DECODING LOW-CODE REVOLUTION

TIPS FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS FOR MANAGING LOW-CODE/NO-CODE PLATFORMS

Can you build software without coding? The unthinkable has become a reality with the advent of low-code/nocode platforms that allow the broader IT and business community to create applications that drive business value. Compared to traditional application development methods with high maintenance costs, low-code/nocode tools offer a compelling value proposition as enterprises can reduce the turnaround time of business applications development. In addition, low-code platforms are easy-to-use with drag and drop features and generally don’t have any bug-related issues that plague traditional coding.

According to Gartner, 70 percent of new applications developed by enterprises will use low-code/no-code technologies by 2025. The research firm says, on average, 41% of employees outside of IT – or business technologists – customise or build data or technology solutions. Gartner predicts that half of all new low-code clients will come from business buyers outside the IT organisation by year-end 2025.

“Enterprises rely heavily on low code for building fit-for-purpose and customised applications. It helps users cater to their specific business requirements, develop and deploy applications rapidly, deliver personalised customer experiences, and ensure flexibility,” says Varun Goswami, AVP - Products, Newgen Software.

Also, enterprises are looking at leveraging low code in conjunction with other newage technologies such as robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the cloud. These technologies can help users become future-ready and maximise the return on their investments in low code. Lastly, more users across industries will consider investing in a low code-based platform to develop enterprisegrade applications rapidly.

Though low-code/no-code platforms are way cheaper as you pay for a service, it comes with a few risks and don’t have an array of tools or functions to create highly complex apps.

“Low-code is advantageous for the agility it delivers, but if the application build is too rigid, even with the right low-code platform, it’s very difficult to make changes on the go.

When it comes to the modernisation of legacy applications using low-code, organisations should have a deployment plan, and it should be done in modules, following a phased approach,” says Dinesh Varadharajan - Chief Product Officer - Kissflow

Low-code is not a silver bullet or solution for all the inefficiencies of

Varun Goswami

modern business, says Mark Ackerman, area VP – Middle East & Africa, ServiceNow. “You don’t want to have citizen developers use low-code to automate bad workflows — the “garbage in, garbage out” principle applies here. It probably also isn’t smart to use low-code to build redundant apps. For example, even if an employee dislikes the company’s app for managing leave, it’s probably not a good use of time for them to go off and build their own app.

“In short, you don’t want your citizen developers turning into a shadow IT department. You can avoid that outcome by putting guardrails around low-code app development. As an example, at ServiceNow we launched a lightweight governance program that certifies citizen developers, reviews all proposals for new apps, and checks their work to ensure no bad code is implemented in our production instances.”

A common mistake with low code deployments is siloed application development, leading to vulnerable apps. However, modern low code platforms empower organisations to onboard fusion teams for developing applications.

“In a fusion team, application skeletons designed by citizen developers are further nurtured by professional IT developers and the ops team. Users must opt for low code platforms that facilitate the efforts of fusion teams and help deliver quality applications while ensuring security and compliance. Furthermore, a low-code platform must offer visibility into the application development process to ensure monitoring and governance,” says Goswami.

As low-code/no-code platforms become increasingly common in enterprises, there is also a need to create awareness of these frameworks’ security risks and vulnerabilities. One of the ways to mitigate risks is to buy software and platforms from reputable vendors in the market and use software bill of materials (SBOM) from them to gain visibility into applications developed by these tools.

“Low-code application developed should have a robust audit system,” says Varadharajan. “Again, just because it’s developed in low-code doesn’t mean it can have its own process; all protocols should be followed when it comes to security. For example, consider access control - low-code often allows business users to develop applications, but IT needs to control access for what they can do, and what data they can use should be monitored and controlled.”

According to Goswami, enterprises need to remain cautious while selecting the right platform. They need to assess the criticality of the data and documents in their business operations and determine the required level of security and control for meeting the statuary compliances.

He adds users must look for a platform that provides complete control over applications and documents. “They should also seek application and infrastructure monitoring capability to

Dinesh Varadharajan Mark Ackerman

have a bird’s eye view of the production ecosystem. Enterprises must choose a duly certified and time-tested platform to comply with industry standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and others and mitigate risks associated with data security.”

What should users look for while evaluating a low-code development platform?

Not all low-code/no-code platforms are made equal. Effective low-code platforms need to be able to provide the right support for developers and citizen developers alike.

“It should have built-in intelligence that can predict possible issues before they arise and assist in promoting better business decisions. In addition, a full suite of app-development tools can help empower developers at all levels to create powerful apps at speed and scale,” says Ackerman from ServiceNow.

Varadharajan from Kissflow sums up: “Look for a platform that integrates easily with various products and platforms. This will ensure that you’ll be able to coordinate complicated workflows involving many systems and automate clean-up using AIpowered tools.

The more pre-built, ready-to-use templates there are, the better. These will help with faster implementation and thus deliver a more rapid return on investment. There’s no sense in investing in a platform if it can’t accommodate your demands as your business grows.”