Many
businesses and developers are increasingly turning to low-code/no-code
platforms. Low-code platforms allow IT
businesses and employees with zero coding experience to build advanced
applications and potentially fill talent gaps in their companies.
According to a Forrester report, Low-code adoption is growing, with leading
vendors and smaller providers showing more than 50% growth per year. These
platforms brought in about $3.8 billion in 2017, the report noted. That is why
it is imperative to select the right low-code
application development platform to help you meet the increasing demand
for software solutions. In addition, developers need to choose a platform that
ensures rapid business development and delivers
services quickly, reliably, and predictably.
The following are the 7 key factors that will help you choose the best low-code development platform.
1- Pre-built
templates
Templates
drastically increase productivity. For instance, if you’re looking at low-code application development platforms for
process automation, you must ensure that your solutions offer various pre-built
templates. These templates will serve as starting points for your citizen
developers to help them develop and run an application quickly. In addition,
the templates that are well designed and tested will help you develop a more
reliable and secure application.
2- Hosting,
DevOps, and Governance
Those times
are long gone when low-code platforms offered
very few hybrid cloud and data center options. Therefore, reviewing DevOps
options is another important consideration while choosing a low-code platform.
Organizations
should research thoroughly on low-code platforms if they meet business and
technical needs. In addition, review the platform’s citizen development
governance options if you plan to empower your business
development.
3- Visual
Tools
Intuitive,
easy-to-use tools are essential for business users. Developers should consider
the activities of their employees on a day-to-day basis which includes filling
out or processing forms, signing and approving documents, sending them out for
approvals, entering data into HR, Finance, and other systems.
To bring
agility to the above-mentioned operations, you need a drag-and-drop form and
process designers, electronic signatures, wizards that can connect with
systems. With these services, you’re most likely to end up meeting business requirements
at a higher pace.
4-
Customization & Connectivity
Oftentimes,
developers are delighted with the applications that they created using their
preferred platforms. But, there’s always room for improvement, and when
developers feel so, they want to customize the app, connect to an internal
system or set up authentication and authorization.
That’s why
organizations should pay attention to platforms that offer customization and
configuration. First, select a platform that includes tools that help users
customize and manage their apps themselves.
5- Compliance
and Security
Organizations
often consider compliance and security as the least important concerns.
However, many times while developing apps that require HIPAA compliance, data
lineage capabilities, auditing capabilities, etc. developers must pre-evaluate
the security and compliance requirements upfront.
This will
help them understand how the low-code platform
handles role-based administration and other security considerations.
6- Proven
scalability
Ensuring that
your low-code platform can manage your current level of usage is not enough.
Organizations should always ensure that platforms should be able to manage
future usage too.
While
selecting a platform, research that it can handle more than your current
requirement. Every business aims to grow in the future along with the
applications they create. Low-Code application
development platforms will differ on their ability to handle large
numbers of users and data, so ensure that you select a provider that can grow
with you.
7- Best User
Experience
Always
evaluate the platform carefully on the aspect of user experience. Everyone
wants slick, intuitive, and fast user interfaces. So, it is imperative to
ensure that applications developed using your low-code platform perform well.
Summary
Low-code
platforms are great to
use for business development, but organizations need to do some heavy lifting
upfront to ensure success. The best low-code platforms offer the complete app
management lifecycle, including development, integration, deployment, and
marketplace distribution
With the help
of the tips mentioned above, you can find the best solution for mobilizing
developers and rapidly delivering applications that meet the needs of both your
end-users and your business.