.
Integrating AI in Development
Generative AI is slowly and steadily playing a larger role in software development. When embedded in low-code platforms, AI can help leverage its full capabilities. One of its most significant benefits is its capability to bridge the gap between no-code and low-code.
Reality: Although AI will change how organizations build apps, it can’t do trusted development. If not handled well, AI can even worsen shadow IT. Many organizations already block access to ChatGPT, Bard, and other AI tools.
Organizations need to provide employees with access to secure and compliant AI tools that meet the unique needs of their business.
Kissflow’s Approach to Low-Code/No-Code Development
Kissflow is a low-code/no-code platform that delivers rapid and efficient app development hype. A form-first methodology and a visual drag-and-drop editor allow users to build business apps and streamline workflows quickly.
Here are some of the many benefits of Kissflow:
Collaborative development: Business users, domain experts, and process owners can get involved in the app development process while allowing IT to manage access controls and governance.
Generative AI: Kissflow leverages OpenAI and generative AI to incorporate the AI-suggested fields feature that automatically suggests new data fields based on the workflow type a user wants to build.
Scale app development: Kissflow uses a drag-and-drop form builder to take the complexity out of traditional low-code/no-code platforms. With decreased time to market, you can build apps in weeks instead of months.
The Future of Development - a Multiplatform Approach
With numerous no-code and low-code development platforms offering wide capabilities, the future of development will likely be multiplatform.
However, to choose the right one, organizations must compare their native capabilities. Some of the key questions to ask include:
- Is the platform purely LC/NC, or has it evolved to become one?
- How quickly can your teams ramp up on the platform?
- Does your team need to spend months learning a platform before using it?
Gathering requirements is essential to identify the right platform to use, decrease the IT backlog, and find the right approach to ensure successful adoption.
Get started with Kissflow to unlock the full potential of low-code and no-code development for your organization.
