Low-Code and No-Code Platforms - How Organisations Can Ride the Wave
Deeper Dive 6/9: Clayton Smith Explains how Organisations Can Ride the Wave of Low-Code and No-Code Platforms
In the relentless world of technology, low-code and no-code platforms are shaking things up. These tools are not just democratising app development; they're challenging the status quo and putting traditional developers on notice. Some will say if you're not adapting to this shift, you're falling behind. The power to create, customise, and deploy applications is no longer exclusive to the elite few.
Organisations want to enable non-technical users to streamline workflows, automate tasks, and develop solutions without the need for extensive coding knowledge. By providing an intuitive interface and pre-built templates, low-code and no-code platforms empower users to take control of their processes and bring their ideas to life with minimal technical expertise.
But there’s a catch! As these platforms gain popularity within organisations with distributed controls, they also introduce new challenges that must be addressed to ensure their effective and sustainable adoption.
The democratisation of technology
Low-code and no-code platforms flip the traditional approach of creating custom applications by a team of skilled developers (maximum effort, maximum time and maximum cost) and enable non-technical users to take control (maximum effort, minimum time and minimum cost).
Those non-technical users are often referred to as "citizen developers" and they actively participate in the development process. This democratisation of technology encourages innovation and agility, as individuals with specialised understanding can quickly prototype and iterate solutions tailored to their specific needs. Whether they’re in IT, marketing, or finance – they can customise their own applications to solve their own unique problems.
The risks of fragmentation and siloed solutions
While the benefits of low-code and no-code platforms are evident, their widespread adoption within organisations with distributed controls presents a risk of fragmentation and siloed solutions. Remember back when similar challenges popped up with the spread of Microsoft Access databases? Those often led to isolated pockets of data and inconsistent processes. Without proper governance and oversight, low-code and no-code solutions can result in a patchwork quilt of applications that lack integration, scalability, and security.
The risk of fragmentation gets even trickier with the chance of duplicated efforts. Different departments or teams might create similar applications on their own, leading to redundancy and wasted resources. Plus, without standardisation and proper documentation, maintaining and supporting these applications can become a real headache. This can leave organisations dealing with a messy and fragmented technology landscape that makes collaboration and efficiency a real challenge.
Strategies for mitigation
To mitigate the risks associated with low-code and no-code platforms, organisations must adopt a strategic approach that balances empowerment with control. Here are several key strategies we live by:
1. Standardisation and governance: Establish clear standards and governance frameworks for consistency in development, security, compliance, documentation, and version control.
2. Training and education: Provide comprehensive training for citizen developers on platform usage, application design, data management, and security to empower users and minimise risks.
3. Solution catalogues and repositories: Maintain a centralised repository of approved solutions to avoid duplication, promote reuse, and ensure consistency.
4. Collaboration and integration: Foster a culture of collaboration and invest in integration tools to create a cohesive technology ecosystem that drives innovation and efficiency.
The best of both worlds: Integrating low-code and full-code solutions
In the pursuit of harnessing the benefits of both low-code and full-code approaches, organisations can adopt a hybrid strategy that leverages the strengths of each. This "best of both worlds" approach involves using low-code platforms for rapid development and prototyping, while integrating them with full-code solutions such as iWorkplace for business-critical components or tasks that require advanced customisation and control.
This approach encourages teamwork between citizen developers and professional developers. Citizen developers can concentrate on crafting user-friendly interfaces and automating routine tasks, while the pros handle the technical details and make sure the application meets security, scalability, and performance standards. By joining forces, these teams can create comprehensive and robust solutions that tackle both immediate and long-term business needs.
On top of that, integrating low-code and full-code solutions can enhance the overall resilience and scalability of an organisation’s technology ecosystem. Full-code components can be designed to handle high volumes of data and transactions, ensuring that the application can scale seamlessly as the organisation grows. At the same time, low-code components can be easily modified and extended to accommodate changing business requirements, providing the flexibility needed to stay agile in a dynamic market.
Making work better
Low-code and no-code platforms present exciting opportunities for organisations. However, it is vital to make sure that you are not just introducing a new form of technical debt. Defining how this development will be managed and governed is key.
Also important is considering how you are going to support this citizen development over time. We know of many organisations where low code solutions have got out of control and I.T. is left holding the baby despite not being involved in the original work.
Solution catalogues help you to at least see the extent of these solutions allowing you to actively monitor and manage your organisation’s use.
Like most aspects of information management being clear on your use cases, constraints and requirements up-front ensure that no and low code is actually making work better. And that you are not creating a mess that will give you headaches down the track.