Democratize application development with low-code platforms

With Covid-19 accelerating the digital transformation of businesses, many organizations were forced to adopt a work-from-home strategy and customers began to buy more and more goods and services online.

The outbreak highlighted the critical nature of software and its impact on people’s lives, both professionally and personally.

At the same time, the role of the IT department has evolved and been crucial in helping organizations shift to a new way of working. While many departments have experienced budget cuts, many companies have increased their IT spending.

This is because the department, which is now expected to complete more tasks more quickly, is vital to the success of a company.

The rise of low-code application development platforms

To adapt to the unexpected change in the business, applications and systems had to be developed and implemented in the shortest possible time. With IT departments now playing such a critical role in strategic business development, the evolution of low-code and no-code has helped lighten the IT burden for companies of all sizes.

According to Gartner, low-code applications will account for more than 65 percent of all application development functions by 2024, and 66 percent of large organizations will adopt at least four low-code platforms.

Low-code and no-code development platforms allow rapid development of end-to-end technology solutions without the need for extensive programming skills.

This makes life easier for business users, analysts, sales and marketing executives. In other words, those who are closer to the requirement and the problem at hand are more contextually informed.

Kenyan companies using low-code and no-code software benefit from the following:

• Reduce the time it takes to develop and implement innovative applications.

• Ease the strain on professional developers by ensuring that all business requirements are met while adhering to regulatory criteria for development methods and components.

• Allow business users to shape their innovative and practical solutions without having to specialize in specific programming languages.

• Bring your business and IT teams together. Commercial developers can build applications within the limitations imposed by IT specialists. An easy-to-use, centralized development platform also enables IT staff to monitor the development process and intervene as needed.

• Low-code platforms also help address the challenges posed by ‘shadow IT’ or ‘rogue IT’ practices, which often occur when business teams or individuals start using different tools to solve their problems. problems without keeping your IT teams in the loop.

Recently, companies have successfully launched two types of applications that employ the low-code application development paradigm, with some focusing on solutions as part of their fundamental strategies in the face of the pandemic.

Internal Applications: Current conditions have led to an increase in internal collaboration applications such as contact tracing, virtual registration portals for remote employees, and Covid-19 live dashboards, to name a few.

Customer-facing applications: After the lockdown during the first wave of the pandemic, many companies quickly launched self-service web portals and mobile applications and extended their products and services to their customers digitally. For example, several banks launched digital solutions for banking, loans, and forex, among others.

Ultimately, low-code and no-code solutions will give companies the freedom they have always needed to achieve true agility and innovation.

Nizam, President, Middle East and Africa, Zoho Corp.