One of the biggest lessons that enterprises have gained from the pandemic is that it’s crucial to have tech-enabled products and services, especially now that we live in the digital age
Developing these products used to be easier said than done, but low to no-code development has emerged as an alternative. According to analysts, this approach will form 70% of new applications by 2025
But that doesn’t mean traditional application development will become irrelevant, as both have their unique advantages.
Low-code and no-code development, as the name suggests, pertains to the process of using less traditional code to create an application.
It’s also essentially the emergence of a new class of software ‘assemblers’ that can allow a person with minimum to no development knowledge to create software capabilities for their digital initiatives.
Most of these involve a point-and-click or drag-and-drop functionality that lets developers modify the code by rewriting or editing parts of a baseline code to make something new
Traditional software development pertains to the process of building an application primarily from scratch. Nowadays, there are many off-the-shelf codes and open-source libraries that allow developers to create faster, but for enterprises, it still isn’t as simple as it seems.
Think of it as building a house from the ground up — you’d need the materials, instruments, floor plan, and skilled workers. In the world of app development, this means the right skilled app developers, tech resources, tools, among other things
The main selling point of no-code development is that it’s an excellent alternative for business users, as it helps them ship apps faster and more efficiently, all while utilizing a smaller budget.
Moreover, it also helps address the global shortage of software developers by leveraging enterprises. However, there can be a few trade-offs when compared to traditional application development.
Some service providers have very generic-looking user interfaces, less customization, fewer hosting options, and are quite hard to integrate with legacy systems
Traditional application development, on the other hand, usually entails organizations employing the services of professional developers in customizing codes. The manual programming and testing required mean that development would take up more time.
But with many of today’s programmers making use of further studies in software development to learn the latest trends, developers are now equipped with new analysis and design methodologies, leading to faster product development at a lower cost
That said, startups or smaller enterprises don’t necessarily need to conform to traditional application development, especially if they’re working with a tight budget.
There are various advantages to choosing no-code over traditional software development— besides affordability and ease of use, it also promotes the “data for everyone” approach by letting users collate impactful reports without much dependence on IT.
Additionally, no-code apps require little to no testing which allows for faster development, meaning your products and services get to the market as fast as possible
You can use a no-code platform to start your no-code application development process, like ours here at Axonator.
A no-code platform often includes a visual user interface, drag-and-drop-based tools, cross-platform accessibility, and other features that make creating applications simpler.
You can also find configurations that can suit your needs. For instance, a customer service manager can add a service ticket feature to communicate better with clients, while a marketer might add shopping components on the app homepage for easier access to products
All in all, no-code platforms are expected to become commonplace for application development in the future.
Now is a great time to take advantage of this and create applications that can give your enterprise an edge.
To learn more about no-code application development, read about our services here
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