Interest in low code development platforms is broad and growing. They speed development cycles, accommodate citizen developers, and increase time-to-value.
Low code gained great popularity last year due to the impact of COVID-19. Businesses realized they needed to be more responsive to fast marketing changes, and their at-home workforce needed easy-to-use solutions. Some wonder if this interest will wane once things return to more normal business operations. The answer is a flat no. Adoption of low code is expected to grow strongly, according to the most recent Gartner forecast.
The forecast noted that the surge in remote development, indeed, boosted low code adoption. That surge continues this year. The low code development technologies market is projected to grow by 23% this year over last.
Gartner noted that low code is not new, but market changes make it more valuable to companies. “A confluence of digital disruptions, hyperautomation, and the rise of composable business has led to an influx of tools and rising demand,” said Fabrizio Biscotti, research vice president at Gartner, in a release talking about the forecast.
See also: Low Code Use Peaked During COVID, But Will it Stick?
Broad appeal drives low code embracement
Low code brings democratization to development. A suitably selected platform can solve different problems for different groups of users, including:
Professional developers: A low code development platform will help professional developers work faster and offload lower-level tasks, which can now be abstracted. The main benefit for a business is that developers can be more efficient. And they can spend more time on higher-level development problems.
Citizen developers: Many lines of business and individuals know exactly what software or applications they need to improve operations and get the job done. The problem in many companies is that it takes too long to get anything developed. A low code development platform solves that problem by letting individuals and business groups with limited or no development expertise create their own powerful applications.
Enterprise architects: One of the problems businesses have, especially when citizen developers go outside the company for solutions, is a lack of control and governance. Enterprise architects can create and enforce governance and compliance mandates with the right development platform.
IT managers: IT departments are often the bottleneck in getting new applications developed. They simply do not have the time to get to everyone’s request instantly. Low code development platforms empower the citizen developer and help the professional developer work faster. That frees up IT to work on the deeper development issues such as delivering connectivity, compute resources, and security for new applications.
Simply put, interest in low code development platforms is broad and growing. Benefits that make it appealing include the ability to speed up development cycles, accommodate citizen developers, and increase the all-important time-to-value.
