Low-code/No-code: A passing trend or long-term shift? Rob McConnell, Expleo Group

Guest post by Rob McConnell, Director, Expleo Group

Amidst the ongoing tectonic shifts in the business and IT landscape – precipitated by the pandemic and changing work patterns – there has been a dramatic spike in deployments of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) solutions. This shift has been driven by advances in computing power, the explosive increase in the quantity of data available, and the heightened awareness at boardroom level of the importance of software delivery agility to sustained business growth.

With a view to emerging from the pandemic on more assured, agile footing, many businesses have spent the protracted pandemic period future-proofing their operations with innovative solutions and a ‘digital first’ mindset. Overall, there has been growing acceptance that indecisiveness around digital transformation is broadly considered an existential threat for business leaders over the next ten years.

One prominent trend from the software development perspective has been the increasing focus on Low-code, No-code development. But are these just marketing buzz words or is there really a new game in town? Given the varied interpretations being thrown around, it is hardly surprising that a recent survey by formstack found that 82% of respondents are unfamiliar with the term “No-code”.

A brief history lesson

Before we dive in, a retrospective assessment of enterprise software development in the 60s and 70s can help us understand today’s trends – back when code intensive languages such as COBOL, C and Fortran were hot topics. Over the next few decades, there were efforts to broaden the developer base. Some of these were attempts to provide a complete easy to use stack for application development. Hypercard is still considered a pioneer in this area. The xBase family of languages for DOS were also hugely popular with this approach. The subsequent emergence of windows saw Visual Basic and Visual Foxpro take the same approach albeit in a more visual and intuitive manner.

Scripting languages like VBA opened a whole new range of possibilities for end users who could now make optimal use of applications like Excel to automate operational tasks. This could be viewed as a precursor for what we consider today to be “Citizen Developers” – end users who create and utilise software to meet business needs.

It has become increasingly evident that we need new ways of working to address the challenges associated with increased software complexity, hence the current trend of making software development more broad-based. This is achieved by combining a visual approach to building software and providing building blocks which provide tested functionality including integration with disparate systems.

The case for leveraging Low-code/No-code

The visual building block approach typical of Low-code/No-code may not sound much different from the various approaches that we have seen earlier. However, the difference is that today we have more sophisticated tools as well as, more importantly, the power of APIs and micro-services to facilitate the creation of sophisticated enterprise level solutions. As a result, even the non-technical business user has at his/her hands the means to build or contribute to these solutions in a more extensive manner.

There are attempts to further differentiate in terms of a No-code (involving only a visual connected layout of components) and Low-code (adding code for customising the no code architecture) approach. However, I tend to see this differentiation as superficial: In the end there is only a difference in degree.  You can either put together the components and use the solution as-is or go further and customise the pre-built solution as per your exact requirements. This has opened up the possibility of business users with no technical knowledge easily building solutions that meet their operational needs.

Many vendors have currently entered the market with low-code platforms that confirm to the model of having a library of components including integrations with a drag and drop approach. Vendors like Microsoft, on the other hand, are integrating some of their offerings and branding them under a single platform. In the IoT space, an open-source solution that has a lot of traction is Node-Red. All these solutions straddle the no-code and low-code space. From the technical perspective I find them very similar in approach with the possibility of leveraging current technical skills in modern stacks for specific customisation.

Given the increased awareness around enterprise security – amplified by the recent ransomware attack on Ireland’s Health Service Executive – IT departments are understandably extremely nervous at the thought of end users creating software on their own.

A pragmatic approach would be to consider this as a development ‘spectrum’ with business users on one end and the technical developers on the other. I see the need for companies to put in place a policy which outlines the boundaries for specific classes of users with a clear process which would enable a frictionless experience for all involved. This should not be seen as delegation of IT. Instead, this would enable enterprises to jump start a digital culture within the organisation as well as leveraging solutions at the enterprise level.

A second aspect that is often overlooked is how enabling such an internal digital culture can spur innovation. It is easy now for business users to quickly come up with prototypes or actual solutions that can be of wider usage within the enterprise. Given that it is estimated that by 2025, 75% of the workforce will be millennials who have grown up with technology, this provides a perfect opportunity for companies to tap talent in multiple areas.

The future is now

So, is Low-code/No-code here to stay? It is interesting to note that this trend has become prominent due to the convergence of multiple factors: Increasing digital expectations of the millennials, the surge in digital demand due to the pandemic and the need to build adaptable software at greater speed with fewer development resources.

The last reason is particularly important: there is a dearth of software development professionals to meet the current demands. Companies are struggling to hire quality talent at all levels for their current and future software needs. Given all these factors, it is a foregone conclusion that this approach will become more prominent with every passing day. It is up to enterprises to leverage this to ensure that technology acts as a business differentiator and lead in the competitive environment today and in the future.

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