How low-code/no-code platforms can generate a culture of innovation

Writing code requires skills, development environments, deployment processes, testing and more. With LCNC, all that work is contained behind a user-friendly graphical user interface, often with the benefit of point-and-click and drag-and-drop elements. Users work with components that are visual representations of code. They have the freedom to place these components, which are reusable, wherever desired so that they connect in a way that creates applications that produce the desired results.

Though low-code and no-code are not synonymous, they are very similar:

• Low-code platforms allow users to augment what they’re doing with a slight amount of coding. They’re usually used to create apps that run more complex business processes or integrate with other systems and data sources.
• No-code platforms are composed of 100% visual elements (i.e., drag-and-drop and point-and-click) and pre-built components. No-code platforms are typically used to create front-end apps to handle basic functions and are accessible to business users (i.e., citizen coders) with no coding knowledge.

With LCNC, application development is no longer the sole responsibility of the developer and can be achieved at a speed that can keep up with demand.

This simplified development process can have a significant effect on workplace culture. Without the traditional barriers of technical complexity, greater responsibility rests on the business team. Empowering these business users can lead to a groundswell of innovation and a profundity of ideas across the organization. Studies have shown that a diversity of perspectives generally yields ideas and solutions that are more creative and effective.

LCNC platforms typically feature a true-to-form visual interface, where the business team can see updates in real time. When employees see their ideas come to life immediately, they are more likely to feel encouraged and motivated to contribute, driving a virtuous iterative cycle of modernization. As business users directly engage with the development platform, they learn more about the technology and its potential applications. This continuous learning environment encourages a culture of curiosity and exploration.

LCNC agility also fosters the increased fabrication of initial proofs of concept. With the ability to quickly prototype and iterate on applications, the organization can experiment with new concepts and technologies without significant up-front investment. As teams identify and eliminate nonviable features early on, they’re able to focus resources on the most impactful aspects of the product. This rapid trial and error approach is fundamental in fostering an innovative mindset. Similarly, when the organization can quickly adapt its applications to changing market conditions, its agility encourages a proactive, rather than a reactive, approach to transformation.

Low-code application development is 10 to 20 times faster than traditional coding methods, according to Forrester Research. Traditionally, the business function and IT have faced several roadblocks to timely development. Among them are:

• Lengthy development cycles
• High costs
• Technical skill gaps
• Inflexibility in adapting to change

Often, a company’s business team will find that its enhancement efforts are stuck in a holding pattern when their requests for developers’ help aren’t met. Developers are often overwhelmed by a backlog of service requests, due mainly to the disparate technological ecosystem derived over several years. As a result, our clients often ask for various front-end configurations and “toggles” to modify business logic, rule conditions, variables, value lists and more as a means of mitigating a need for development updates. This happens at such a consistent clip that it’s become an almost standard delivery expectation. But these are often presumptive requirements; no one can foretell what may or may not need to be modified or updated in the near term.

LCNC platforms support a more dexterous and extensive means of modifying the solution, significantly shifting the dynamics of project timelines reflective of a more responsive and efficient development culture. The business team can quickly build and release enhancements expediently, with little to no development support. What once took months can now be accomplished in weeks, if not days, enabling businesses to respond quickly to market changes and customer or organizational needs.

A faster, more streamlined development process boosts efficiency and productivity gains. Companies can lower costs via fewer development expenses, reduced need for specialized resources and decreased maintenance overhead, even as they introduce new applications and products. Gartner estimates that more than 50% of medium to large enterprises are using low-code application platforms to improve operational efficiency and increase productivity.

LCNC platforms can also significantly reduce the costs of integrating legacy systems via plug-and-play connectors and APIs. This bypasses the complexity and costliness of creating custom interfaces, and it facilitates seamless data flow between legacy and modern applications.

It's essential to operationalize an LCNC platform as part of the broader IT ecosystem to maintain a high level of control, security and compliance. The platform should be subject to the same rigorous standards as traditional development environments. Accordingly, the IT team should provide ongoing oversight. Key considerations include the following:

With the increasing importance of data privacy and compliance, LCNC platforms often offer industry-specific build-on applications or frameworks that offer predefined initial data models and adhere to regulatory requirements, keeping the applications within guardrails to verify organizational compliance.

Emerging technologies, especially generative AI (GenAI), can pair with LCNC platforms to supercharge software development. These partnerships allow for faster development, easier integration and greater accessibility, enabling more advanced and responsive applications. Examples include the following:

Key takeaways for low-code/no-code development

The number of businesses using LCNC platforms are rising in parallel with the rapidly increasing demand for the development of new software applications. By aligning the needs of business and technology, LCNC platforms help to create a dynamic corporate culture. With a broad range of ideas and perspectives to draw from, these business environments fuel innovation.

What does this mean for the traditional consultant-supported large transformation engagement? Do these still have an appropriate place in this new paradigm? Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your role, the answer is yes. With the precipitous advent of AI, data aggregation and omnichannel support, core large-scale enterprise applications from the past decade are fast approaching obsolescence. For these critical apps, a deeper and more comprehensive uplift is required. But that needn’t be the norm any longer for all enterprise solutions. For others, a more efficient and frequent cadence of enhancements can be executed by a smaller team closer aligned to market-, regulatory- and organization-driven pressures, freeing capital and resources to invest in those larger and more challenging transformations.

By encouraging the adoption of LCNC platforms, businesses can better balance their resources across their technology landscape to address these large and smaller scale initiatives. Encouraging further engagement in technology by business users promulgates design thinking across the entirety of the resource pool. A culture of modernization and transformation is fostered that can propel an organization further toward the forefront of innovation. With this greater vigor, coupled with the tools that make it evermore possible, businesses have all the resources to face the future with greater confidence.

Summary 

As the demand for new software applications continues unabated, more organizations are drawn to low-code/no-code solutions for cost and time efficiencies, as well as their ability to generate design thinking across the business.