Enterprise leaders felt the urgency of digital transformation in 2019, but as the world continues to determine paths forward following the pandemic, that urgency has gone into overdrive.
Business success depends on the ability to do more with less, stretch existing resources further, and respond to changing conditions. These imperatives intersect when it comes to democratising business application development. Enterprise recovery efforts will benefit from no-code application development in particular.
When the capability of creating business applications is extended beyond IT to the people most closely associated with the challenges, for example, business analysts, administrators, and marketing specialists, the speed at which a company can move and the number of people working on solutions can both increase dramatically.
If every emerging challenge needs to be handled by technical staff or every new application requires dedicated engineering resources, operating with the velocity and responsiveness that this moment requires is impossible, even for organisations with robust IT resources.
Why is no-code so important?
Less than one per cent of the world’s working population are software developers, and no-code aims to disperse software power to the other 99 per cent.
Scott Galloway, an NYU professor, entrepreneur, and marketing guru has described a trend he calls “The Great Dispersion,” in which consumers increasingly receive greater value from industries or offerings.
Also Read: The secret sauce of getting started with ‘no-code’
In a sense, no-code is the dispersion of software development. No-code tools now allow end users (entrepreneurs, innovators, employees, product managers, etc.) to create and manage software faster, cheaper, and easier than they could before.
Despite this, no-code awareness remains low. According to a study conducted at MIT Sloan School of Management, an outlet for future entrepreneurs and product managers, 76 per cent of respondents are unfamiliar with “no-code.”
By quantifying key trends in the industry, mapping examples of powerful tools and their applications, and identifying groups that can benefit from no-code technologies, this article aims to raise awareness and adoption of these revolutionary technologies.
No-code growth and industry trends
From media and entertainment to health and fitness, commerce, and more, the pandemic rocked most industries and woke them up to the need to go digital first. As a result, launching a new company can be less expensive, with a much broader reach and a much more competitive field.
With no code, people can solve problems regardless of their backgrounds, democratising software development. As a result of the pandemic, people are also taking a closer look at how technology is transforming their workplace.
As a fast-growing industry, no-code development is expected to reach US$21 billion by 2022. Adalo’s survey of no-code experts predicted that by the end of 2022, it would be as common as making a Powerpoint. Most schools and universities will offer no-code courses by 2025, according to these experts.
As VC money continues to pour into no-code startups, the investment world has noticed the huge value of no-code. During the last few years, 110 no-code startups and companies have raised $5 billion in venture capital.
No-code use cases and resources
The goal of no-code tools is to make their platform as easy to use as possible so that as many users as possible can get value out of their data. They are also SaaS-based, which means anyone with a web browser can access them, and they have automated connectors for integrating data across organisations.
In this approach, the no-code tools play a key role. Using these tools, any user can create charts and indicators quickly and intuitively. As a result, they will be organised into a web page without having to write any code and can then be easily shared with colleagues, customers, citizens, and other stakeholders.
In other words, users can learn how to use complex business intelligence platforms or how to programme in HTML or CSS to create web pages.
Also Read: How no-code platforms are providing a boost to the real estate industry
Four key features enable anyone to create interactive, compelling visualisations without any training quickly:
Accurate calculations built-in
To compare two results or establish an average, users can learn simple formulas or perform calculations themselves. They select from a list of suggested indicators the type of operation they need to perform in their graphs.
Simplicity through a single screen
Visualisations can be created without leaving no-code tools. All data-sharing options with other users within and outside the organisation are available directly from the tool.
An intuitive navigation experience makes navigation easy
Creating a data story or report is a simple process. From selecting the source dataset to selecting a visualisation, configuring the graphs/KPIs, and customising their appearance, the tool guides the user step by step.
An interface that drags and drops
By dragging and dropping graphics, indicators, and text areas within a page, users can organise the different sections of a page.
Preview in real-time
It enables users to preview how the page will look when integrated into a data portal or data service in real-time, saving time and effort. In addition to the no-code tools, the platform provides powerful APIs for expert users, allowing everyone to turn data into value using the tools they need.
No-code “personas”: Who can use them?
Everyone can use no-code, which makes it so powerful. There are five main types of no-code users.
- Business Users under strategic roles
Chief Strategic Officer
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Information Officer
Chief Transformation Officer - Business Users Under Tactical Roles
Line managers
Demand Managers
Portfolio Managers
Enterprise and IT Architects - Business Users under Operational Roles
Business Analyst
Subject Matter Experts
Business Consultants
Marketing Managers etc.
Key Takeaways
- By 2022, the no-code industry is expected to grow to 21 billion dollars.
- In the last few years, 110 no-code startups and companies have received over US$5 billion in venture capital investment (Google, SAP, Celonis, etc.)
- Many use cases are possible, including website and app building, workflow automation, internal enterprise tools, analytics, forms, memberships, and chatbots. Increasingly, these are becoming “no-code by default,” similar to e-commerce today.
- To fully harness the power of no-code, no-code communities, resource websites, and education websites are essential.
- Everyone can use no-code: Entrepreneurs, Product Managers, Large Companies, Developers, and Freelancers.
With no-code, anyone with the ability to drag and drop can create and build software without using code, “distributing” what less than one per cent of the working population could do previously.
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