Striking a Balance with Low-Code/No-Code Platforms

Low-Code/No-Code (LC/NC) platforms are becoming increasingly popular in enterprise software development. They enable non-technical users and citizen developers to quickly create software applications with little to no manual coding. However, LC/NC tools are not just meant for personnel outside of the IT organization. They are also incredibly useful for professional developers.

Figure 1 from our full report, Low-Code/No-Code Adoption Trends and Customer Experience, compares LC/NC against 13 other business technologies on five metrics: adoption rate, investment rate, ROI success rate, TCO success rate, and satisfaction rate. When compared to other technologies in the study, the ROI performance for LC/NC tools is high, where ROI performance is defined as positive or break-even on the investment within a two-year period. The percentage of organizations currently investing in this technology is low. However, the success rate for TCO is high. We define this rate as the percentage of adopters that come in on budget, or at less than budget, for implementation and ongoing support costs. LC/NC had a moderate customer satisfaction rate than other technologies in our study. The number of companies that use these tools is growing, and we expect the number to increase because the flexibility, agility, and cost reductions they enable are attractive.

In 2024, the LC/NC platform market is expected to grow further as businesses look for ways to become more innovative and agile. However, it is important to understand that LC/NC is not suitable for all software development. In certain situations, traditional coding techniques continue to be superior, especially where the application is too complex for LC/NC tools. There are also concerns about LC/NC possibly exposing businesses to vulnerabilities, either by reusing flawed code or by mistakes of inexperienced employees who unintentionally reveal sensitive information.

“When it comes to Low-Code/No-Code, the key is to find the right balance between automation and expertise,” said Asif Cassim, principal analyst at Computer Economics, a service of Avasant Research based in Los Angeles. “Use LC/NC to address routine applications and give time back to your developers to focus on the more challenging assignments.”

Despite the above issues, LC/NC is growing quickly and becoming better suited for a range of applications, from websites and mobile applications to enterprise-level solutions. Businesses can benefit greatly from adopting LC/NC. Some of the major benefits include the following:

• • Reduced development costs: By removing the need for custom coding and shortening application development timeframe, LC/NC systems significantly lower development costs.
  • Improved agility and speed to market: Organizations can create and implement applications at a significantly faster rate than with traditional development methods.
  • Improved efficiency, productivity, and innovation: By reducing the need for coding through LC/NC systems, IT teams can now focus on more strategic and difficult tasks.

Our full report helps IT executives understand the key concepts in the LC/NC space. The report provides worldwide adoption and investment rates by sector and organization size. We also measure customer experience in terms of the success rates for ROI and TCO. We identify the functional areas where organizations are planning or considering making new investments in LC/NC. We wrap up the report with the benefits organizations can expect by adopting LC/NC systems.

This Research Byte is a brief overview of our report Low-Code/No-Code Adoption Trends and Customer Experience. The full report is available at no charge for Computer Economics clients, or it may be purchased by non-clients directly from our website (click for pricing).