What is low-code?

A guide
to enterprise low-code app
development
February 2023
In this guide:
This guide explores how low-code concepts and practices code can help enterprise
How does low-code
work?
developers be more efficient, create valuable apps more quickly and contribute to broader
business initiatives.
Low-code development
principals

What are the benefits of

low-code development?

Low-code and enterprise

digital transformation

What are the challenges

of low-code
development?

What are low-code use

cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and

software

The future of low-code

and the low-code
platform market

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Heading 1 WHAT IS LOW-CODE? FEBRUARY 2023

In this guide:

How does low-code What is low-code? A guide to enterprise low-code app

work?
development
Low-code development STEPHEN BIGELOW, SENIOR TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
principals

What are the benefits of Businesses thrive by tightening work cycles and driving value. Meanwhile, experienced
low-code development? developers and teams are committed to long-term project roadmaps. At this intersection is
Low-code and enterprise the rise of low-code software development initiatives, tools and techniques.
digital transformation

What are the challenges

Low-code is a visual, highly abstracted, largely automated approach to software
of low-code development that defines desired tasks at a high level and then relies on tools to generate
development?
much of the underlying code base. Professional developers and line of business (LOB) staff
What are low-code use understand business problems can use low-code concepts and practices to tackle a wide
cases and examples? range of everyday programming chores. This can free developer teams to focus on larger and
Low-code vendors and more complex projects.
software

The future of low-code HOW DOES LOW-CODE WORK?

and the low-code
platform market
Conventional software development has long been a painstaking and detailed effort.
Heading Developers write individual lines of code that represent instructions and data. They organize
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2 WHAT IS LOW-CODE? FEBRUARY 2023
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In this guide:
that code into functional routines and modules that provide the software's features and
How does low-code
work?
functionality.

Low-code development This approach demands detailed knowledge of aspects across the application development
principals
spectrum: development languages, development environments such as integrated
What are the benefits of development environments and compilers, testing and deployment tools, and the various
low-code development?
policies and practices used to approach coding, testing and deployment.
Low-code and enterprise
digital transformation By comparison, low-code technology abstracts and encapsulates much of the programming
What are the challenges knowledge otherwise needed to create software. Rather than write individual lines of code,
of low-code users select from a menu of reusable functional components through a drag-and-drop visual
development?
interface. They arrange and organize the available functional components to form the
What are low-code use intended software flow, similar to creating a flow chart to approach a business problem or
cases and examples?
task. Users can easily add, move or delete functional components to build the final process.
Low-code vendors and At that point, the low-code tool incorporates the underlying code and support tasks, such as
software
testing and deployment.
The future of low-code
and the low-code The main benefit of low-code development vs. traditional app development is cost and time
platform market
savings, which can enable an enterprise to deliver some products and features faster and for
Heading less money. There are many reasons a business should continue to use conventional
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development models, especially for complex or specialized enterprise software. Many

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3 WHAT IS LOW-CODE? FEBRUARY 2023
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projects demand functions and operations, such as optimized performance, that do not fit
How does low-code
work?
easily into low-code approaches, and the amount of work to create and modify low-code to
meet those requirements can't be justified.
Low-code development
principals
Low-code vs. no-code: Low-code techniques can simplify and accelerate many everyday
What are the benefits of business programming tasks, but low-code is not designed nor intended to eliminate all
low-code development?
coding. Many low-code projects require some amount of programming knowledge, either to
Low-code and enterprise modify existing functional components or create new ones, and assemble components in
digital transformation
specific ways that a low-code tool may not accommodate.
What are the challenges
of low-code Low-code and no-code systems are fundamentally identical, but there is a key difference: no-
development?
code aims to provide all of the intended features and functions and eliminate the need to
What are low-code use add or modify components, which means users need no knowledge of programming or
cases and examples?
application design. No-code systems are typically seen as a subset of low-code platforms.
Low-code vendors and
software
LOW-CODE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES
The future of low-code
and the low-code
platform market
Low-code incorporates a high degree of automation, but the platforms and development
processes are not automatic. Best results from low-code projects also depend on sound
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principles of business and technology.
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In this guide:
Understand the low-code platform. Low-code platforms don't do the work for you. It's still
How does low-code
work?
important that all stakeholders, from developers to business analysts to project owners,
participate in the evaluation, selection and use of the low-code platform. The time invested
Low-code development
to learn the platform's features and capabilities will pay dividends when stakeholders can
principals
identify applications for low-code in future projects and potentially add more value to the
What are the benefits of initiative.
low-code development?

Low-code and enterprise Avoid customization. The power of low-code is in its predefined components that are
digital transformation
dragged and dropped into the workflow. Components are typically generic and fit many
What are the challenges different use cases, but don't always address the needs of a programming task at hand. It's
of low-code
possible to modify existing components and add new ones, such as UI and visual design
development?
elements, but such customization increases development time and work (and cost), and can
What are low-code use blunt the speed and simplicity that low-code technologies promise.
cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and Generalize customizations. When an application needs customization, consider features
software
from the context of high-level or common use goals. Design the customized component for
The future of low-code potential reuse in other projects.
and the low-code
platform market
Don't overlook the team. The team that selects and uses a low-code platform must
Heading understand the requirements and business goals for the project at hand, even if those
Heading
requirements may be simpler compared to traditional software projects. Product owners

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5 WHAT IS LOW-CODE? FEBRUARY 2023
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and other key stakeholders should be available to answer questions and review builds in
How does low-code
work?
rapid low-code environments.

Low-code development Keep business in the lead. Low-code makes it easy to iterate and experiment with new or
principals
different features and functions. Still, a project plan and roadmap can be valuable to keep a
What are the benefits of low-code development on-track. Test and review builds early and often, and involve business
low-code development?
stakeholders for any changes to requirements and features.
Low-code and enterprise
digital transformation

What are the challenges

of low-code
development?

What are low-code use

cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and

software

The future of low-code

and the low-code
platform market

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6 WHAT IS LOW-CODE? FEBRUARY 2023
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In this guide:

How does low-code

work?

Low-code development
principals

What are the benefits of

low-code development?

Low-code and enterprise

digital transformation

What are the challenges

of low-code
development?

What are low-code use

cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and

software

The future of low-code

and the low-code
platform market

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7 WHAT IS LOW-CODE? FEBRUARY 2023
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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF LOW-CODE DEVELOPMENT?
How does low-code
work?
Low-code development offers many benefits to a business:
Low-code development
principals Accelerated development speed. It's a significant effort to write individual lines of code and
What are the benefits of master complex syntax. Low-code allows practitioners to assemble complex ideas and
low-code development? workflows as packaged functions or components, arranged in a convenient visual interface.
Low-code and enterprise This can also speed future updates and iterations of the project.
digital transformation
Broader staff availability. Skilled developer talent is at a premium in most enterprises. Low-
What are the challenges
of low-code code allows less-skilled programmers (or even non-programmers) to participate in the
development? software development process -- they possess a clear knowledge of the business goals at
What are low-code use hand. Any required customization or hand-coding can often be accomplished with less
cases and examples? support from professional developers.
Low-code vendors and
software Improved efficiency. Businesses can use low-code to create tools for individual departments.
For example, HR may want a tool to help model or forecast salaries and benefits to make
The future of low-code
and the low-code better payroll decisions.
platform market
Lower-cost innovation. Similarly, businesses can experiment with ideas that might be costly
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or time-consuming with traditional development -- for example, creating a tool for
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marketing units to analyze advertising campaign spending versus response and determine
How does low-code
work?
the most efficient ways to reach customers.

Low-code development Accommodation of niche projects. Low-code can accommodate narrow applications and
principals
small user bases quickly and cost-effectively. For example, a business might not budget for
What are the benefits of the development of a tool used only in a finance department, but low-code might provide an
low-code development?
attractive option.
Low-code and enterprise
digital transformation Management for performance, governance and compliance. Low-code platforms typically
What are the challenges track and manage the software project and its associated elements. This makes it easier for
of low-code the business to maintain control over development and set guidelines that help ensure
development?
business governance and compliance. Low-code platforms also usually provide
What are low-code use instrumentation, analytics and reporting that can help gather important details about a
cases and examples?
project's performance and utilization, which can help teams plan updates and troubleshoot.
Low-code vendors and
software
LOW-CODE AND ENTERPRISE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
The future of low-code
and the low-code
platform market
Today, every enterprise needs a digital strategy, a blueprint that describes how to apply
digital technologies and services to support business goals, create or enable new goals,
Heading
improve business performance or re-create business processes -- often in ways that were
Heading impractical or impossible without digital technologies. A comprehensive digital strategy can

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9 WHAT IS LOW-CODE? FEBRUARY 2023
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fundamentally change policies, priorities, investments and long-term goals across an
How does low-code
work?
enterprise.

Low-code development Low-code aligns with digital transformation strategies because many of these efforts involve
principals
software development projects that low-code can accommodate or even accelerate.
What are the benefits of Examples include user portals, mobile applications and business tooling.
low-code development?

Low-code and enterprise One of these areas is business process management (BPM), which usually involves manual
digital transformation paper-based business processes, analyses and time-consuming managerial approvals.
What are the challenges Businesses embrace BPM methods, such as a BPM platform, to help organize and analyze
of low-code business data, evaluate budgets, streamline approvals and more. Low-code and BPM
development?
complement one another -- BPM functions can be added as low-code initiatives, and some
What are low-code use BPM tools offer low-code abstractions when digitizing business processes.
cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and Of course, low-code is only part of a digital transformation strategy. It also requires strong
software collaboration between teams of business and technology leaders to understand the
The future of low-code business, identify digital products and opportunities that best suit the organization's needs,
and the low-code and evaluate and introduce various technologies.
platform market

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WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF LOW-CODE DEVELOPMENT?
How does low-code
work?
While low-code approaches and tools make compelling arguments for enterprise use, low-
Low-code development code also presents some significant disadvantages:
principals

What are the benefits of Knowledge beyond the tools. Low-code is not a way to skate around skilled staff and a well-
low-code development? designed infrastructure -- apps built with reliable code require knowledge of enterprise
Low-code and enterprise software development and business practices. Enterprises that ask individuals who lack
digital transformation programming knowledge to take on enterprise-level programming tasks can actually spend

What are the challenges

more to fix bad code than if they'd crafted good code from the start.
of low-code
development? Inefficient and unoptimized code. When code is abstracted into generic, reusable
What are low-code use components, it can create underlying code that is bloated and excessive for the actual task at
cases and examples? hand. It's easy to lose many of the potential optimizations that could reduce software size
Low-code vendors and and improve performance. Quality, handwritten code can address such coding problems
software with efficiency and even elegance.

The future of low-code

and the low-code Complexity under the hood. Low-code's promise of simplicity is true when the resulting
platform market code functions as expected. What if it doesn't work or performs poorly? Is the application
Heading secure and consistent with the organization's compliance strategy? Someone within the
organization must possess a comprehensive knowledge of what's happening under the hood
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of the low-code platform to understand underperformance, address errors or enforce
How does low-code
work?
software security and other coding standards.

Low-code development Limited use cases. Low-code platforms effectively solve some business programming
principals
problems, but not all. It may stumble with many complex tasks, or require so much
What are the benefits of customization and integration that conventional software development approaches and tool
low-code development?
sets are the better choice.
Low-code and enterprise
digital transformation Potential vendor lock-in. When a team uses a low-code tool to create an app, the tool may
What are the challenges produce code that is poorly documented and difficult to maintain outside of the tool.
of low-code Evaluate a low-code tool's ability to export, access and edit code using other editors and
development?
software development tools.
What are low-code use
cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and

software

The future of low-code

and the low-code
platform market

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In this guide:

How does low-code

work?

Low-code development
principals

What are the benefits of

low-code development?

Low-code and enterprise

digital transformation

What are the challenges

of low-code
development?

What are low-code use

cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and

software

The future of low-code

and the low-code
platform market

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WHAT ARE LOW-CODE USE CASES AND EXAMPLES?
How does low-code
work?
Once IT and the business-side identify and align the business goals with clear IT
Low-code development requirements, low-code projects can fill an array of potential opportunities. Common low-
principals
code applications include the following:
What are the benefits of
low-code development? Web portals. Portals are common and popular means for customers to interact with
Low-code and enterprise businesses, find services or products, get quotes, check the availability of resources,
digital transformation schedule work or place orders, and make payments. Low-code can help to quickly create an

What are the challenges

array of portals with common front ends or user interfaces instead of manually coding HTML
of low-code and back-end components.
development?

What are low-code use Line-of-business systems. Businesses rely on LOB systems and apps to conduct everyday
cases and examples? tasks. For example, a mortgage lending company adopts a system to organize mortgage
Low-code vendors and documents and paperwork, integrate appraisals, and conduct credit checks and financial
software analyses of borrowers. Businesses often buy such a platform from a vendor or build it in-
house using traditional coding processes. Low-code brings a third option to help businesses
The future of low-code
and the low-code build and add adaptive and scalable applications, and even migrate them to single or multi-
platform market
cloud deployments.
Heading
Digitized business processes. Traditional paper- or spreadsheet-based business processes
Heading
are time-consuming and error-prone. Businesses can use low-code to create applications
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that gather required information, pass the information and requests through the company's
How does low-code
work?
approval process, deliver results to requesters and integrate with conventional business
systems, such as ERP. For example, low-code can be used to streamline a capital request
Low-code development
application.
principals

What are the benefits of Mobile apps. With low-code, a business can build a wide range of apps for mobile devices
low-code development?
that present data and business interactions to customers. For example, an insurance
Low-code and enterprise company's mobile app lets customers file claims and upload documentation of an incident,
digital transformation
such as collision photos, from their smartphones. Today's low-code platforms can assemble
What are the challenges apps for both Android and iOS devices from the same project.
of low-code
development?
Microservices applications. A microservices architecture creates highly scalable applications
What are low-code use from a series of independent components that communicate through APIs across a network.
cases and examples?
The components can be developed, deployed and maintained independently, which enables
Low-code vendors and faster development and easier updates with less regression testing than conventional
software
monolithic applications. Low-code is a viable platform for microservices-based components,
The future of low-code to quickly create and re-imagine core applications for greater performance and stability, and
and the low-code
to help to translate traditional legacy code into modern, agile microservices applications.
platform market

Heading IoT-based apps. Businesses grapple with ways to derive meaningful business data from the
Heading
volumes of sensors and real-world devices that make up the internet of things (IoT), and to

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monetize the resulting data or services. Businesses can use low-code to build apps and
How does low-code
work?
functions that integrate IoT endpoints and collect data, send IoT data through back-end
computing infrastructures, and provide resulting data requests to internal or external
Low-code development
customers. For example, a low-code horticultural application might use moisture and
principals
temperature sensors – combined with data about growing cycles and conditions – to
What are the benefits of automatically control indoor lighting and irrigation for cultivated crops.
low-code development?

Low-code and enterprise

digital transformation LOW-CODE VENDORS AND SOFTWARE

What are the challenges The marketplace for low-code tools and platforms continues to mature and evolve. Many
of low-code
development? vendors combine low-code and no-code functions in a tool or platform. Businesses can
choose from various cloud-native and third-party low-code products and platforms for uses
What are low-code use
cases and examples? that range from simple websites and mobile apps to enterprise-class application
development. An incomplete list of current offerings is as follows:
Low-code vendors and
software
• AppGyver
The future of low-code • Appian low-code platform
and the low-code • AWS Honeycode
platform market • Google AppSheet
Heading
• Landen 2.0
• Looker 7 business intelligence
Heading • Mendix low-code platform

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• Microsoft PowerApps
How does low-code • OutSystems application platform
work?
• Rintagi
Low-code development • Salesforce Lightning
principals • ServiceNow
• Sisense business intelligence
What are the benefits of • Skyve platform
low-code development? • VisionX
• Wix Editor X
Low-code and enterprise
digital transformation • Yellowfin 9 business intelligence
• Zoho Creator
What are the challenges
of low-code A recent trend is the emergence of major enterprise and cloud vendors -- notably Amazon,
development? Microsoft and Google -- to compete with more traditional low-code vendors such as
What are low-code use OutSystems, Mendix, Appian and others. These large vendors have made significant
cases and examples? investments to provide customers with deeper integrations to longstanding enterprise
Low-code vendors and systems as well as cloud platform stacks.
software

The future of low-code Businesses should evaluate a low-code platform's specific capabilities and pay particular
and the low-code attention to how the low-code platform handles components. For example, the low-code
platform market
tool's packaged models and components should closely map to the high-level building blocks
Heading and functional methodologies that the business already uses, which will reduce the need for
changes and new custom components. A low-code tool might offer strong API support and
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integrate with traditional code projects -- but if the tool doesn't fit the use model, the
How does low-code
work?
customization work will negate the benefits.

Low-code development An enterprise that determines it must develop new components should evaluate the ease
principals
and efficiency with which the customization engine creates new visual blocks or custom
What are the benefits of code. It's often better to create a new component than change an existing one since
low-code development?
developers can ensure optimal and secure code for specific purposes or projects.
Low-code and enterprise
digital transformation
THE FUTURE OF LOW-CODE AND THE LOW-CODE PLATFORM MARKET
What are the challenges
of low-code
development? The future for low-code development and platforms will largely build on the trends and
behaviors that shaped 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has placed a
What are low-code use
tremendous strain on development budgets, personnel availability and team dynamics.
cases and examples?
Many businesses have struggled to develop apps, portals, web forms and automated
Low-code vendors and
workflows because employees are now remote and less available.
software

The future of low-code Low-code helps businesses fill this gap and build apps for specific business purposes with a
and the low-code
platform market
wider range of IT and business participation. Low-code and no-code represented less than
25% of all application development in 2020 but will account for 75% of it by 2025, according
Heading
to analyst firm Gartner. Over that same time frame, Gartner projected, annual revenues for
Heading low-code and no-code platforms will surge from a little over $9 billion to nearly $30 billion.

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How does low-code

work?

Low-code development
principals

What are the benefits of

low-code development?

Low-code and enterprise

digital transformation

What are the challenges

of low-code
development?

What are low-code use

cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and

software

The future of low-code

and the low-code
platform market

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Low-code will benefit from automation capabilities realized from emerging technologies,
How does low-code
work?
including hyperautomation and AI. Hyperautomation -- the drive to automate every business
function that can be automated -- will depend on the ready availability and reliability of low-
Low-code development
code capabilities. Similarly, AI can play a key role in determining the business need and
principals
functional requirements for future low-code projects, such as what a low-code project must
What are the benefits of do and even how the project is built.
low-code development?

Low-code and enterprise As low-code platforms evolve with more speed and automation, the need to ensure proper
digital transformation
coding standards and manage defects (testing and bug fixes) will drive additional testing
What are the challenges capabilities and push test automation deeper into the CI/CD pipeline.
of low-code
development?
Ultimately, the developer community must embrace the reality of low-code and low-code
What are low-code use business strategies. Developers must learn low-code platforms and work more closely with
cases and examples?
low-code practitioners to extend and customize low-code components. This requires
Low-code vendors and improved communication and collaboration skills, and the ability to interact with business
software
personnel and even "citizen developers" to build future enterprise applications.
The future of low-code
and the low-code
platform market

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How does low-code

work?
▼ CONTINUED READING

Low-code development
principals A practical take on low-code vs. traditional development

What are the benefits of Assess low-code platform pros and cons
low-code development?
Review these 9 low-code use cases and industry examples
Low-code and enterprise
digital transformation

What are the challenges

of low-code
development?

What are low-code use

cases and examples?

Low-code vendors and

software

The future of low-code

and the low-code
platform market

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