Boost your business efficiency with lowcode

At the end of 2025, 41% of all employees – IT-employees not calculated – will be able to independently develop and modify applications. – Gartner, 2022

What is lowcode?

Low-code is a development approach to application development. It enables developers of diverse experience levels to create applications for web and mobile, using drag-and-drop components. These platforms liberate non-technical developers from the need to write code, while still receiving assistance from seasoned professionals. With lowcode we develop applications within a fraction of the time it usually took. But you can do a whole lot more with lowcode. For example, you don’t always need to create a completely new application. Sometimes, rebuilding a part of a slow, outdated or complicated application to a more stable and smarter version is a better option. Or you can harness the power of low-code technology to creatively link previously unconnected systems or merge various data sources in innovative ways. By doing so, you can utilize lowcode to create new data and insights you never expected.

Why use lowcode?

There are several reasons to start lowcode development today rather than tomorrow. Let me explain the best arguments:

• Rapid development
  By using drag-and-drop interface and pre-built components, you can speed up application delivery 40% / 60% faster compared to traditional code.
• Relieve pressure on IT staff
  Lowcode allows business users to develop applications themselves. This means that citizen developers can develop and maintain applications while your IT-staff can focus on their own tasks.
• Easy integration
  Lowcode platforms offer pre-built connectors and API’s, enabling smooth integrations between various applications.
• Enhanced user experience
  Whether it is developers, business analysts or subject matter experts, everybody can contribute to the application development process. Break down silos, foster teamwork, and unlock the full potential of your workforce. Co-create an app that makes your colleagues happy.
• Cost Saving
  Low-code platforms reduces costs by accelerating development, minimizing the need for specialized developers, and eliminating the need for extensive coding. Achieve more with less!
• Increased agility
  With the ability to make changes on the fly, you can respond swiftly to feedback, market shifts, and emerging opportunities.

An example of lowcode at its bests

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most companies did not have a desk reservation system in place, and employees would simply choose any available desk. However, with the arrival of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, many companies began to see the advantages of a desk-reservation system.

While it could take more than a month to build such desk-reservation system leveraging traditional code, lowcode solutions solved this challenge within two weeks – from initial idea to go-live.

Build it fast, build it right, build it for the future

As with traditional development, it is important to make sure you build your lowcode solutions right. It means that because your development approach is much faster, it is especially important to maintain the best practices to keep control over your lowcode landscape. For example, you don’t want:

• Duplicate code, apps or modules
• Uncontrollable sprawl of applications
• Data Exposure
• A bad fit between processes and applications

To summarize: think before you start. Ultimately, governance empowers businesses to maximize the benefits of lowcode development while mitigating risks and ensuring long-term success.

Lowcode vs No-code

Although lowcode and no-code have a really different approach in accelerating software development, they are often grouped under the same concept. This is a common misconception because both approaches bring different pros and cons to the table. Simply put, both lowcode and no-code aim to speed up development and reduce the reliance on traditional coding practices, but the difference is in how much coding is possible with either of the two approaches.

As explained in this blog, lowcode still requires some coding, but the complexity is reduced. No-code development on the other hand, eliminates the need for coding altogether by providing a drag-and-drop interface to create applications using pre-built blocks. It focuses on empowering non-technical users to build applications. The main difference between lowcode and no-code is that lowcode accelerates ‘traditional’ development by giving the user a lot of customization options with little performance drain, while no-code is even faster for development. However, by developing faster, you trade in some performance and customization options.

Lowcode and no-code at Rockfeather

At Rockfeather we aim to develop the best applications for our customers. Therefore, we primarily use lowcode to build quality solutions. Depending on the challenge, we decide if Microsoft PowerApps or Outsystems is a better fit for you. OutSystems is a lowcode platform that offers advanced customizations and scalability. OutSystems promises to help developers build applications that are 4-10 times faster compared to traditional development, without trading in performance. PowerApps, the other platform that we offer, is a tool that has lowcode and no-code capabilities. The platform allows its users to create applications with little to no coding experience. PowerApps has a visual development interface (no-code), but also offers the option for more experienced developers to extend functionalities through custom code (lowcode).

Are you interested in knowing more about lowcode? And do you want to know more about the differences between PowerApps and OutSystems? Than subscribe to our webinar that deep-dives into the unique features of both platforms.