The low-code, no-code, and intelligent developer technologies (LCNCIDT) market is experiencing strong demand from professional and non-technical developers. According to a new IDC forecast, worldwide LCNCIDT revenue is projected to reach $21.0 billion by 2026, with a five-year CAGR of 17.8% (2021-2026).
In general, low-code platforms alleviate the burden on IT teams by minimizing the need for manual coding during application development and deployment. They facilitate improved application delivery and reduce the workload on engineering teams.
In this blog post, we’ll explore seven of the most common use cases for low-code platforms.
SaaS Development
Low-code platforms are transforming the realm of Software as a Service (SaaS) development by simplifying the creation of robust, scalable applications. These platforms provide out-of-the-box functionality and pre-built components, which significantly reduce the need for extensive manual coding. Low-code platforms enable rapid prototyping, allowing developers to swiftly test ideas and make necessary modifications. This accelerates the development cycle and helps bring SaaS products to market more quickly.
Additionally, low-code platforms foster continuous delivery by supporting seamless integration with existing systems and automation of various deployment tasks. This leads to enhanced efficiency, reduced error rates, and improved customer satisfaction.
Citizen Developer
The term “citizen developer” refers to individuals who create applications or systems using low-code or no-code platforms, even without formal coding knowledge. These platforms democratize application development by providing intuitive, drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-coded templates, enabling non-technical users to effectively contribute to their organization’s digital transformation.
Low-code platforms are particularly advantageous for citizen developers. They offer a high degree of flexibility and efficiency, allowing users to build and customize applications to meet their specific business needs. By reducing reliance on traditional coding, low-code platforms make software development more accessible, inclusive, and agile. They bridge the gap between IT and business units, empowering citizen developers to build solutions that address their immediate operational challenges and enhance productivity. This democratization of software development is leading to a paradigm shift in how organizations approach and deliver digital solutions.
API Builder
An essential feature of low-code platforms is the ability to generate APIs swiftly and efficiently, a process that traditionally requires extensive coding and intricate knowledge of the backend systems. These platforms simplify this process, allowing users to quickly create, test, and deploy APIs for various uses.
Take Postman, for instance. Postman is a popular API client that helps developers build, test, and document APIs efficiently. In the context of low-code platforms, Postman effectively illustrates how these platforms simplify API generation. For instance, a user can easily select the type of request, input the API endpoint, and define parameters and body data. Once the API call is set up, Postman will generate the code required for that API call in several programming languages, eliminating the need for manual coding.
This approach not only accelerates the API development process but also lowers the technical barrier, enabling both technical and non-technical users to create functional APIs. As a result, businesses can achieve a faster time-to-market for their digital solutions, increasing productivity and enhancing customer satisfaction. This use case of low-code platforms underscores their role in facilitating digital transformation at a rapid pace.
IoT Integration
Low-code platforms have revolutionized the Internet of Things (IoT) integration, making it more seamless, efficient, and cost-effective. By leveraging these platforms, businesses can quickly and easily connect IoT devices, capture data, and create applications that benefit from this data, all without the need for extensive coding.
This ease of integration contributes to the rapid prototyping and deployment of IoT solutions, significantly reducing the time-to-market. Moreover, because low-code platforms eliminate the complexity of traditional coding, they enable both technical and non-technical staff to contribute to the IoT development process.
For example, a developer can use a low-code platform to create an application that collects data from an IoT device, processes this data, and then takes an action based on the results. This could be done by simply dragging and dropping pre-built modules into place, without needing to write any code.
The flexibility and simplicity of low-code platforms enable businesses to tap into the potential of IoT technology quickly and without the need for specialized programming skills, facilitating the creation of innovative IoT solutions that drive operational efficiency and create competitive advantage.
Minimum Viable Products (MVP)
Low-code platforms are an excellent tool when it comes to the development of Minimum Viable Products (MVPs). The MVP approach aims to launch a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. Low-code platforms facilitate this process due to their inherent speed and efficiency.
The quick prototyping capabilities of low-code platforms mean that businesses can get their MVP to market faster, gaining critical feedback and reducing time to revenue. Additionally, low-code platforms provide the flexibility to make quick changes and iterations based on feedback. This adaptability is crucial for MVP development, where pivoting based on user feedback is often the key to success. As such, low-code platforms are not just a tool for development, they are a strategic asset in the ever-evolving landscape of product development.
E-Commerce and Retail
In the realm of e-commerce and retail, low-code platforms have emerged as powerful tools for simplifying the development and management of applications. Traditional coding methods, with their complexity and time-consuming nature, often act as a barrier to swift digital transformation. Low-code platforms, however, provide a streamlined, user-friendly alternative.
Low-code platforms enable e-commerce businesses to rapidly develop applications tailored to their unique business needs, without the necessity for deep technical expertise. For instance, a retailer could use a low-code platform to swiftly create a custom online store, integrating it seamlessly with inventory management systems and payment gateways.
Moreover, low-code platforms offer scalability, a crucial factor given the dynamic nature of the e-commerce and retail industry. As businesses grow, they can easily modify and expand their applications to accommodate increased customer traffic, product range, or enhanced functionality.
Finally, low-code platforms facilitate the integration of modern technologies like AI, machine learning, and IoT into e-commerce applications. This allows businesses to innovate and provide superior customer experiences, such as personalized recommendations, intelligent search functions, or IoT-enabled supply chain management.
In summary, low-code platforms simplify the e-commerce and retail application development process, providing businesses with the agility, scalability, and innovative capabilities necessary to thrive in today’s digital marketplaces.
Microservices
Low-code platforms are extremely beneficial in the field of microservices architecture. Microservices – small, independent processes that communicate with each other to form an application – are often utilized in modern software development due to their scalability and ease of management.
Here are some of the common use cases of low-code in microservices:
+ Proof Of Concept (POC): Low-code platforms can be used to create fast and low-cost proof-of-concepts (POC) for microservices. This allows developers to test out ideas before investing further resources in their development.
+ Deployment: Low-code platforms simplify the deployment of microservices by providing easy-to-use tools that allow developers to quickly build, configure, and deploy applications.
+ Integrations: Low-code platforms provide a smooth way to integrate microservices with existing systems or third-party APIs, leading to faster development cycles.
+ Monitoring & Management: Low-code platforms provide powerful tools for monitoring and managing microservices, giving developers visibility into their performance and health.
+ Containerization: Low-code applications can easily interact and operate within containers, enabling microservices developers to leverage vital orchestration tools.
Conclusion
In conclusion, low-code platforms stand as a revolutionary approach in today’s digital era, enabling swift application development across a myriad of domains, from IoT to e-commerce and microservices. They democratize the process of software development, allowing both technical and non-technical personnel to contribute to the creation of solutions. With their capabilities for rapid prototyping, easy deployment, and seamless integration, low-code platforms are transforming the IT landscape, driving operational efficiency, reducing time-to-market, and fostering innovation. They are not merely a development tool, but a strategic asset in the competitive and ever-evolving world of digital transformation.
