89% of businesses surveyed by IDG in 2018 plan to adopt a digital-first strategy. However, even after the digital revolution that is 2020, many are still not fully ready to support this initiative. The IT department remains to be the second-largest area in businesses with potential skills gaps.
This has given rise to citizen developers and the demand for low-code/no-code platforms. Businesses now have the opportunity to develop applications outside the IT department and, as research suggests, speed up development by up to 90%.
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“The limited amount of qualified engineers worldwide and high demand slows down global processes of digital transformation.” – Helen Petraschuk, CEO at 4ire Labs.”
Experts have been debating whether or not this trend will signal the slow demise of traditional software development in the years to come.
DesignRush, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies, leveraged its 9,000-agencies-strong network for quick insights – or “QuickSights” – on the post-COVID future of software development.
This week’s QuickSights feature web and software developers’ expert predictions on what low-code/no-code will look like in the 2020s.
1. NO-CODE PLATFORMS CONTINUE TO GROW RAPIDLY DUE TO THE SPEED OF DEVELOPMENT
Tech experts at 4ire Labs recognized the digital shift that is currently happening in their industry. Their CEO Helen Petraschuk even called it the “no-code revolution” and went on to explain why such is the case.
- “The limited amount of qualified engineers worldwide and high demand slows down global processes of digital transformation,” said Petraschuk. “No-code platforms like website builders (Flow, Wix, etc.), data platforms (Datrics, Alteryx, etc.), RPA (UIPath, Zappier, etc.) are speeding up the hypothesis tests and the development of new or existing businesses. The market is huge, according to Gartner it’s projected to $13.8 bln with 23% growth in 2021.”
2. LOW-CODE/NO-CODE PLATFORMS TO BE MORE USEFUL IN CERTAIN INDUSTRIES THAN OTHERS
Despite the surge and undeniable advantages of low-code/no-code platforms, not every business will be able to maximize its advantages. Gravelsoft’s SVP in Business Consulting Ihor Maksymonko shared what industry they see it have a huge impact on.
- “No-code platforms burst in 2020 and now many organizations keep attention to such adjustments,” said Maksymonko. “Across multiple of our clients, mainly [the financial services] space, we see that more than 50% of application improvement utilize low/no-code platforms.”
3. LOW-CODE/NO-CODE TO COEXIST WITH TRADITIONAL PROGRAMMING BECAUSE OF THEIR LIMITATIONS
As new technologies go, low-code/no-code platforms have a major limitation which is why experts do not see them replacing traditional programming business services in the 2020s. YORD Studio’s Senior Unity Developer Tomáš Havlík thinks maintenance will be a major concern.
- “Ask most developers and they’ll give you the same answer: visual programming tools seem more accessible, but it’s a lot more difficult to maintain the ‘codebase’ that’s written in them,” said Havlík. “Dive a bit deeper and you’ll discover that written text is often easier to grasp than a mediocre web of nodes.”
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To help businesses keep up with the changing digital landscape, DesignRush released the June list of the top software development experts:
1. Sannacode – sannacode.com
2. Magicforce – magicforce.co
3. SolveIt – solveit.dev
4. XME.digital Solutoions – xme.digital
5. Cosmico Studios – cosmicostudios.com
6. R Marketing Digital – rmarketingdigital.com
7. Milia Marketing – miliamarketing.com
8. Gravelsoft – gravelsoft.com
9. Uptech – uptech.team
10. Belov Digital Agency – belovdigital.agency
11. Crafted – craftedny.com
12. KRFTWRK – krftwrk.ca
13. 4ire Labs – 4irelabs.com
14. YORD Studio – yordstudio.com
15. Rocketech Development – rocketech.it
16. V12 Marketing – v12marketing.com
Brands can explore the top software development agencies by location, size, average hourly rate and portfolio on DesignRush.
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