With an increasing emphasis on market disruption, digital transformation, and Agile app development across industries, adoption of low-code and no code software development platforms is gaining traction with CIOs. And with good reason. These tools make application development simpler. Capabilities like drag-and-drop objects, process flows, and visual tools allow anyone, regardless of technical ability, to build and change applications faster – making it possible for organizations quickly deliver new processes and app functionalities to keep up with, or disrupt, their markets.
Pega recently released the eBook, “Embracing low-code development,” which provides the lowdown on low-code, including the benefits of using low-code over traditional software development – like speeding collaboration, innovation, and scalability.
Low-code is proving to be a differentiator for organizations looking to lead in markets that are constantly changing. Below are my seven reasons why every organization should consider implementing some level of low-code development capability.
1. You will have an increasingly hard time finding developers to keep up with global app development demands.
Market demand for application development is growing faster than enterprise IT departments can keep up with. In fact, analyst firm Gartner predicts that market demand for app development will grow at least five times faster than IT’s capacity to deliver through 2021. Low-code application development platforms help bridge an organization’s skilled developer shortage gap. These platforms are quicker and less expensive to customize in house, and don’t require armies of programmers. They give non-programmers the ability to visually build out application specifications, empowering the “citizen developers” within an organization, like business people and marketers, to work collaboratively with IT to design and modify operation-specific applications.
2. Low-code increases your productivity.
By bringing citizen developers into the development process, organizations enable an Agile environment for collaboration. Business users and IT staff work together on requirements, then rapidly build and deploy business rules, processes, and offers. By allowing business stakeholders to provide feedback and requirements on Agile artifacts directly in a project management tool, you empower your staff to take increased ownership of the development and maintenance of their own applications – all while freeing up your skilled developers to focus on higher-value work, rather than chasing down requirements.
3. Low-code empowers you to innovate continuously.
To keep up with the constant change and disruption in market conditions, organizations need to be agile. Adopting a low-code platform and Agile delivery methodology can bring every part of your business into the development cycle, allowing you to leverage the knowledge of your front-line workers and foster constant collaboration between groups. In short, this new digital development environment, combined with the frequent releases inherent in Agile processes, help speed continuous application development and innovation.
4. Low-code development enables you to build apps collaboratively.
How do IT and citizen developers collaborate without coding? Visual models. They let your staff capture directly in the platform the requirements that define your processes, enabling staff to co-build apps together. No knowledge of code necessary. Low-code platforms allow users to make in-app updates, plus incorporate feedback in real time – all using a visual language and paradigms that both business and technical users understand.
5. Low-code allows you to scale through reuse.
Low-code apps that can scale to the scope of your business and evolve with your digital transformation are always up to date, always easy to change, and always ready to deploy where you need them. Bringing the business closer to the development process eliminates shadow IT and empowers development teams to ensure innovation and scale take place in a compliant fashion. And cloud-based, agile platforms allow organizations to move between cloud platforms or use a hybrid cloud, enabling even more flexibility in operational scaling.
6. Low-code enables you to quickly extend apps across channels and devices.
If you’re developing an enterprise application, chances are you’re going to need to extend it to more channels – mobile apps, chatbots, self-service portals… and the next big unknown thing. Which is why a low-code platform that enables reuse of application artifacts is so important. Reuse enhances app development productivity and consistency, and ultimately helps you meet the demanding expectations of your end-users. By using one open and flexible low-code platform that supports an iterative and Agile approach, organizations can build seamless and consistent apps that quickly work and consistently engage across all of your channels and devices.
7. Your competition is probably already using a low-code approach
It’s not just hype. A recent Pega-commissioned survey from Frost & Sullivan found that 81% of respondents already use a visual or low-code approach.
There are many flavors of low-code in the market today. On one end there are low-code platforms that provide disparate environments for business and IT that perpetuate a siloed approach to development.
On the other end of the spectrum are next generation role-based authoring environments focused on providing the right tools to anyone who touches enterprise applications. These include visual and intuitive authoring experiences offering no-code or low-code for citizen developers, advanced tools for professional developers, system administration, and AI modeling – where users can seamlessly toggle between these different studios to quickly access what they need, where and when they need it.
The time has come to abandon slow, expensive, and ineffective code-based development. Do your research and take advantage of free trials to find the best low-code development platform that will get your staff collaborating and creating apps quickly.
Learn More:
- Download the eBook, "Embracing low-code development" and learn how low-code and no-code platforms are helping organizations deliver exceptional customer engagement more quickly than ever before.
- Join us for our webinar series on low-code innovation to learn how build apps better and faster.
- Check out our Low-Code App Factory community page to learn more and watch one of our step-by-step “How-To” videos.
- Find out more about how low-code drives productivity across the business.
- See how the Pega Design System helps you design applications as unique as your business, right out of the box.
- Sign up for a free trial and experience how Pega empowers teams and individuals to get more work done.
- Join us at PegaWorld to learn how the world’s leading brands are taking advantage of low-code development, plus get hands-on training on Pega’s Design System and our Pega Infinity™ portfolio of software.