In a world where technology delivers innovative, efficient solutions at an ever-faster pace, low-code stands out as a disruptive force in digital transformation.
Conventional software development has always been a meticulous, detail-heavy effort.
Developers write individual lines of code representing instructions and data, then organize that code into functional routines and modules that provide the software’s features and functionality.
In the fast-paced environment of modern business, agility and efficiency are in ever-greater demand — including in application development.
That’s where low-code has established itself in the market, bringing an innovative approach to building applications quickly and effectively, and breaking some of the biggest paradigms in software development.
In this guide, we’ll unpack exactly what low-code is and take a closer look at how these platforms are changing the way we think about software development.
You’ll go from the fundamentals to practical applications, building a solid understanding of how to drive innovation and put this technology to work for your organization’s sustainable growth. Let’s get started!
What is low-code? Understanding the concept
Put simply, low-code is a software development approach focused on simplifying the coding process.
The goal is to reduce the amount of “hand-coding” — code written from scratch — by using platforms that offer visual interfaces and drag-and-drop tools to build applications quickly.
The approach is highly composable: a component built once can easily be reused across multiple applications.
It’s called “low code” because development is split roughly 80/20 between visual coding and hand-coding.
About 80% of the application is built using a low-code user interface, and the remainder is hand-coded — typically fine-tuning specifications as needed.
The term “low-code” itself was coined by the research firm Forrester in 2014 and defined as a platform for developing customer-facing applications.
Years later, in 2017, Forbes called low-code a movement, describing it as “extraordinarily disruptive.”
Low-code platforms: a detailed look
How low-code platforms work
A low-code development platform is an application that provides a graphical user interface for programming.
Instead of writing individual lines of code, users select the components they need from a menu.
Functional and reusable, all the work is done through a visual drag-and-drop interface.
When arranged together, these available components form a software flow, much like building a flowchart.
You can easily add, move, or remove functional components to construct the final process.
At that point, the low-code tool takes care of the underlying code and supporting tasks, such as testing and deployment.
Building through drag-and-drop makes deliveries faster, thanks to pre-built functionality that accelerates development.
It overcomes one of the biggest barriers of traditional programming, which demands deep technical expertise and takes a long time to produce applications.
Development interface in the Mendix low-code platform.
Low-code platforms also tend to be more affordable than traditional development platforms — which means they’re kinder to your organization’s software development budget.
What you’ll find in a low-code platform
In general, these platforms offer a wide range of features and tools designed to simplify the software development process.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the key elements you can expect when building projects on a low-code platform.
The visual development environment is the defining feature of a low-code platform.
The idea is to bring capabilities together through drag-and-drop dynamics in highly intuitive graphical interfaces, letting you build applications from pre-configured components — which significantly accelerates development.
Another capability focuses on data modeling, allowing developers to define the application’s data structure.
This simplifies data management and ensures the integrity and consistency of the data structure across the entire application.
One of the main advantages of this approach is the ability to reuse components across multiple projects.
Platforms typically include libraries of components — forms, dashboards, and even third-party integrations — to speed up your workflow.
Developers can also reuse their own custom-built components in other projects.
The ability to automate complex business processes through visual workflows is one of the most valuable capabilities found in the best low-code platforms.
The platform lets you create workflows that coordinate actions between systems and users, automating repetitive tasks and improving operational efficiency.
Types of low-code platforms
There’s a variety of platform types, each with characteristics geared toward specific needs and unique functionality.
According to Forrester, the five main types of low-code platform are:
- Data and integration platforms;
- Process automation platforms;
- UX platforms, focused on user experience;
- Application development, deployment, and management platforms;
- And finally, governance-focused platforms.
How to choose a low-code platform
There are many options on the market, and choosing the right platform for your business means understanding your needs and priorities to make the best decision.
Here are some key considerations, according to Forrester, for evaluating the main factors when selecting a low-code solution.
Automation is a popular bet among companies seeking efficiency and productivity in corporate processes.
When choosing the best low-code platform, evaluate whether the technology suits every type of project that may come up, from the simplest to the most complex.
Low-code platforms must serve the different kinds of people who will use them, from seasoned professionals to newcomers.
When selecting the right technology, analyze the profiles of your team members to choose a product that works for each of them.
The good news is that vendors are actively investing in supporting new developer profiles as they improve their platforms.
There are many low-code platform vendors beyond the 14 companies cited in the Forrester report.
Each offers its own deployment process, partner-related services, virtual delivery of ready-made development tools or tools that must be integrated with the client’s systems, and more.
Before signing a contract or committing to a technology, get to know the particulars of each competitor so you can identify which one is the best fit for your business.
Examples of low-code platforms
The market currently offers several platforms geared toward specific needs with a low-code development approach.
The leading platforms focused on simplifying software development today include:
Microsoft’s platform lets users easily build custom business applications with low-code dynamics.
You can connect to data and automate business processes through an intuitive graphical interface offering a wide variety of tools.
One of the most powerful low-code platforms on the market today, Mendix enables fast, efficient application development.
The platform lets you build projects with advanced tools for data modeling, interface design, and process automation.
It’s known for its ease of use and its ability to scale to meet the needs of large enterprises.
OutSystems is recognized as a scalable platform with strong support for building complex applications in enterprise environments.
Its interface offers a broad set of capabilities — including data modeling, interface design, and process automation tools — for developing, deploying, and managing applications with ease.
Salesforce, a technology company with major authority in the global market, also offers low-code solutions with a platform designed to let users build custom applications on the Salesforce cloud.
The Lightning Platform is integrated into the Salesforce ecosystem, which makes it easy to build applications and integrate them with other Salesforce solutions.
Finally, there’s Appian, well known for its ability to automate complex business processes with a structure that’s approachable for both developers and end users.
Different uses for low-code platforms
Low-code platforms can be used to build applications for a wide range of business and technical purposes.
These systems can digitize manual, paper-based processes or support business process management efforts.
They can also modernize legacy systems, helping organizations advance their digital transformations, drive cloud migration, or support the adoption of newer, innovative technologies such as IoT and artificial intelligence.
Beyond that, these platforms can be used to build systems for employees, as well as applications that serve business partners or engage customers.
Once IT and other departments identify and align business goals with clear requirements, low-code projects can address a wide range of opportunities:
Portals are a common, popular way for customers to interact with companies — finding services or products, getting quotes, checking availability, scheduling work, placing orders, and making payments.
Low-code can help quickly build a series of portals with shared front-ends or user interfaces, instead of hand-coding HTML and back-end components.
Companies rely on systems and applications to handle their daily tasks.
For example, a lending company adopts a system to organize documents, integrate appraisals, and run credit checks and financial analyses.
Companies usually buy such a platform from a vendor or build it in-house using traditional coding processes.
Low-code brings a third option, helping companies create and extend adaptable, scalable applications — and even migrate them to single-cloud or multi-cloud deployments.
Traditional business processes based on paper or spreadsheets are time-consuming and error-prone.
Companies can use low-code to build systems that gather the necessary information, route it through the company’s approval process, and integrate it with conventional business systems such as ERP.
With low-code, a company can create a wide variety of mobile applications that bring business data and interactions to customers.
For example, an insurance company’s mobile app lets customers file claims and upload claim documentation, such as collision photos.
Today’s low-code platforms can build apps for both Android and iOS devices from the same project.
A microservices architecture creates highly scalable systems from a series of independent components that communicate through APIs over a network.
Components can be developed, deployed, and maintained independently, enabling faster development and easier updates with less testing than conventional monolithic systems.
Low-code is a viable platform for microservices-based components.
It quickly builds and reimagines applications for greater performance and stability, helping translate traditional legacy code into modern, agile microservices applications.
Companies can use low-code to build systems and functions that integrate IoT endpoints and collect data, sending it to back-end computing infrastructure.
For example, a plant-growing company can use humidity and temperature sensors — combined with data on growth cycles and conditions — to automatically control indoor lighting and irrigation for its crops.
Major projects built with low-code
Unilever
Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods multinationals, achieved outstanding results using low-code to digitize and optimize business processes across multiple areas.
With low-code tools, the organization cut supplier onboarding time from days to hours.
The supplier management process was rolled out with the new approach in nearly 40% of its countries, allowing a team of citizen developers to take on much of the change.
Check out the full case study for more details.
Siemens
Another technology leader making history in the Brazilian market with applications built on the Mendix low-code platform is Siemens.
With Mendix — one of the largest and most complete low-code platforms — Siemens significantly accelerated time-to-market for new products and services and improved collaboration across globally distributed teams.
Advantages and disadvantages of low-code
Advantages
Writing individual lines of code and mastering complex syntax takes significant effort.
Low-code lets professionals assemble complex ideas and workflows as packaged functions or components, organized in a visual interface.
Simplified processes can also speed up future project updates and iterations.
Low-code allows less experienced programmers (or even non-programmers) to participate in the software development process.
Any customization or hand-coding required can usually be handled with less support from professional developers.
Companies can use low-code to build individual tools for specific departments.
For example, HR may want a tool to help model or forecast salaries and benefits for better payroll decisions.
Companies can easily experiment with ideas that would be expensive or time-consuming with traditional development.
For example, building a tool for marketing teams to analyze ad campaign spend versus ROI and determine the most efficient ways to reach customers.
Low-code can help develop niche applications for small user bases quickly and cost-effectively.
For example, a company may not have the budget to develop a tool used only within a finance department — but low-code makes it an attractive option.
Low-code platforms typically track and manage a software project and its associated elements.
This makes it easier for the company to stay in control of development and define guidelines that help ensure business governance and compliance.
Low-code platforms also provide instrumentation, analytics, and reporting that gather key details about a project’s performance and usage — helping teams plan updates and troubleshoot issues.
Disadvantages
Looking at the market today, the only major challenge organizations may face when adopting a low-code platform is integration.
Because low-code serves companies across many niches, with no limitations on organization size, integrating with smaller, niche-specific software can pose challenges.
Even so, given ongoing advances in both technology and the approach itself, this is a limitation that won’t hold development back for long.
Low-code vs. no-code: understanding the difference
No-code development platforms allow non-technical individuals to build applications and other tools. There’s no need to code anything at all.
Image: Mendix
Instead, they use simple, intuitive interfaces, usually with drag-and-drop functionality. This makes application development an agile process — there’s no need to wait for a developer to build even the final 20% of an app.
As with low-code platforms, the benefit of no-code is that application builders can respond quickly to business needs, shortening time-to-market.
Business process management no longer requires traditional programming experts to build applications or tools.
We have a dedicated article that clears up the differences between low-code and no-code — check it out here.
Enterprise digital transformation and low-code
Today, every company needs a digital strategy — a plan describing how to apply digital technologies and services to support business goals.
A comprehensive digital strategy can fundamentally reshape policies, priorities, investments, and long-term goals.
Low-code aligns with digital transformation strategies because many of these efforts involve software development projects that low-code can accelerate.
Examples include user portals, internal systems, mobile apps, and business tools in general.
Of course, low-code is only one part of a digital transformation strategy.
It also requires strong collaboration between business teams and technology leaders to understand the business, identify the digital products and opportunities that best serve the organization, and evaluate and introduce new technologies.
The low-code market
There’s no denying that low-code tools have a significant impact on the market.
As awareness of these platforms spreads, so does their expected market share.
Low-code helps companies close the gap created by high development costs and build applications for specific business purposes with broad participation from both IT and the business.
Low-code platforms accounted for less than 25% of all application development in 2020, but will be responsible for 75% by 2025, according to research firm Gartner.
Over the same period, Gartner projected that annual revenues for low-code platforms will grow from just over US$ 9 billion to nearly US$ 30 billion.
The low-code market is so significant that Gartner created two Magic Quadrants specifically for these development tools: the Multiexperience Development Platforms Gartner Magic Quadrant and the Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms Gartner Magic Quadrant.
Gartner’s Leaders are well-established software companies. These organizations help businesses create, develop, deploy, and manage applications with low-code tools and automation processes.
The bottom line is that business needs will grow too large to wait for people fluent in programming languages to build everything from scratch.
Instead, business users will take their needs into their own hands. Forrester agrees with Gartner, estimating that low-code capabilities would be worth up to US$ 21 billion in 2022.
Software applications are being built to serve those without technical coding experience, such as citizen developers and citizen integrators.
IDC predicted that the number of low-code developers will grow 40.4% per year between 2021 and 2025.
According to TechRepublic, “nearly 60% of all custom applications are now built outside the IT department.
Of those, 30% are built by employees with little to no technical development skills.”
Success story: Credsystem and the Cartão Mais! product
Credsystem is a financial services company specializing in credit.
With more than 20 years in the market, the company has made major investments in technology and innovation, adopting TrueChange as a strategic partner for the Mendix platform over the past year.
Since then, all development of Cartão Mais!, the company’s flagship product, has moved to the low-code platform — closing the year with more than 2 million app downloads.
Learn more about this case. Watch the video showcasing the successful partnership between TrueChange and Cartão Mais!
How TrueChange enables implementation with the Mendix platform
Mendix, the low-code platform in the Siemens services portfolio, is within reach for companies seeking the best tools for their application development journey.
If you’re considering adopting the platform, know that TrueChange can help your company implement Mendix.
TrueChange is Siemens’ leading partner in Brazil for Mendix solutions and is ready to guide you on this journey.
Shall we get started? Contact us and find out where to begin!
