Barclays Eagle Labs
By Ashok Suppiah, co-founder and CEO of the Mitra Innovation Group
The clue is in the name. Low-Code uses visual programming techniques to allow non-coders, or citizen programmers, to create digital applications. Using a graphical user interface (GUI), complex systems can be quickly designed and tested using a simple drag & drop approach. Citizen programmers can solve their digital issues or build new products themselves, vastly increasing the momentum towards digital transformation.
Here we look at 5 ways Low-Code can accelerate digital transformation.
1. Speed: Replacing Legacy Systems Quickly and Cloud Enablement
Legacy systems, for the most part, do their job, and only their job. The bugs have been ironed out over the years and staff are fully trained in their operation. What they don’t do is provide the flexibility to respond to change. Changes can be business based, ie market, customer or product; they can be regulatory or operational or they may be required as new technology becomes available. Legacy systems don’t scale easily, they are costly to run, require specialist management, often they operate with outmoded security and there is no easy way to integrate them with other systems.
There are various strategies for dealing with legacy systems. Building new green-field systems from scratch is an option, as is code refactoring, or a code rewrite. This is where Low-Code can speed up the transformation process. Using visual programming techniques, Low-Code reduces development times, in turn reducing the cost of development and ownership. Traditionally painful, long and costly transformation projects can be undertaken more quickly and at a fraction of the cost. Reducing the cost and time to innovate, accelerates digital transformation.
2. Evolve: Add New Features and Functions Quickly
One of the many reasons to replace legacy systems is to evolve new features and functions and with Low-Code visual programming tools, citizen developers are empowered to create the system functionality they require quickly and seamlessly. Low-Code places a much higher emphasis on the user experience, and with pre-built, reusable modules eliminating the need to code from scratch each time, you can not only evolve new functionality quickly, but also test it and deploy it with ease. With built-in scalability, security, monitoring and reporting all contributing to rapid turnaround times, digital transformation and an enhanced user experience become far easier to achieve.
3. Integration: Easier Integration with Low-Code
Data and systems integration is one of the more complex areas to get right during digital transformation. Think of the out-of-the-box (OOTB) modules used in Low-Code as building blocks that allow non-IT professionals to build applications. These building blocks can be interconnected seamlessly using pre-engineered connectors and accelerators to allow Low-Code modules to be easily and rapidly integrated with existing systems, enhancing functionality and delivering digital transformation with ease. The biggest risk with systems integration is around maintaining data integrity. With Low-Code you stay in control of your data, and with the ability to integrate data from any system quickly, traditional data migration is simply not required.
As a strategic partner of Creatio, we often use REST API, OData protocol, SOAP services, OAuth authentication and LDAP protocols to integrate with other applications.
4. Cost Savings: Economies of Scale Over Time
Low-Code technology goes far beyond just saving time for development teams. Using Low-Code reduces overall costs by accelerating implementation time and time to market and increasing the ability of the business to respond to market led innovation, bringing innovative products and services to market much faster. Maintenance of Low-Code systems and modules is also vastly reduced. The ability to re-use without re-engineering, using prebuilt workflows, templates and modules, implementation and maintenance is easier and quicker.
5. Time Savings: No Re-invention of the Wheel
Maybe the most revolutionary aspect of Low-Code is the ability to re-use pre-programmed and pre-tested functional modules to build applications without the need for traditional coding skills. Pre-built workflows mean there really is no need to reinvent the wheel. Low-Code lowers the barrier to entry for citizen developers, automating processes, and slashing development time. With highly skilled developers liberated from the more repetitive aspects of coding, they are free to be more creative, reinvigorating the development lifecycle and leading the march towards digital transformation.
About the Author
Ashok Suppiah is co-founder and CEO of the Mitra Innovation Group, a global technology provider specialising in digital transformation, product incubation and integration services. He has been a leading light in the tech industry for over 20 years. A serial entrepreneur, Ashok has started more than 10 technology companies in the USA and UK, notably as a member of Virtusa Corp which sold for US$2Billion in 2021 and as Chief Architect for eDocs which sold to Oracle for US$115Million in 2004. With recent successes in Conversational AI, Dynamedics and LowCodify, Ashok sustains his passion for pioneering and disruptive technology, with Mitra providing transformative solutions to clients and partners globally.
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