The world of software development is undergoing a profound transformation. The rise of low code and no code platforms is democratizing app creation, enabling business users and citizen developers to build sophisticated applications without deep programming expertise. As Forrester analyst John Rymer puts it, "The low-code/no-code movement is about empowering non-technical people to solve business problems and innovate on their own."
While often lumped together, low code and no code represent distinct approaches to visual, declarative development. Understanding the differences is critical to choosing the right strategy for your specific needs. In this post, we‘ll dive deep into the world of low code vs no code development, with a particular emphasis on how they differ for building programs compared to applications.
The Rise of Low Code and No Code
The demand for custom software has never been higher. Organizations in every industry are pursuing digital transformation to drive efficiency, agility, and customer engagement. However, the traditional approach to software development can‘t keep pace. As Gartner analyst Jason Wong explains, "The backlog of app development requests keeps growing, so there‘s a persistent need to find quicker, less expensive ways to develop apps."
Enter low code and no code platforms. These tools provide visual, drag-and-drop interfaces that abstract away the complexity of coding, making development accessible to a wider range of people. The result is a 50-90% reduction in development time and costs.
The market for these platforms is exploding. Forrester expects the low code market to hit $21.2 billion by 2022, while ReportLinker pegs the no code segment at $45.5 billion by 2027. Gartner predicts that 65% of all app development will be low code by 2024.
Defining Low Code Development
Low code platforms provide a visual development environment for building applications with minimal hand-coding. Professional developers use drag-and-drop interfaces, pre-built templates, and reusable components to assemble the building blocks of an application. However, low code still requires some familiarity with programming concepts.
The key benefit of low code is accelerated development. By abstracting the underlying complexities, low code platforms allow developers to focus on delivering business logic and user experiences. At the same time, the ability to add custom code provides flexibility for more advanced use cases.
Some of the leading low code platforms include:
- OutSystems
- Mendix
- Microsoft Power Apps
- Salesforce Lightning
- Appian
Common use cases for low code span web and mobile application development, process automation, and data integration. The sweet spot is enterprise-grade applications that require some degree of customization and scalability.
Inside No Code Development
No code platforms take the abstraction even further, eliminating the need for any coding whatsoever. These tools provide purely visual, fully declarative development environments accessible to business users and domain experts. The tradeoff for this simplicity is less flexibility compared to low code.
The target audience for no code is citizen developers and line of business users. These platforms democratize development by enabling non-technical users to build applications without any programming knowledge. They‘re ideal for simple, standalone apps that can be assembled with pre-built templates and modules.
Leading no code platforms include:
- Airtable
- Bubble
- Betty Blocks
- Webflow
- Adalo
No code excels at use cases like prototyping, web app development, workflow automation, and database applications. The emphasis is on rapid app delivery without the need for specialized IT skills.
Comparing Low Code and No Code
While low code and no code share the goal of simplifying software development, they differ in several key dimensions. The following table highlights some of the core differences:
| Characteristic | Low Code | No Code |
|---|---|---|
| Target Users | Professional developers | Citizen developers |
| Required Skills | Some coding knowledge | No coding skills |
| Customization | Extensive | Limited |
| Scalability | High | Moderate |
| Integrations | Comprehensive | Basic |
| Use Cases | Enterprise applications | Simple applications |
| Pricing | High | Low |
As this comparison illustrates, low code and no code platforms are suited for different categories of applications. Low code is geared towards more complex, mission-critical programs that require greater customization and scalability. No code, in contrast, is designed for lightweight applications that can be spun up quickly with minimal technical expertise.
Low Code, High Productivity
The key value proposition of low code platforms is accelerating development without sacrificing power and flexibility. By providing reusable components and abstracting underlying complexities, low code allows professional developers to focus on solving business problems. The result is a 50-90% gain in development speed.
For example, South American home improvement chain Sodimac used the OutSystems low code platform to rebuild its e-commerce system in just 10 weeks. The project had previously taken 8 months of traditional development. Similarly, Humana used Mendix to build a custom provider lookup tool in 3 weeks, a 75% acceleration over coding from scratch.
However, low code is not without trade-offs. These platforms can be complex for non-technical users, and may still require significant IT involvement. Pricing can also be a barrier, with enterprise-grade platforms often costing thousands of dollars per month.
The No Code Revolution
No code platforms take aim at a different audience: citizen developers and business users. By providing purely visual development environments, no code empowers non-technical users to build applications without any coding skills. This opens up app development to a much wider range of people across the organization.
Consider a marketing team that needs to quickly spin up a landing page for a new campaign. With a no code tool like Webflow, the team can design and publish a custom page in hours, without having to tap IT or hire a developer. Similarly, a human resources team could use Airtable to build a custom applicant tracking system in days instead of months.
The tradeoff for this simplicity is limited customization. Most no code platforms constrain users to pre-defined templates and modules. This can be limiting for more complex applications or specialized requirements. No code apps may also face challenges with performance and scalability in enterprise environments.
Citizen Developers and the Composable Enterprise
The rise of low code and no code is fundamentally changing how organizations approach app development. By abstracting away the complexities of coding, these platforms are giving rise to citizen developers and the composable enterprise.
Gartner defines a citizen developer as "an employee who creates application capabilities for consumption by themselves or others, using tools that are not actively forbidden by IT or business units." These users are often business experts or domain specialists, rather than traditional developers.
Armed with low code and no code tools, citizen developers can rapidly prototype and assemble applications in response to evolving business needs. This enables a more agile, bottom-up approach to digital innovation. As Amit Zavery, VP at Google Cloud, puts it, "Line-of-business employees are becoming citizen developers out of necessity because they can build applications faster than IT can."
However, the growth of citizen development also creates challenges around governance, security, and integration. Organizations need guardrails in place to ensure citizen-developed apps adhere to corporate policies. This is driving demand for low code and no code governance platforms that provide visibility and control.
The Future of Software Development
As the demand for custom software continues to outstrip the supply of traditional developers, low code and no code platforms will play an increasingly central role. These tools are democratizing app development and accelerating digital transformation across industries. Gartner predicts that 75% of large enterprises will be using at least four low code tools by 2024.
However, low code and no code will not eliminate the need for professional developers. Rather, they will change the nature of development work. As John Rymer of Forrester explains, "The future of coding is about assembling and integrating components, not writing lines of code."
Developers will focus more on architectural concerns, reusable components, and governance. They‘ll also play a key role in enabling and supporting citizen developers. This will require new skills and a shift in mindset from code-centric to composition-centric development.
Charting Your Low Code/No Code Strategy
As you evaluate low code and no code platforms for your organization, it‘s important to match the tool to the task at hand. Low code platforms are ideal for complex, mission-critical applications that require customization and scalability. No code tools are best suited for lightweight, standalone apps that can be built by citizen developers.
Many organizations are adopting both approaches in tandem. They‘re using low code to accelerate core system development, while empowering business users with no code for long-tail app requests. The key is putting the right guardrails in place to ensure security, compliance, and maintainability.
If you‘re just getting started with low code or no code, consider beginning with a small pilot project. Identify a use case that is well-suited for visual development, and assemble a cross-functional team of business and IT stakeholders. Use the pilot to test out the platform, establish governance processes, and measure the impact on speed and agility.
Conclusion
The rise of low code and no code represents a fundamental shift in how we build and deliver applications. By abstracting away the complexities of traditional development, these platforms are empowering a new generation of citizen developers and enabling enterprise agility. While low code and no code are often lumped together, they have distinct characteristics that make them suited for different use cases.
Low code provides an accelerated development environment for professional developers building complex, enterprise-grade applications. No code empowers business users and domain experts to rapidly create simple, standalone apps without any coding skills. Together, these approaches are ushering in the era of the composable enterprise.
As you navigate this new world of app development, it‘s important to match the right tool to the job. Start small, establish governance guardrails, and measure the impact on your delivery speed and capacity. The organizations that master low code and no code will be positioned to innovate faster and thrive in the digital age.
