Why Low Code Is a Winner During the Pandemic

The pandemic gave businesses a choice: sink or swim. Companies asked themselves, “How can we make going 100% digital work for us?” Leaders navigated uncharted waters, and one of the most successful solutions came from an answer created over a decade ago: low-code development.

Low code is the simple version of traditional code. It leverages drag-and-drop functionality so anyone can build, without needing to call on development skills to code.

Why low code? Why now?

Low code is revolutionizing the pandemic for small and large businesses alike. It brings thousands of people the services and goods they need by providing a quick way for new apps to get into the market. When walk-in hair salons shifted to booking appointments digitally, or when loans needed to be processed at a moment’s notice, low code made it easy for admins and developers to deliver the technology they needed overnight.

This inspired 92% of IT leaders to seek low-code solutions at their organizations. According to one software executive, low code “improved time to market, increased reusability of code, and reduced technical complexities allowing faster digital transformation.”

We partnered with Pulse Q&A on a global research report where we discovered this and other insights that resulted from the low-code boom during the pandemic. True to its nature, low code simplifies and streamlines — especially when it comes to improving productivity and collaboration with others. Here are the highlights:

IT leaders prioritized low code to build apps quickly, streamline workflows, and get to market fast

Let’s go back to those uncharted waters. You have your map (which is your product), and you see the destination of land (which is where you want to go). Low code is like an extra boost of wind that helps you get there faster.

Tech leaders recognized this and began prioritizing how to use low code to reach their goals. A majority wanted to use low-code development for streamlining workflows with about half of executives also wanting to release apps faster and reduce the time developers spend on tedious, repetitive tasks.

“Even in the best of times,” said Salesforce Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Franklin, “relying solely on traditional coding takes time, requires extensive developer resources, and strains IT departments.” Low code helps you do what’s best for your teams — because it puts the power back in the hands of capable people and simultaneously lightens the load for IT.

Another way low code invites collaboration is in its relevance to any industry. Software saw a leap of 44% in low-code usage since the start of 2020, and education services increased their use of low code by 66%. With the power of technology, organizations were able to adapt their business model and shift their brick-and-mortar operations to digital. Low code solves real problems: from tracking attendance to tracking bug reports, it has nearly all the capabilities of traditional coding with none of the traditional hurdles. Low code allows anyone, with or without formal training, to build apps. It enables businesses of all sizes to bridge digital gaps and work from anywhere in a short period of time.

What it takes to increase adoption of low-code development in the future

The findings from Pulse Q&A aren’t the only predictor of a low-code future; Senior Analyst John Bratincevic at Forrester Research identifies a momentous surge in low code, possibly even doubling in the next four years. “We estimate the market will be around $14 billion by the year 2024,” he said. “It’s still growing, even during COVID-19.”

So what could stop the low-code love? Two-thirds (67%) of IT executives say training is the primary obstacle, followed closely by governance (60%). Even though the interface itself is built to be very easy, it still takes effort to shift a team’s knowledge. Almost half (48%) agree that buy-in from executive leaders is key, followed by time (40%), and budget (25%).

Low code presents an opportunity for tech leaders to solve strategic business problems. We saw that IT teams who used low code in 2020 reported higher levels of productivity, efficiency, and lower development-related costs.

Digital solutions give businesses an opportunity to grow their presence in the market like never before. If you don’t have a low-code implementation plan at your company, there are plenty of tools to get you started. Low code provides ways for you to stabilize your business and exceed your goals, even in a challenging environment, so you can weather any storm that comes your way.