Low-code misconceptions prevent some companies from adopting these platforms. Let’s debunk them.
Low code platforms have risen in popularity due to changes in consumer behavior and expectations for digital self-service brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gartner expects the low-code development technologies market to increase 22.6% from 2020 by the year’s end. Given the shortage of top-tier engineers with front-end expertise, low-code platforms are a way to simplify the user experience for developers to quickly build and launch digital customer experiences that drive the business forward. However, low-code misconceptions could prevent companies from adopting these platforms.
3 low-code misconceptions
However, a few low-code misconceptions can mislead enterprises and developers of mission-critical applications. These misconceptions prevent them from incorporating low-code solutions into their tech stack. Here are three of the most common myths on low-code and how to approach choosing the right technology for your enterprise.
Misconception #1: Meant for simple applications, low-code has limited flexibility to customize.
Most engineering teams are already familiar with the idea of the customization/convenience trade-off. They face this challenge when choosing between hard-coding a custom application in-house or using a “shortcut” with a low-code tool that may appear too complex to use and might require heavy professional services or outside resources.
Developers building mission-critical applications can minimize this trade-off if they adopt the right platform. A modern low-code platform allows you to customize CX to your development needs. You can also leverage pre-built reusable components, templates, and integrations to accelerate time to market. Examples of customization can include the ability to create custom API endpoints with just a few clicks, to transform and query JSON in any app, and applying a precise visual and audio style to every app you create. These tools go beyond simple workflows. They offer more sophisticated data flows, reflexive, dynamic digital forms, data structures, and more to support complex, omnichannel applications. This can be done all without worrying about infrastructure setup or ongoing maintenance headaches.
Misconception #2: Low-code applications mean vendor lock-in.
One of the biggest fears for adopting any new technology software is vendor lock-in. For example, legacy solutions created proprietary or complex code that meant you couldn’t access applications you built outside the platform. Or perhaps, it couldn’t integrate with your own CRM or homegrown systems with out-of-the-box templates.
The right low-code solutions will not yield vendor lock-in because it integrates with anything using an API. Plus, they extend your existing investments by connecting your current system data to your customers. They create applications that work anywhere on any channel. Additionally, you can use system data to personalize customer experiences (e.g., trigger new experiences based on a new CRM object). Additionally, building and maintaining integrations can be a time-consuming task for engineers. By using robust pre-built integrations with your CRM, contact center software, transaction systems, or creating custom API endpoints with just a few clicks, it saves valuable engineering time.
Misconception #3: Low-code solutions aren’t built for enterprise security, compliance, and scalability.
For any mission-critical application, security, compliance, governance, and performance are non-negotiable. In the past, enterprises feared low-code meant a trade-off between scalable, production-ready experiences and fast development. Today, Fortune 500 companies, leading enterprise brands, SIs, and public sector agencies have leveraged low-code platforms.
Building a mission-critical application will have security as a top priority. Customers will be able to trust that the information they’re sharing on the application will be kept safe. In addition, having an easy-to-use and familiar landscape to the application helps customers feel more confident and engaged through self-service.
Modern platforms solve low-code misconceptions
A modern low-code platform provides out-of-the-box security and compliance framework continuously updated with security, compliance, and privacy certifications, such as PCI DSS, GDPR, SOC 2, and HIPAA. For IT leaders, this includes enterprise features, such as data encryption, end-user authentication, role-based access control, and more. For developers, they need to be able to break things without fear using built-in versioning, staging, and rollback with multiple environments.
The pressure is on to go digital. The success of a business heavily depends on its relationship with its customers. Low-code continues to evolve and tackle a more diverse set of use cases. As a result, companies will find that investment into low-code will enable them to go digital faster while maintaining customization flexibility, enterprise-grade quality, and security.
