What is low code technology? And why should you consider it?

The demand for new and upgraded technology isn’t going anywhere. The human race continues to adopt new technologies to replace either existing non- or low-tech solutions, or look for new ways to make our lives easier, more collaborative and more connected. This means we need to find creative ways of meeting that demand.  

So, when clients ask us ‘what is low code technology’ we tell them that it’s a creative, cost-effective and reliable way to get technology projects done faster, making the most efficient use of development time and expertise. In fact, you could call recent advances in this technology, the low code development revolution. 

What has caused the spike in demand for low code solutions?Well, the IDC FutureScape Worldwide Developer and DevOps 2021 Predictions stated that the shortage of full-time developers will reach 20% by 2025. That’s just a couple of years away. There simply aren’t enough developers out there to meet the demand for new technology. So, rather than slow down the pace of change and adoption, the industry has been adopting new ways of working.

Low code – older than you think

You may have only just started to hear about low code development. In fact, low code has been around in one form or another for the past 10 years or so.

According to TechRadar, we are already in the third generation of low code. The first generation was built not for commercial use, but to give hand coding developers the option of a few shortcuts and allowing them to look at better ways of developing. However, this generation of low code technology wasn’t flexible enough to develop quickly, or to be consistent, and it often caused problems in the development cycle, rather than making life easier.

The second generation of low code was designed largely for a non-developer audience. This is easier to identify with if you ever built your own website by dragging and dropping the elements you needed to build a home page, for example. It allowed businesses to take control of their own IT to a certain extent, and helped to speed up time to market. But these low code platforms were really just for performing a straightforward task – they didn’t have the ability to grow with the business and some platforms weren’t as architecturally strong or robust as they could have been.

So, what is low code technology today? It’s certainly come a long way – today’s low code platforms are sophisticated, able to integrate with other software, allow for commercial scalability and help development teams to complete projects faster and more cost-effectively.

Low code technology is reducing pressure, reducing cost, reducing time

These are the three central benefits of choosing low code technology for your next project. IT leaders have been under pressure for many years – not just with the complex process of general digital transformation, but also with managing the challenges of home and remote working. Looking for secure, affordable solutions means that more IT departments are evaluating low code vs traditional coding, and seeing that in many cases, low code is the better option.

That’s because it offers:

• Faster time to market
• Lower in-house development team costs
• Reduced pressure on existing IT resources
• Wider company involvement in digital development
• Reliable application outcomes

Plus, you can use low code technology to develop software for a wide range of applications. Our partner low code platform, OutSystems, lists some of these in its blog, What Can You Really Build with Low-Code?

• Business process automation solutions
• Web apps
• Workflow management
• Data visualization and reporting

OutSystems expands this list, however, because at first glance it looks like fairly standard, non-complex software. However, low code can handle complexity. So a ‘web app’ could easily be a secure banking app used by millions of customers. A ‘workflow management’ app could be targeted at internal teams across a global business. A ‘business process automation solution’ could take several linked processes that are currently managed across different software platforms and bring them into a single digital process that saves the organisation significant time and money.

Learn more about the benefits of using a low code app builder.

Why consider low code technology?

If you have any sort of software or digitalisation project on the horizon, you should be looking at the benefits of low code technology. Not only can it handle most commercial requirements, it is scalable, easier to maintain and update than hand-coded software, and delivers a faster, cheaper outcome.

And the fastest and most efficient way to get a successful low code project delivered, is to work with expert consultants who have delivered many projects like this before. That’s where ISB Smart Solutions comes in. Learn more in our blog How to Choose the right Low Code Development partner. 

We’re a proud partner of OutSystems – one of the most highly-rated low code technology platforms on the market today. Learn more about why we choose OutSystems as our low code platform.

So, Why not get in touch to see how low code could transform your next project?

Contact us today to find out more.