What Is Low-Code Development? A Complete Guide To Low Code Platforms

Last Updated on January 21, 2022

In this growing digital era, businesses need to emerge and compete with the digitization pace. Whether it’s small or big, every company understands the need to digitize its business. One who is using traditional methods may find it challenging to meet this business need.

The business that has started including machine learning may use low code development options. Besides being easy to use, such options pace up the development process also as you don’t need to write the whole code manually.

What Is Low-Code Application Development?

A software development approach, Low-code needs little to no coding to develop processes and applications. The low-code app development platform uses visual interfaces with simple logic and drag-and-drop features despite many coding languages. Such intuitive tools permit users with no formal knowledge of software development or coding to build apps for various purposes, like business apps and mobile apps.

The low-code platforms are increasingly becoming popular as an easy and fast alternative to traditional software development. Both ‘citizen’ developers (non-professional developers) and professional developers can use a low-code platform to develop apps of different complexity to fulfill business demands for development, automating processes, and pace up digital transformation.

Market Stats To Prove That Low-Code Is One The Best Strategy for 2021

While continuing cost management campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote production will grow and will constantly fuel up low code adoption.

• The global low-code development technologies industry increased to $13.8 billion in 2021 that rose 22.6% as compared to its previous year.
• As per the prediction of a research company, there would be an enhancement of 54% in “process-agnostic” tools, such as low-code app platforms, robotics, and artificially intelligent apps, such as virtual assistants.
• It is predicted that the global low-code development platform market will generate a revenue of about $187 billion by 2030, which was $10 billion in 2019.
• About 75% of large enterprises will be using approximately four low-code development tools by 2024 for both citizen development initiatives and IT app development.
• Moreover, approximately 41% of businesses hold active citizen development initiatives.
• Within a year, approximately 79% of businesses develop a web app with citizen development.
• Nearly 24% of low-code users hold no experience before using low code platforms. Plus, 40% of users come mainly from a business background.
• According to Gartner Predictions, low-code app development in the year 2024 would be responsible for 65% and more app development activity.

Low Code or Traditional Coding: What To Choose?

Every enterprise competes with a unique set of custom issues that need custom solutions.

Traditional development holds the caliber to produce custom apps, but demands a high budget, enhanced time to develop, excessive time to market, and timely maintenance. Therefore, most brands don’t choose this development process.

On the contrary, low-code development platforms assist enterprises with accurate tools for app development. Plus, it enhances overall efficiency and productivity within a company.

Let’s differentiate between traditional coding and low-code based on some more specific parameters.

Agility

Traditional Coding: It is less agile because of complex configuration system codes, making it very time-consuming to learn.
Low-Code: We can use low-code platforms easily using their drag-and-drop features.

Skillset

Traditional Coding: It provides many functions and tools to craft highly complex applications.
Low-Code: The no-code or low-code platforms don’t hold various functions or tools but permit hassle-free application development.

Cost

Traditional Development: It includes high hiring and maintenance costs.
Low-Code: It charges the cost for accessing the platforms, not for developing applications.

Maintenance

Traditional Coding: The traditional platforms need a third-party or in-house development team for app maintenance.
Low-Code: The platforms are run and managed by the organization which holds the ownership of the platform.

App Quality

Traditional Coding: It may lead to bugs because of technicalities/complexities included in custom app development platforms, making it difficult for users.
Low-Code: Generally, enterprise low-code/no-code platforms don’t emerge with bug-related problems.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Low-Code Platform?

After knowing about low code, now, it’s time to check out the chief benefits of using low-code development platforms.

Increased Productivity

Low-code development platforms assist in designing complex applications faster than traditional coding methods, which increases productivity by a large margin.

Less Expensive

Low-code development platforms make use of pre-defined UI. Hence, reduce the cost of coding and designing every essential thing repeatedly. Moreover, you would be free to pay high maintenance charges. Plus, they suppress the need to hire an extra team; this way reduces expenses again.

Better Customer Experience

Customer expectations are always higher than we expect. Low-code platforms are always all set to offer the flexibility to move as per the market trends and customers’ needs quickly. Additionally, organizations may use low code development platforms to craft a new section entirely, modify it, or update it to fulfill customers’ unique needs.

Faster Time To Market & Faster App Delivery

A perfect ecosystem belonging to intuitive visual builders, easily accessible code snippets, report templates, and form, along with in-built connectors, all assist in launching new apps quickly. With the boosting pace of business transformation, the developers find more productive ways to deliver the apps faster.

Expands Digital Transformation

Businesses should automate the processes to keep up with the latest demands and altering business ambiance. Low-code BPM platforms offer the core technology for companies experiencing a digital transformation, assisting in speeding up their transformation cycle, adapt, and innovate swiftly.

What Are Low-Code Platform Features?

Now, we will check out the critical features of low-code platforms that will assist you in developing your apps.

Visual Development Tools

While developing low-code apps, firstly, you need to evaluate visual development tools. All low-code development tools hold robust visual development tools, making it easier to take code modules visually and link them together.

Security

Apart from being user-friendly and functional, a low code tool needs to be secure. So, be sure your low-code platform provides you proper security to safeguard the apps you are developing and the whole platform before you start utilizing it.

Scalability

Low-code systems need to be scalable also. They should hold the caliber to craft new apps that help manage an increasing number of users with the growing business.

Cross-Platform Functionality

Develop once, deploy everywhere. With the growth of mobile devices, such as tablets and cell phones, apps should hold cross-platform functionality standards in their design. It should happen automatically behind the scenes with the low-code development, with no extra dosing, effort, or resources.

Drag & Drop Interfaces

Crafting long strands of code is not only challenging but highly time-consuming also. Low-code permits easy drag-and-drop functionality through which developers can craft apps visually that lead to swift time-to-launch.

Outstanding Functionality – Reusability

The top low-code systems offer OOTB (out-of-the-box) functionality that diminishes the requirement for developing core modules from applications to scratch. It includes the use of pre-configured modules and functionalities for the apps. Such modules hold standard core functions required for various apps and are used again to craft distinct solutions swiftly. A low-code platform must permit users to reuse the pre-built or newly-built modules, plugin-ins, and complete apps to craft essential apps faster.

Application Lifecycle Management

Low-code tools streamline and ease various stages in the software development lifecycle, like debugging, testing, and deployment. They offer the users access to information related to versions if required for better app lifecycle management.

Reporting & Monitoring

Apps that are crafted using low-code monitor the processes and workflows to keep up with their effectiveness. Moreover, they also track the apps’ performance and are best for analysis purposes.

What Can We Create Using Low-Code Platforms?

From online portals for digitizing customer interactions to the process improvement apps to brand new core systems, here are the use cases of low-code platforms.

Web-Based Customer Portal

A perfect digital tool, a web-based portal delivers the self-service experience. Customers can conduct routine tasks, such as paying bills, finding services, getting a quote, etc., without interacting with anyone.

Portals are a cost-effective way to offer a consistent customer experience and append new revenue streams for organizations. Regardless of the value, various companies struggle hard to launch a customer portal. Traditional development is resource-consuming and slow, while commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions are not differentiated enough to fulfill your unique needs.

Low-code resolves such pain points by permitting developers in the business and IT to cooperate and deliver customer portals with customer-grade UI. Next, companies can develop the interface once and then reuse it various times for different devices and purposes.

B2C Mobile App

Spending on new digital self-service experiences, such as mobile apps, can improve customer satisfaction and append new business revenue. Usually, the lack of talented resources and the requirement to develop versions for distinct mobile architectures keep organizations away from building mobile apps.

Low-code eases the development of fit-for-purpose mobile apps for companies with existing employees from a single platform. Matured low-code platforms use the ReactNative framework to develop native apps for iOS and Android only.

Core Systems

With a modern core system, companies can rush to meet their employees’ and customers’ preferences, adapt to the latest business conditions, and quickly scale as they grow. Companies usually think there are just two options when it comes to developing the newest core systems:

• To invest in the modern Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and subsequently invest an extra amount in customizing it.
• Rebuild or update their current legacy systems in-house using traditional coding.

Both the options are time-consuming, costly, need skilled resources, and are built in an IT silo, which leads to business failure.

On the contrary, low-code applies an agile methodology to complete the application lifecycle. This strategy ensures that IT and business work together to lower the risk of a failed project and deliver the needed applications in record time. Apps developed on matured low-code platforms are by default multi-cloud and cloud-native portable. The apps created on the latest microservice architecture are highly secure, scale quickly, and enjoy high uptime with mission-critical flexibility.

Monoliths To Microservices

Microservices are IT components that are crafted around business potentials. They run independently but are not tightly coupled and are separately deployable. Microservices enhance the organization’s time-to-market when implemented accurately for new updates and functionalities. Plus, they promote cross-functional collaboration. But, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to cut down a monolith into microservices as it’s a complex process.

Low-code platforms can assist you in this by phasing out monoliths swiftly. Organizations use low-code to accelerate the development of transactional microservices apps. Beginning with high-impact, low-risk functionalities, organizations can use APIs to re-develop monolithic apps into low-code-based microservices.

Mobile-First Supplier Portal

The supply chain of a company should operate perfectly to deliver the best quality products to customers. But, going deeper, you will see a messy web of disparate systems, spreadsheets, highly manual processes, and inaccurate data to handle suppliers.

A web-based supplier portal provides an excellent solution to such standard supply chain inabilities. Furthermore, the web-based portal lacks the activities that demand swift reporting from field locations.

Low-code platforms ease developing a mobile-first supplier portal for Android and iOS with a customer-grade UI by centralizing the complete app lifecycle. On the contrary, organizations can also create browser-based PWA. High reusability of components makes sure that companies can reuse the components of supplier apps to spin off other adjacent applications, such as the eCommerce portal.

New SaaS Applications

Various companies offer their customers either physical goods, services, or both. But, in this digital era, every company is involved in the software business. So, why not use years of industry and deep customer knowledge to develop a new SaaS app that may enhance core products or service offerings and be sold commercially. The new SaaS application holds the caliber to resolve the most common pain points of customers. Moreover, they can also open new revenue streams for the company and catch up with new markets.

We know, development of a new SaaS app is quite tricky, but low code can make it quick and efficient to develop, test, and launch an app. The low-code platform comes with a collaborative nature that makes sure you achieve consistent feedback directly from end-users. Moreover, they provide better speed-to-market, actual cost savings, and a perfect ambiance to experiment with brand-new apps.

IoT-Enabled Smart App

IoT-enabled business solutions enhance internal operational efficiency and increase customer engagement. As companies know well about the benefits of IoT, they are actively finding ways to render new IoT-enabled functionalities.

IoT apps are complex and need integration between different systems, from IoT endpoints, like communication devices, sensors, cars, etc., to accumulate data. This data doesn’t hold much value.

Using low-code, the existing developers can smoothly integrate IoT platforms to develop mobile or web apps that turn the IoT data into context-aware and actionable insights for end-user consumption. Ahead can simply incorporate the IoT application with the enterprise systems and 3rd-party services, such as traffic or weather, to offer more insight or activate physical action.

BPM Engine & Business Process Management

One of the chief targets of various low-code platforms is BPM (business process management). Using low code, the users can build apps that automate processes and handle them more productively.

Low-code BPM is easy to use and develop compared to various BPM platforms, which are difficult to use. Business Process Management is one of the top apps of low-code technology. It assists both professional and citizen developers in developing apps that automate the processes swiftly and efficiently.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management and is known for managing the company’s interactions with current and potential customers.

When low-code is applied to CRM, it permits business users to build apps that automate and optimize their tasks. Additionally, this is used in various other departments, such as marketing, sales, and service. Some instances of low-code CRM development incorporate tools for marketing campaign management, lead management, and customer management.

Budget Request and Approval App

Spreadsheet or paper-based processes for budget approval are time-consuming, error-prone, and also lack transparency. The procedures developed on legacy systems, such as Oracle, IBM Notes, etc., exhibit their set of issues. The user interface is complex, usually with a form that asks for a vast amount of information, making it tablet or smartphone unfriendly. On the backend, it’s tough for IT to update the system rapidly to accommodate changes of any new business in the process or scale it with the expanding users.

Low-code strengthens business developers and professionals with flexibility, speed, and collaboration tools to digitize the approval processes and end-to-end capital requests on a single platform. Users get an application from multiple devices that is accessible, quick to respond, and provides a consumer-grade UI. Moreover, IT can integrate the application with ERP systems to check the capital request against the accounting budget. Ahead, it becomes easy for IT to handle and update the app in low-code frequently.

What Is Low Code Automation? Why Automate Processes With Low Code?

Low-code automation brings key processes together and automates various workflows, such as Business Process Automation, Robotic Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Case Management.

Enterprise process automation is not just related to one department or only one process. But, it is related to completely automating all the processes in all the departments from end-to-end.

It is a technically complicated undertaking as everything gets automated once and runs seamlessly without stopping. The processes alter and evolve constantly.

So, besides developing smooth, customer-grade digital solutions, you need to replace old databases and error-prone manual workflows. Moreover, you need to craft them to be adjustable as the business evolves.

So, if you can automate the processes with a low-code platform, you can build flexible solutions at high speed.

Popular Low-Code Development Platforms

We will now list out the top and highly accepted low code platforms that you can consider to develop your apps further.

Zoho Creator

One of the top low-code development providers in the market, Zoho creator, comes with varied features, such as visual development interface, form builder, etc., that help develop mobile apps. This low-code development platform supports third-party app integrations.

Suitable For: Small and medium-sized businesses with skilled developers

Best Feature: It offers the strength to transform your business using customized solutions, craft apps as per your needs, automates workflows easily, and connect and extend apps smoothly.

Pricing: Starts with three apps – $10 per user per month. It reaches $35 per user per month based on the number of apps and usage.

Kissflow Low-Code

This low-code platform was launched in the year 2012 and arrived with a new paradigm to low-code. It eliminated coding needs and focused itself on the companies that need to open up application development to all business users, not only the programmers. It ultimately diminishes the need for coding and holds drag-and-drop functionality to add and edit the fields. Additionally, it comes with a robust form builder and WYSIWYG editor that helps create and develop your apps and forums without coding knowledge.

Suitable for: SMBs, or enterprises that are looking into digital transformation

Best Feature: Ease of use, simple that can develop apps with no complexity.

Pricing: It starts at $390.

Google App Builder

New in the market, Google App Builder, is also used to make apps. It’s heavy on developing mobile applications. As we expect, it performs very well but fails in the areas where there’s a need for adding new features.

Suitable For: G Suite customers who want a simple way to develop apps.

Best Feature: It comes with an easy visual development interface that makes app development easier for new users.

Pricing: Starts at $10 per user.

OutSystems

The outsystems low-code development platform is crafted originally to be a gamechanger on this globe of low-code tools. It comes with a full suite of unique features, incorporating a WYSIWYG editor, drag-and-drop features to develop your apps visually, workflow and process mapping, an app marketplace to pick pre-built templates and apps from, etc.

Suitable for: It is best for enterprises that hold various programmers who want to boost their productivity.

Best Feature: It is a high-powered app-building platform that offers access to the source code and permits you to deploy anywhere.

Pricing: To use it, you need to buy a plan that starts at $5,400 per month and reaches $12,250.

Appian

Appian is a widely accepted low-code platform that holds an exceptional suite of features that you would expect, 3rd-party app integrations, a drag-drop visual interface, and the caliber to develop mobile apps.

The app marketplace is also significant, ensuring that you have your choice of pre-built apps that may meet your needs with minor modifications.

Suitable for: It is best for enterprises holding a core team of skilled developers.

Best Feature: This low-code platform is an ancient tool; that’s why its features are pretty mature.

Pricing: It has a free trial, but its pricing starts from $90 to $180 per month per user.

Read more about other Top Low Code Development Platforms

Conclusion

So, after reading this post, we hope you have learned almost everything about low-code app development, its top platforms, its benefits, features, and a lot more.

As the low-code trend is growing in the market, it’s time to transform your business into a successful mobile app and efficiently. So, hire a Mobile App Development Company today and allow it to develop an app as per your expectations.