In 2019, IDC predicted that over 500 million applications would be active by 2023. Microsoft experts outlined that 450 million of those apps will be developed using low-code and no-code platforms.
Now, as we approach the end of 2022, it is clear that these platforms have taken hold in a serious way. They are being used across a wide variety of industries, each in its own specific way. In fact, Gartner predicts that, by 2025, 70% of all the new applications developed by enterprises will leverage low-code or no-code platforms.
For the purpose of this article, we will focus on those areas where no-code platforms can be most helpful, as well as how modern enterprises can use them to develop new, high-quality applications. But before getting into the nitty-gritty of their use cases, let's understand what no-code platforms are and if they are any different from low-code platforms.
No-code is an approach to development that allows both business and technical users to develop applications without needing to write any code whatsoever. This means that even those with minimal programming knowledge can create applications using no-code platforms, something that has traditionally been reserved only for experts.
A popular example of a no-code platform in action is the use of WYSIWYG website builders like Wix, Webflow, or Squarespace. With these platforms, users can create a website layout and edit the look and feel without having to write any code.
Although both terms are used synonymously, there's a slight distinction. No-code, as the name suggests, doesn't entail any coding at all. Low-code, on the other hand, does require a certain level of programming knowledge. But this can be as simple as leveraging pre-packaged code blocks and connecting them together.
A customer relationship management (CRM) system is a tool used to manage all of an organization's customer interactions. The CRM system not only keeps track of customers' preferences but also filters and stores data on them, like sales interactions, lifetime value, etc.
Now, it's one thing to have a ready-made CRM system installed on your cloud or on-premises infrastructure. But what if you want to go a step further and create custom features on the CRM that can give you more control over the processes and workflows as well as the data you store and manage?
While the idea is great, it isn't feasible if you don't have the time or resources to develop such applications. Here's where the no-code platforms come in. Thanks to these tools, a business can develop a custom CRM application within the framework of the enterprise CRM system. From creating the data models to setting up the database and creating different CRM features (like dashboards, integrations, etc.) - the entire application can be designed using the drag-and-drop and API functionality to “amp up” the CRM’s capabilities.
One of the primary functions of a modern-day enterprise is to analyze data, gain insights, and make informed business decisions. In fact, research has revealed that one-third of large organizations will be practicing decision intelligence by 2023.
With no-code tools, BI analysts have a much better chance of determining what is actually causing business problems and how to solve them. How? By harnessing no-code solutions to access the right data, instantly visualize it using a dashboard, and derive insights that can be used to solve the problems.
No-code platforms enable real-time analytics more impactfully by empowering analysts to blow open every data point and find connections between them with powerful applications. They further help with the instant creation of charts, graphs, and tables to better visualize and report the results.
Business Process Management (BPM) is all about optimizing and automating processes to improve performance. Thankfully, no-code platforms can help with the easy and quick development of a BPM applications that cater to businesses of all sizes and shapes.
They do so by helping:
"No-code is the visual programming we've been waiting for," reads an article on Unqork, and rightly so.
From democratizing application development by enabling non-programmers to create applications to improving the quality of these applications, the no-code solution space is transforming application development in every significant way.
Entire applications can be designed, developed, and deployed with no-code platforms. Apart from delivering faster-to-market, better-quality applications, these platforms also allow enterprises to address specific business requirements without the need to hire dedicated experts.
For instance, these platforms help seamlessly integrate legacy applications with newly built solutions. They also ward off any maintenance costs since there's no legacy code to maintain and no need for custom coding.
Data management is a challenge for most enterprises. They can't afford to fail in this space since they need to manage, visualize, and preserve the growing data at all costs.
With no-code platforms, become it could conceivably easier to work with data. They allow business technologists and non-technical users to quickly build database applications, facilitate operational analytics, and manage complex data models. Such democratized control helps businesses in creating data-driven business processes, understanding the impact of business decisions, and maximizing efficiency.
Businesses today are under more pressure than ever before to deliver business value quickly, satisfy their customers, and optimize their costs. With no-code platforms, they can do all three - without having to invest excessive time and effort in custom development.
At Novigo, we help businesses to successfully implement no-code solutions and gain measurable business value. Connect with us to learn more
