I’m embracing low-code development. Are you?

’m embracing low-code development. Are you?

The information technology industry is changing. I’m on board. Are you? With the growing popularity of low and even no-code development, there is a stark divide in developers and information technology professionals' opinion of each form of development.

Personally, I am of the adapt-or-die mindset. If my industry is changing, I must change too. For my purposes, low-code tools tend to be more fitting than high-code tools. I am focused solely on internal applications. I understand the need for each type of tool in the industry, like high-code where low-code uses aren’t possible. However, if you can use low-code development for 95% of a project, your organization saves money, time, and thought.

What is low code development?

Low-code is a type of software development that typically begins visually by dragging and dropping components onto the user interface (UI) that you are building and requires less in-depth knowledge of programming languages (although even a limited understanding of the underlying language is very helpful).*

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A bold approach to development.

With the amount of updates, project shifts and tight timelines that the average information technology department experiences every day, a solution has to exist to operate quickly and effectively. The industry no longer builds applications that only have to update every year or six months. The needs of businesses are changing much more frequently than that. If it takes six months to complete an IT project, a business’s needs are likely already different when it’s finally deployed. What’s the answer to a two-day development cycle? Low-code development.

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What does platform experience mean?

Based on my knowledge of technology and how quickly the industry moves, it is crucial to hire based on the language a prospective employee is proficient in, just like hiring a developer who is proficient in “high-code.” I believe companies that have embraced low-code development fully will begin asking about future employees’ platform experience with various low-code tools. Large consulting practices like KPMG, Mckinsey, etc. have already started speaking out as advocates for low-code as the future of business applications.

I expect to see “Low-Code Developer” as a common job listing in the near future if it doesn’t already exist today. Platform experience with low-code platforms will be crucial in the hiring process for this category of job.

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Those who don’t embrace low-code today will be left behind.

Whether it’s an enterprise that has embraced tools like Appian or Mendix, or a small business who has found Creatio, Retool, Reify, Backendless or Zoho Creator to fit the needs, budget and appetite of their business, they’re going to hire professionals who have extensive experience with the platform they’ve selected.

This is why IT/development professionals who refuse to acknowledge the role of low-code development in our ever-changing industry will be forgotten.

Your marketing team wouldn’t hire someone who isn’t familiar with the creative tools being used. Your finance department wouldn’t hire an accountant without the correct certifications. And soon, your IT department will not hire developers without low-code platform experience.

If you haven’t gotten on board with the low-code movement: The time is now.

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*Source: https://www.adhesiontech.com/insights/what-is-low-code

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