Today, artificial intelligence (AI) dominates all discussions on digital transformation, but the reality is that its full potential and significant returns are still years away. However, for organizations seeking immediate impact, the often-overlooked frontier of low-code and no-code platforms presents a compelling alternative.
Gartner predicts that 70% of new enterprise-developed applications will rely on low-code or no-code technologies by 2025, up from less than 25% in 2020.
That’s because these tools offer a similar value proposition – reduced effort, minimized costs, and enhanced productivity – without the complexities and uncertainties inherent in AI adoption. In fact, 87% of enterprise developers now use low-code development platforms for some of their projects, according to Forrester.
This article will explore the compelling case for low-code and no-code applications, spotlighting four immediate benefits you can experience now rather than waiting years for results.
1. Saves Time
One of the key advantages of low-code and no-code solutions is their ability to expedite project delivery. Low-code and no-code platforms are revolutionizing how organizations operate by significantly reducing the time and resources required for software development. These platforms provide a user-friendly interface, allowing individuals with little to no coding experience to create applications, automate workflows, and integrate various systems with ease.
Software development company TechMagic attests that no-code platforms are 4.6 times faster and 4.8 times easier to use than traditional programming.
Heineken used Microsoft’s Power Apps to quickly create an app that digitizes its delivery recording without requiring technical staff or developers. The app displays the information on the screen, thereby removing the need for paperwork, and can provide insights from the collected data, which streamlines the data recording process for the company.
2. Empowers Employees
Low-code / no-code platforms enable employees closest to their own business challenges to create solutions and participate in the development process.
According to Forrester, application development outside IT is expected to see a steady 21% growth until 2028 to become a $30 billion market.
Furthermore, in Forrester’s Future Fit Survey, 48% are adopting low-code development to empower citizen developers – or employees outside – IT to create apps.
For example, a marketing department may be struggling to track the performance of its campaigns across different channels. This leads to a need for a solution that can consolidate data from various platforms, provide real-time analytics, and generate actionable insights to improve their strategies.
A marketing analyst with no prior coding experience can create an app that integrates with existing data sources, such as social media, email marketing tools, and CRM systems. The app can be designed with interactive dashboards that display key performance indicators, allowing the team to monitor campaign effectiveness in real-time. Then, the team can use the app to identify which channels are driving the most engagement, adjust their budget allocation accordingly, and even automate certain tasks like sending follow-up emails or scheduling social media posts based on the data insights.
Empowering citizen development leads to a culture of innovation and self-sufficiency, where employees are encouraged to think creatively and develop custom solutions that address their unique workflow needs. As a result, employees become more engaged and invested in their work, driving productivity and job satisfaction.
3. Drives Innovation Across Teams
Low-code and no-code platforms facilitate collaboration among cross-functional teams, breaking down silos and fostering a more inclusive work environment. Employees from different departments can work together seamlessly, leveraging the collective expertise to build applications that are more aligned with the organization’s goals.
Low-code / no-code applications are transforming the landscape of innovation within organizations by offering a more accessible and efficient approach to software development. These platforms allow for application development, workflow automation, and systems integration with minimal coding, thereby expediting the delivery of innovative applications that benefit organizations’ operations while reducing the need for extensive resources.
For example, Power Apps, a sub-application of Power Platform, has over 1,000 connectors for many common enterprise applications and cloud-based data sources. This allows employees who are not software developers to create various applications for multiple departments or even the entire organization, not just for their specific teams or workflows.
Organizations today that are using low-code / no-code can continue to drive innovation through new applications amid talent shortage in the IT department, which 54% of organizations are experiencing, according to a 2023 Digital Leadership Report.
Forrester’s research showed that many companies focus more on domain expertise and business knowledge than development skills. By combining the ease of use provided by no-code and low-code platforms and the business knowledge of subject matter experts, companies can scale development and foster widescale innovation.
4. Delivers Measurable Value
With the high costs of upskilling for traditional coding, it’s no wonder that low-code / no-code platforms are on the rise. The average tuition for a four-year coding course was about $17,700 for the academic year ending in 2023. Meanwhile, a coding boot camp’s median upfront cost is $9,500.
Low-code / no-code platforms provide a more affordable solution for upskilling. For example, businesses can get a premium subscription to Power Apps for $20 per user per month and Power Automate for $15 per user per month, making them an attractive option for organizations looking to develop software without incurring high training costs.
Similarly, low-code / no-code development helps with lowering operational costs. It enables businesses to reduce costs as fewer developer resources are required to accomplish tasks. Microsoft’s Power Platform, for example, can bring a reduction in application development cost of 48% or net savings of $2 million in three years, according to Forrester.
As organizations focus on design and user experience rather than writing long lines of code, they can create intuitive applications and websites, boosting business productivity and saving operational costs.
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Listen to the story of Heineken and how they used low-code/no-code development to quickly create an app that digitizes delivery recording:
Enabling Automation with Microsoft Power Platform at Heineken
