The low-code paradigm addresses two challenges: On the one hand, there are the frequent capacity bottlenecks in IT departments resulting from the wide range of tasks, for example, IT strategy and governance, new developments, supplier management and operations. On the other hand, speed is a success factor, for example, in order to be able to react quickly to market changes, customer requests or regulatory requirements. There are some disadvantages resulting from this conflict:
The digitalisation of business ideas takes too long
High IT costs for basic functionalities
Permanent overburdening of the IT department leads to frustration
In response to this situation, the low-code paradigm aims to make the development of applications accessible to people with no or little engineering background – known as ‘citizen developers’ – and ensure that the greater part of their working time is used for functional purposes rather than technical basics. To make this happen, low-code platforms provide four components in a homogeneous and perfectly integrated environment: drag-and-drop development for the interfaces, graphical modelling of (business) logic, application generation and one-click deployment as well as standardisation, reuse and integration. When correctly used, there can be significant benefits:
Shorter time to market
Greater cost-effectiveness and focus on core business
Less pressure on IT capacity and expertise
Satisfaction thanks to more effective collaboration
Improved end result quality
