Ever wondered what a superpower looks like?
The ability to create high-end websites, survey forms, CRM extensions, reporting tools, software programs, and many other coded developments without typing a single line of code is a perfect example.
Low Code, No Code technology allows non-developers to build simple or sophisticated programs via drag-and-drop functionalities, a visual interface, and prebuilt templates, even if you have no idea how HTML5 and CCS3 work.
And that’s why it’s gaining momentum even among non-IT professionals in the business world.
Let’s see what global leaders think about this pacemaker innovation and how businesses can adapt its power to scale their ROI.
LCNC Vs. Traditional Developers: The New Shift
“Helpp! LCNC is Taking My Job Away.”
We hear this almost every day, or something around that. And honestly, we can’t deny the legitimacy of such concerns. Technological innovations of different sorts have threatened the jobs of millions of people, with the World Economic Forum reporting a loss of about 85 million job roles by 2025.
Layoffs.fyi has so far tracked over 108,000 job losses in the tech industry throughout the first seven months of 2024. While not all of these layoffs affect traditional developers, they’re all connected to newer technological innovations that replace humans in certain tasks, such as coding or writing content.
Moreover, 70% of businesses plan to integrate Low-code, No-code technologies into their workflow by 2025.
So, technically, if you see anything that does your job with as much efficiency, you’ll definitely feel insecure about your employment, whether now or in the future. That explains why so many techs are taking a dig against LCNC.
But is Low-code, No-code development really going to reduce developer job demand or cause you to lose your role? Well, not really.
According to Gartner, the demand for business-related apps is five times higher than the available IT capacity, which means there are an inexhaustible number of jobs available. Also, 85% of companies adopting LCNC do so only to fill the technical shortage in the job market, not because they want it to replace you.
Additionally, 80% of organizations believe LCNC platforms will free up their developers’ time and allow them to focus on core or business-critical assignments than before.
That means the only thing that will change is how you work and the tasks you handle. Let’s look at it from another perspective.
“First, these platforms are magical, but they were not created with magic—they need human developers like you to create them. Let’s not forget they also need endless management, which obviously, you’re in charge of”
“Second, while we can boast a ton about LCNC technology's capabilities, it is still far behind in building sophisticated programs. For instance, current LCNC platforms cannot create CRM software or CMS programs from scratch as of now—maybe in the future,” - Adam Tishman, Co-Founder at Helix Sleep, a U.S. retailer and manufacturer of mattresses.
Of course, traditional developers are not perfect either—talk about their inability to meet the post-pandemic demand and efficiency.
And that’s where we find a blurring line.
Both parties are insufficient when they work in silo—one lacks expected productivity while the other lacks the current capacity for high-end results.
“So, instead of thinking LCNC will replace your job, embrace and use it as a tool to enhance your productivity, help you focus on much more complex and creative tasks beyond writing HTML, and boost overall efficiency. You complement LCNC’s inability to handle sophisticated tasks, while the latter complements your output,” - Albert Kim, VP of Talent at Checkr.
Democratizing Technology Is No Longer A Folklore
“Democracy means giving power to the people, nothing much. Applying this to the concept of Low-code, No-code platforms means empowering non-developers or amateur coders with technology that helps them build functional software programs.” - Michael Melen, Co-Founder at SmartSites,
Several decades ago, that would have been impossible. However, the introduction of Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools such as Microsoft Access and Visual Basic in the 1990s broke the norm. Salesforce, one of the big techs in the CRM industry, augmented this by releasing a platform called Force.com for users to build custom applications requiring minimal code.
Others like Outsystems and Mendix contributed considerably by releasing visual, model-driven platforms that aid LCNC development. Now, we have even more sophisticated models capable of rolling out software extensions, integrations, and support with zero coding.
This extensive allowance means anyone can become a “citizen developer” without actually writing a line of code or earning a degree in Javascript.
Most importantly, LCNC diversifies the tech industry and helps non-techies fit in despite lacking traditional coding knowledge. Gartner’s report verifies this by saying 80% of non-IT professionals will develop IT product, with over 65% of them employing low-code, no-code platforms for the job.
However, it’s important to address some misconceptions. Just because you can use low-code, no-code technology to create software programs doesn’t mean you are automatically a real developer.
LCNC Offers Cross-functional Collaboration
“One big problem with traditional development platforms is that they lack collaborative features, which is detrimental to the success of any product output. There’s little or no access to crucial data or communication from and with teams handling customer support, administrative, and front-desk duties”
“That’s a deficit the low-code, no-code technology is fixing. Today, members from R&D, engineering, marketing, sales, and customer support can all work on the same project using a visual drag-and-drop feature. This enables teams to collaborate more effectively and gain valuable insights into customer behavior without relying solely on traditional customer survey alternatives - Gary Hemming, Owner & Finance Director at ABC Finance, shares.
More advanced LCNC platforms like Webflow allow for collaboration on the same process, including real-time comments, idea boards, discussions, joint implementation, and many other flexible functionalities.
This ensures all limbs of your organization work together when building a product, effectively eliminating disconnected workflow and enhancing overall company productivity.
LCNC, The New-Gen Money Saver
A software developer in the US earns an average of $110,000 annually. Depending on the level of expertise, some earn as much as $200,000 or even more. For a new startup with limited funding, that’s basically impossible. Even SMEs might need to empty their banks to meet up.
Now imagine building a team of five or more developers who work full-time. Let’s not mention the cost of maintaining and procuring resources for your product and other engineering components.
It’s a lot—say millions yearly.
And that’s another area LCNC technology excels.
According to Venturebeat, businesses can save over $4.4 million in three years using low-code technology instead of hiring two additional software developers. Well, in the first place, not so many traditional developers are open to full-time hire. So, there’s no loss either way.
Besides, compared to conventional software development platforms that utilize traditional methods, LCNC uses 70% fewer resources and brings in 58% more revenue. This allows for proper and sufficient reallocation of your resources to other core aspects of your organization.
Rapid Prototyping For MVP Now Feasible
"When we talk about developing a product, what most people think is that you just sketch out an idea, stay over in the office for a couple of days to write the code, and roll it out. In reality, there’s actually a lot of pronged process from ideation, designing a prototype, and developing the real deal to testing, final deployment, and future integration.” - Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches,
If you follow the traditional approach, ideation can take anywhere from two to four weeks, designing prototypes and planning takes about eight weeks, development takes close to a month or three, and the other phases take as long as a month as well. In total, you could end up spending close to a year on a single, solid product, if not longer.
“However, we’re in a world where the sprint development methodology takes precedence. You can’t possibly spend that long on a single product when your competitors are already rolling out a couple of finished products in just a year,” - Reyansh Mestry, Head of Marketing at TopSource Worldwide.
Contrary to this lengthy approach, low code no code development offers a much more sleek and rapid alternative. Businesses such as Upwork use of Webflow to streamline their platform and roll out minute automation programs in a quarter or less than it takes them to do the same if using traditional development platforms.
In addition, Redhat found that low-code, no-code development reduces app development time by 90%, whereas Kissflow reported a 10X increase in output speed compared to other alternatives. So, if it normally takes your human team a month to develop a simple finance tracking app, using an LCNC platform will help them turn in the same or even better results in three to four days.
“This is expectably crucial for tech and non-tech businesses specialized in rolling out app components or integrations occasionally. You only need a week or a couple of weeks to build a prototype, send it in for review by various stakeholders, and move on with developing a minimal viable product (MVP).” - Grant Aldrich, Founder of Preppy,
E-commerce websites hoping to quick-build thousands of pages can also leverage the same opportunity, with the hands-on intervention of a real developer, to achieve their launch goals faster.
AI and Machine Learning Integration With LCNC
“AI has earned a top spot in the past few years when it comes to automating repetitive tasks like customer support via smart chatbots. But that’s basic. Artificial intelligence now boasts of more advanced features like predictive and hyper-personalization, which most businesses rely on to optimize their productivity. Talk about programmatic Google ad campaigns.” - Kyran Schmidt, co-founder at Outverse,
Similarly, there is an optimistic outlook that low-code, no-code platforms can integrate AI and machine learning for enhanced operations. For instance, AI-driven LCNC systems can give valuable design suggestions based on audience needs, predict overall end-user sentiment toward your product even before you release it, and reduce your final product’s time to market.
“Of course, there are concerns around the security of such integrations. You’re more likely to share personal data when interacting with these LCNC platforms, most of which are crucial to your business. AI also requires a large volume of training data—which is largely public or gotten from users like you. That’s a lot at stake” - Jonathan Feniak, General Counsel at LLC Attorney.
And that’s why you have to prioritize choosing a reputable platform before anything else. Assess their security architecture and data privacy statements in addition to other things like cost and functionalities. You should also check out professional review sites like G2 and Capterra to see what past users say about your preferred platform choice before deciding.
The Future Of Low Code, No Code Technology
Low-code, no-code technology has revolutionized how we build everything—from simple forms and websites to applications and complex web programs. However, it’s still in the early stages of growth, whether in capabilities or usability. A report from Globalnewswire shows that LCNC will generate over $187 billion by 2030, a far cry from the current $32 billion in 2024.
With the integration of AI, we expect LCNC to be at the leading front of the tech industry in helping businesses elevate their product development game and amplifying the effectiveness of sprint practices.
“There is also a promising wider adoption across different industries, tech or not, accompanied by a rapid increase in the number of citizen developers we have. This expands the job market and effectively inserts non-IT professionals into the growing industry while providing enhanced customization and flexibility, improved security and compliance features, and greater accessibility.” - Roman Zrazhevskiy, Founder & CEO at MIRA Safety,
Wrapping Up
Here’s one thing to take home: Just as AI is here to stay, low-code, no-code technology is here to stay as well. If anything, you need to join the train now and maximize this innovation to gain an edge ahead of competitors and other businesses in your niche.
When choosing a platform to use, assess its scalability for your business or needs and security measures put in place. Check review sites like G2 and Capterra for raw user comments, especially the negatives.
If you’re a developer, leverage LCNC platforms to fill in your efficiency gaps and roll out quality-assured products for your clients.
