September 12, 2023
In the innovative world of software development, you'll often hear the phrase "time equals money.” With clients gasping for a quick solution and businesses scuffling for a faster time-to-market, the eager rush towards fulfilling these needs has paved a path to the evolution of a concept known as low code development.
What are low code development platforms exactly, and how have they managed to carve out a niche within the well-populated software ecosystem? Essentially, these platforms are mechanisms designed to expedite the creation of applications by drastically curbing the amount of manual coding required. Traditional software development methodologies often involve copious amounts of hand coding—a process that can extend development times, inflate costs, and increase the risk for human error through miscommunication or misunderstanding.
The low-code development approach represents a seismic shift from the traditional processes involving extensive coding. It ushers in a more efficient procedure for building applications, one that is streamlined and easily manageable for businesses at scale. With low code, developers can architect a complete application visually by employing predefined, modular components coupled with model-driven logic — all of which can be maneuvered via a simple and uncluttered drag-and-drop interface.
Low code development platforms will naturally yield significant benefits for software developers, data engineers, and database architects. These professionals are incessantly under the pressure of creating business-level applications within shorter timeframes and without compromise on quality. Low code platforms offer them an avenue of significant relief, as they are no longer bound by tedious hand coding and can instead focus on conceptualising and realising efficient application structures. But it's not just these professionals that benefit — low code platforms are witnessing increasing usage amongst non-developers, such as business analysts and process engineers seeking to create applications without complex coding. A basic understanding of web apps, server requests, and variables is all that’s required to get started.
One might wonder, surely there must be some profound reasons to choose a low code development approach over other methods. Indeed, the reasons are many and theoretically can vary somewhat depending on the specific tool or platform being used. However, there are some universal benefits often cited by users:
Low code development represents a significant leap forwards in software creation methodology, presenting a future where useful, responsive web applications can be created with minimal coding. Like every technology, it’s not without its share of limitations, yet the myriad advantages it provides are far too beneficial to overlook. Given the increasing pressures businesses face to deliver high-quality applications quickly and efficiently, low code development establishes itself as a true game changer for developers and businesses alike. It chooses simplicity and speed without compromising on the power to create and innovate. A progressive stride in software development, low code represents more than just an innovative approach to coding — it's a statement on efficiency, performance, and productivity.