How low can you go? Part 1
An introduction to low code platforms
Low code platforms and solutions are attracting lots of attention, and span integration, database applications and app development platforms. They promise to bring technology closer to the business, removing the need for costly development projects and empowering end-users. But can low code really deliver on these ambitions?
Over a mini-series of four short articles, I’ll explore the substance behind the claims and seek to establish whether it is really possible for the type of large-scale integration programme that lasts for years to be replaced with a nice drag-and-drop GUI.
Integration
I’m going to start this series by looking at the integration space. A friend and business owner recently asked me about integrating his new ERP platform with his existing warehouse / inventory management system (and some other ancillary systems).
Such connectivity is a productivity boon, providing accurate real-time information to busy users and supporting better planning and decision-making. With the emergence of low code platforms, interconnectivity is no longer the preserve of the larger technology implementers - known as “system Integrators” for a reason. Instead, low code platforms promise the ability to implement connected data flows either 'out-of-the box' or with minimal coding and configuration.
Selection is key
One of the challenges in the low code market is knowing which platform to use from the ever-changing set of whizzy-sounding options. You may well have come across ITTT (If This Then That) already – a platform that targets a ‘pro-sumer’ audience. Integration leaders in the enterprise space include Zapier, Workato, Automate.io and Integromat.
As with all software and services, some investigation is required before making a selection. Key considerations include:
the selection of apps connected 'out of the box'
the pricing (business models include subscription-based pricing, per interface pricing and pricing based on metered traffic).
how the functions offered within the connections compare to your specific use-cases and whether your business flows are supported.
In parallel to selecting an integration service, you should also think about who in your business may have the skills, or is willing to acquire them, to get the systems working... typically these solutions are "low" code rather than “no” code: the expectation that just anyone can successfully configure integrations may be a little ambitions for all but the simplest, out of the box use cases.
Longer term considerations
I read an article recently, suggesting that Excel was one of the original low-code solutions and how ridiculous it would be to have to request spreadsheets from a separate department rather than creating them for ourselves. Whilst this is true for perhaps 80% of spreadsheets, we all know one or two Excel experts who make more use of the more obscure and complex features than most, and who we may turn to for informal support, for the other 20%. It will be the same with low code solutions, especially whilst relatively unfamiliar: Better to try to create one or two platform champions in-house to try to drive adoption, get return on investment and provide the integration gains than to struggle with the technology and fail to adopt it properly, especially as not all failures are graceful - remember that by allowing integrations back-end access to data you risk propagating data quality issues or corrupting data entirely.
For large enterprise corporates, graceless failures are not the only issue to consider. Low code platforms can end up adding to the mass of “Shadow IT”, with all of its associated support and manageability challenges. Our suggestion is to define a corporate standard low-code solution, establish a support model, appoint some ‘champions’, and begin beating the system integrators at their own game! The savings will undoubtedly be worth it.
Next time…
While integration connectors offer a quick solution to joining applications together to support your business flows, in the next article in this series I will be looking at low code data platforms, which I believe have even more potential to disrupt the way that solutions are delivered across the enterprise.