IT Leader's Complete Guide to Low Code

A guide to understanding how low code can help you transform your business and empower teams to innovate fast.

 
 
 
 

Low code is an alternative to traditional development that empowers business users and professional developers to get their apps and workflows to market faster.

Use this guide to discover what low code is, why it’s important to IT leaders, and how it can improve your business. We’ve also included a checklist to help you choose a low-code platform that reflects your growth priorities. Keep reading to understand what you gain when you introduce low code into the development process:

  • The ability to create and deploy apps quickly with greater efficiency
  • More human resources flexibility with reduced costs
  • A secure solution that protects your apps and data with governance controls

Overcome development obstacles with low code.

Chapter 1: What is Low Code?

It's a modern approach to software development that utilizes little to no computer coding

Low code is more than a development buzzword. It's an alternative approach to traditional software development that is visual instead of manual. With a low-code development platform, teams can use friendly graphical user interfaces (GUIs) - think “drag and drop” and “point and click” - to customize apps.

Since specialized software knowledge isn't needed, business users can use clicks to support professional developers in creating the custom applications and workflows your customers, employees, and partners need.

By bringing app development down to Earth, low code closes the gap between IT and the rest of the business. Product managers and marketers can take a more active role in app development, for example. In turn, IT departments can create more bandwidth for other technical priorities. Meanwhile, the spread of software development from root to branch can pave the way for a more profound digital transformation across the business.

But that doesn’t mean low-code platforms are child’s play. In fact, even very experienced software developers love working with low code. Now, your enterprise can:

 
  • Differentiate itself from its competitors
  • Get products and services to market faster
  • Reduce costs
  • Maximize human resources
  • Be more agile and adaptable
  • Protect sensitive data
  • Improve the customer experience
  • Accelerate digital transformation
 

“On average, 41% of employees in an organization are business technologists — that is, employees who report outside of IT departments and create technology or analytics capabilities for internal or external business use. LCAPs (low-code application platforms) empower diverse fusion teams to deliver innovation.”

Gartner, Magic Quadrant
For Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms, 20 September 2021
Jason Wong, Kimihiko Iijima, Adrian Leow, Akash Jain, and Paul Vincent
Before you travel too far down the low-code path, it’s essential to understand more precisely what low code is and how it works. An excellent place to start is with the phrase itself.

What is the difference between low code and no code?

If you’re researching low code, you might also come across the terms “no code” or “zero code.” Low-code and no-code platforms still use code. It’s just that you might not see it. With a low-code development platform, you can see the code, but you don’t have to write it yourself. You can drag and drop chunks of pre-written code to add functions and features to your app automatically. And then, if you want to, you can add custom code on top to enhance your app and differentiate it.

With a no-code development platform, you can neither see the code nor customize it. Instead of the underlying programming, you’re dragging and dropping final components — a button, for example, or a form.

The right solution provides both your business and professional developers with the tools they need to create apps and workflows quickly.

By 2025, 70% of new applications developed by enterprises will use low-code or no-code technologies, up from less than 25% in 2020.

Gartner LCAP Report 2021

 

Next, we want to show you why businesses are using low code to accelerate their digital transformations and deliver cost-effective solutions quickly.

 
 
 
 

Up Next: Chapter 2: Why Low Code Is Important to IT Leaders

Low-code platforms can drive real business benefits.
 

Empower more people to get more done.

  • Shift employees from manual tasks to strategic thinking
  • Get to market faster and release more features per year
  • Create dynamic experiences that cost less
 

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