Low-Code Platforms: Five Myths Uncovered

Despite such a boom and the large percentage of widespread adoption, there is still some skepticism around this tech. As experts in low-code app development, we’ve made a list of five key myths and are ready to debunk them.

Myth 1: Low-Code Is Only for Citizen Developers

There is a persistent buzz that low-code can make traditional development redundant by allowing any employee outside the technology department to build applications tailored to specific needs. Use cases include service teams developing apps or modules for enterprise-grade systems, marketing experts automating data management in SaaS platforms, or HR specialists revamping onboarding workflows.

Indeed, low-code encourages citizen development, but you still need specific in-house expertise to make the most out of low-code. Your citizen developers should know how to operate the low-code tool of choice and be in the loop about its capabilities and requirements, like available connectors, APIs, and libraries. For example, they should understand how to configure APIs and even write new ones if the market lacks solutions for your particular requirements. Besides, you might need additional coding when dealing with complex business logic and solution customization — even if this involves some basic requirements like bits of JavaScript, CSS, and SQL queries.

When it comes to integration of a low-code platform into an existing IT landscape, it is a complex and sometimes challenging task that involves solution architects and developers. Your IT team has to understand the peculiarities of connecting the low-code tools with enterprise solutions, native platforms like Microsoft 365, cloud services, third-party business applications, and more. If the in-house team has no prior experience with low-code platforms, you may require third-party assistance in this respect.

An experienced provider will perform an assessment of the state of your current IT infrastructure, gather business requirements to establish where low-code is most helpful, and choose the solution type and licensing. You will also get help with designing apps so that they meet all the relevant business needs and fit into the existing IT landscape. From there, you will be well-positioned to establish your own center of excellence and continue growing and promoting citizen development culture in your organization.

A case in point: Infopulse provided one of the leading European poultry producers with a Microsoft Power Apps adoption workshop to show the tool’s capabilities and guide them on how to build applications on their own. For that purpose, in five days, Infopulse’s developers deployed a functional MVP of a corporate online store for field workers — confirming business and technical hypotheses regarding its adoption and integration. As a result, the client is now committed to adopting the Microsoft Power Apps for further developing custom digital solutions within low budgets and short-term time horizons.

Case Study

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Testing Microsoft Power Apps Capabilities + the Solution Prototype

Myth 2: Low-Code Is Just a Trend

Like with any relatively new tech that is gaining traction during a particular period of time, there is often doubt about the concept. Some experts state that the future of low-code platforms is not bright. However, we are certain low-code is here to stay — and here’s why.

Let’s start with the fact that low-code has not become popular overnight. First used in the early 2000s, it turned into a mainstream technology in the mid 2010s, providing a more visual, drag-and-drop approach to application development. By allowing developers to build solutions faster and with less coding, low-code became a valuable tool of digital transformation for companies of all domains and sizes.

For example, Shopify, one of the top low-code e-commerce solutions, launched all the way back in 2006. Over the years, it has extended its services and propelled low-code adoption in the e-commerce industry. Now, Shopify additionally offers its own platforms, such as Shopify Flow, to support existing workflows as well as create new, customized ones without coding — including inventory tasks, fraud management, and store data management.

Myth 3: Low-Code Platforms Work Only for Simple Apps

Another misconception is that low-code platforms are well-suited only for simple applications and cannot be used for the development of large-scale, business-critical solutions. In reality, low-code is leveraged to create complex applications that can be used by multiple departments across an entire enterprise. According to a 2022 report, more and more global companies are choosing low-code for complex apps: 38% of businesses use low-code tools to create mission-critical solutions; 42% of them to develop enterprise-grade software; 41% for productivity apps; and 43% for customer portals.

Here are some examples. BBVA, a multinational banking group, integrated their IT systems through over 40 applications via a low-code platform. Its Turkish branch, Garanti BBVA, used low-code to revamp more than 200 internal workflows.

Retailers have also seen efficiency gains from such technology. Starbucks turned to low-code and no-code to enhance the work of their IT department during the pandemic. ULTA Beauty and Jockey made the most of this tech to create mobile apps and provide new cutting-edge functionality that addressed the demands of rapidly changing markets.

A case in point: Infopulse helped a large international food and agro-technical company take productivity to the next level with the low-code Microsoft Power Apps platform. The mobile app provided 100+ customized calculation scenarios for multiple grain-related processes, which allowed for improving logistics route planning, ensuring a perfectly balanced amount of crops to be sold and preserved, and facilitating crop harvesting control.

Case Study

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A Grain Balance Mobile App with 100+ Calculation Scenarios

Myth 4: Low-Code Platforms Are Insecure

Cloud security has always been a concern for enterprises. According to Check Point’s 2022 Cloud Security Report, 27% of businesses suffered from a security breach in their public cloud infrastructure, 23% of them being due to cloud infrastructure’s security misconfigurations.

Source

Indeed, ensuring security might be challenging, but all the leading low-code providers clearly understand the need for security, privacy, and compliance.

For example, the Microsoft Power Platform is designed to address the most common OWASP risks. With its security model built on Least Privileged Access (LPA), the platform enables granular access control in new applications. Dataverse helps securely store and manage enterprise data that can be further used by Power Apps and other business applications when creating new solutions. HTTP-based and non-HTTP network traffic with customer and other sensitive data is encrypted through TLS. By using industry-standard best practices, this low-code tool prevents the most dangerous injection attacks.

Underpinned by multi-year expertise in enterprise cloud security and Microsoft Power Apps implementation, Infopulse is here to address your most specific low-code needs and security concerns.

Myth 5: Low-Code Is the Solution to Any Problem

Low-code is indeed fast and cost-efficient for business digitalization. However, as with any tech, it has its limitations.

• Customization: If you need a unique solution to solve specific problems, pre-built templates and drag-and-drop functionality might not be enough. Moreover, the application types you can build with such tools are limited to select-and-report, summarize-and-report, or match-and-process.
• Integration: Your developers might face difficulties in pairing up low-code tools with existing enterprise systems due to the absence of relevant, secure APIs or support for custom integrations. Another challenge is to continually scale your low-code application as your business grows and the number of complex needs increases.
• Performance: Compared to custom-built solutions, low-code platforms might fall short with respect to robust performance, especially when it comes to dealing with huge amounts of data, a large number of users, and/or when running during a long period of time on a regular basis.

Fortunately, in many cases these challenges can be mitigated with a bit of help from an expert team. A seasoned partner will assist you with low-code tool implementation and, if needed, provide custom software development — for addressing specific industry tasks and dealing with highly complex business logic. 

Where Do We Go from Here?

We have presented enough proof that low-code platforms are not just a trend that is going to vanish in a couple of years, but rather a value-rich technology that helps businesses drive real benefits. The key challenge here is to analyze the pros and cons of low-code platforms, choose the tool that perfectly fits your business, and hire the optimal low-code implementation provider. Infopulse’s expertise in low-code application development covers cutting-edge technologies and approaches as well as extensive cross-industry and cross-domain knowledge.