In spite of the fact that low-code platforms have existed as a concept for many decades, it was only in the last couple of years that they have been seen as an actual solution to real-world problems, offering an ever-growing set of features and possibilities.
These days, they are increasingly selected by enterprise users who are looking for effective, efficient and easy-to-use solutions that will effectively support the everyday operations of their companies and support further growth of their organizations.
What do you need to know about low-code platforms? What makes them different from other enterprise solutions?
The first low-code platforms appeared on the market in the 1970s. The initial release was followed up by gradual development in the following years. It took until the late 20th century for these systems to gain any significant popularity, but the early years of the 21st century saw a growing interest in these solutions, leading to further development and refinement of their features.
What exactly is a low-code platform? In the simplest terms, it can be defined as a modern, innovative IT system that combines feature sets of several different solutions – document management systems (DMS), as well as business process management (BPM) and business process automation (BPA) suites. A good platform offers all of its functionalities and features in one place, being a one-stop shop for quick and intuitive development of comprehensive business applications for managing, digitalizing, optimizing and automating processes in any business organization.
One of the key features of low-code platforms is a visual approach to application development – with a drag & drop and point & click-based graphical user interface, anyone is able to design their own application. This means that both developers, as well as laypeople, who have an in-depth understanding of the process and workflows in question, can work on the development of enterprise applications.
What makes low-code platforms a worthwhile business investment?
There is no doubt that modern low-code platforms are some of the most advanced and most innovative technologies for contemporary businesses, based on five key pillars – ease of use, support for global standards, easy and fast integration with other systems, universal availability, high scalability and extensibility of the base functionality. All high-end low-code platform allows users to build enterprise applications without coding, supports digital workflows and tasks while helping them automate and digitalize business processes.
The overwhelming interest in the possibilities offered by today’s low-code platforms has resulted in their increasing availability. While searching for a software solution that will be able to keep up with the dynamic growth of your organization and support its operations in a truly effective way, you should look for a platform that will allow you to make changes at any stage of the business application life cycle.
As a result, the low-code platform will not only be used to build tailor-made enterprise applications, but also to modify them without endangering your operations, without any harm to the processes and applications already in place.