Can a working business application be built in a day? Does the app work on desktop and mobile? How advanced are the features? Is there actually zero coding involved? Just some of the questions we get all the time from seasoned developers.
There’s a lot of talk about low-code and their ability to fit into the modern IT business. Often, seasoned IT pros are tempted to dismiss these as “dumbed down” or amateur app tools. However, just because these tools don’t require fluency in Python or C#, doesn’t mean they lack sophistication.
Beyond the need for speed, there are various other benefits of low-code development, but many are still sceptical. So why do organisations disregard low-code development?
Here are the common myths explained and debunked.
Myth #1: Low-code is for citizen developers. Programming is for pro developers
In any typical business, there are a multitude of business-enhancing applications that don’t require full-stack development teams, where practices such as continuous deployment or test-driven development might be overkill. Similarly, a true developer will know, 50-80% of the code they write doesn’t directly support business-specific use cases; it goes into coding and supporting several non-unique systems that every application needs – authentication, authorization, database, etc.
Low-code removes these concerns by adding functionality that complements how developers work and the tools they need, allowing skilled developers to work smarter and faster and not getting tied up with repetitive or mindless coding. Developers can simply get to work building what matters – creating the 10 percent of an application that makes it different.
Myth #2: Low-code platforms eliminate the need for any programming
Simply no. A no-code platform is essentially software that writes software, without writing one line of code or requiring any programming experience whatsoever. Low-code is quite the opposite.
Low-code is a way for developers to design applications quickly and with minimum hand-coding. You still require all-around knowledge of programming concepts, business logic and architecture. Low-code development aims to achieve as much as possible without code. However, this does not mean that software engineers can’t extend the functionality with code if they desire – an option many vendors provide.
Myth #3: Low-code means build phase only
Low-code tools may have started with the sole purpose of accelerating the build phase, but today several of the low-code tools offer a single integrated platform that supports the entire application delivery lifecycle: design, build, deploy, manage and iterate. This includes capabilities such as APIs, social integration to agile project management and one-click deployment.
And with low-code ideally suited for greenfield work (a service or product built from scratch), they represent a new opportunity for business to take advantage of small-scale experiments, from idea to product. Here the time-to-market advantage of visual development (over hand-coding) is mitigated as apps can be built quickly and moved along the lifecycle, driving the organisation’s ability to deliver quick, scalable, market-ready applications.
Conclusion
Low-code platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, but they are created with evolving and expanding business processes in mind. This means they can streamline the development cycle and build applications quickly – perfect for meeting the growing demands and requirements of digital business. Isn’t it time you tried it?