Low-code platforms bridge expertise gap

The paper, 6 reasons to select a low-code environment, discusses the top motivations driving businesses to deploy low-code environments and also offers a few cautionary considerations to think about.

Adoption drivers

Several tech research firms cited in the paper agree that the low-code market is increasing rapidly. IDC estimates that it’s growing at about an 18% CAGR and is on track to reach $21 billion by 2026. The primary reason is that the platforms address the global shortage of full-time professional developers. This is expected to continue through the end of the decade and is creating a strong market for technologies that expand the developer pool.

Low-code platforms allow individuals to build and deploy software applications and automated workflows with minimal or no coding. They employ a combination of drag-and-drop features, prompts, and reusable components to allow individuals with little or no expertise to experiment, prototype, and deliver applications, often in a matter of weeks or days.

Not surprisingly, low-code features are particularly popular in tools that harness artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, as they further ease the development process.

What can you do with low-code?

The Iron Mountain paper details six top capabilities that a low-code development environment generally delivers. These are summarized below; for the full discussion, download the white paper here.

1. Quickly expand the coding talent pool to include “citizen developers”, with guardrails. These are internal business professionals who understand the organization and its goals. They’re positioned to knowledgeably build business-focused, impactful applications and workflows that align with company objectives using low-code tools. They further support citizen developers by promoting best practices, providing guardrails and instant feedback to reduce unnecessary bugs.
2. Accelerate development and increase competitiveness. One expert cited says that low-code platforms can be 10 times faster than traditional coding. Another estimates that the process shaves 50% to 90% off development time.
3. Gain greater freedom to innovate. Traditionally, the number of requests for new and updated applications the IT team receives from the business has exceeded IT’s bandwidth, leading to a backlog and waiting period. Low-code platforms give the business and IT the ability to pivot quickly, lowering risk and freeing them to explore opportunities that can increase efficiencies and improve competitiveness.
4. Improve collaboration between business and technical teams. Because low-code platforms use intuitive interfaces, more people can contribute to the development process for outcomes that combine the expertise of both business and IT professionals. To facilitate collaboration, many low-code tools are self-documenting, having built-in features such as annotation and labeling capabilities to ease working together and improve results.
5. Lower cyber risk and strengthen data governance. When writing code from scratch, traditional developers might create buggy or non-compliant software that creates risk. Low-code platforms offer a structure that helps organizations ensure that their applications comply with both corporate and industry policies for data security and privacy.
6. Contain costs. By expanding their programming talent pools with citizen developers, organizations can spend less money recruiting developers and data scientists. The white paper references a customer that saved about $1 million in labor costs by deploying Iron Mountain’s InSight low-code platform. The simpler platforms and expanded talent pool also allow businesses to assign their skilled developers to high-value projects and optimize the returns on their financial investments.

AI-assisted development in low-code platforms

AI has been a powerful tool for automation in many areas, and low-code software development is no exception. By using natural language prompts with tools like Chat GPT, and tracking previous development activities and capturing best practices, developers of all experience levels benefit with auto-generated code based on intent as well as auto-suggestions to reinforce healthy building and management of software. With mature platforms, AI-based chatbots can work as ‘co-pilots’ for developers to assist them with their tasks.

Beware low-code as a panacea

The white paper mentions a few issues that companies evaluating low-code solutions should bear in mind to keep expected outcomes realistic. First, organizations should verify the “low-code” label they may see on products with proof-of-concept testing with relevant use cases, to make sure that the platform of interest delivers on the promised benefits.

Additionally, the paper advises not to assume that a low-code approach is right for every project. It suggests evaluating each use case to determine whether a citizen or a professional developer (or both) is the best fit. For projects that merit low-code developers, knowledgeable business experts with an interest in technology will likely result in the greatest success, according to the paper. Many organizations have seen accelerated and sustained success by pairing more experienced technical developers with citizen developers on projects.

Finally, democratizing technology—whether with low-code tools or other tech capabilities—can lend itself to the emergence of shadow IT. In these instances, employees might use tools in unintended ways that may not align with corporate rules and strategies. Organizations can mitigate these risks by establishing and enforcing appropriate policies. By creating and staffing a Center of Excellence (or COE) around the platform, an organization stands a higher chance of quickly turning around projects that are both successful and well-architected, minimizing issues and reducing the need for unnecessary re-work.

Learn more

Iron Mountain InSight^® Digital Experience Platform (DXP) includes a low-code environment that offers all the tools and libraries businesses need to create and customize automated document processing workflows. To access Iron Mountain’s full 8-page 6 reasons to select a low-code environment guide, visit www.ironmountain.com/resources/whitepapers/r/6-reasons-to-select-a-low-code-environment. To learn more about Iron Mountain’s low-code InSight DXP, visit www.ironmountain.com/insight.