Insights

How low-code/no-code supercharges application modernization

Tanveer Mohammedaziz

As consumer demand increases and go-to-market requirements proliferate, IT departments are often overwhelmed with product enhancements and new solutions requests.

They either struggle to meet that demand or tackle legacy applications that cannot get the job done. Many turn to application modernization services to meet customer demand and spark a lasting competitive advantage.

Many organizations have embraced the low-code/no-code movement to ensure development continues apace. It enables them to deliver a roadmap of solutions and product enhancements in a collaborative environment that includes stakeholders beyond development professionals. It is one of many ways application modernization future-proofs organizations. Here is everything you need to know about the low-code, no-code movement.

Key takeaways:

• Low-code/no-code allows development to occur without lines of code, opening up the development cycle to a wider range of employees.
• It fosters greater collaboration with partners within the organization as they can map.
• It will increasingly become a must-have for organizations struggling to find the right engineering talent.
• Low-code/no-code befits the modern agile organization focused on application modernization and interested in reducing technical debt.

A Low-code/no-code overview

Low-code/no-code features development through visual interfaces and simple prompts versus lines and lines of code. Since applications are developed with automatic code injection and visual interfaces, developers can collaborate with non-technical business and operational professionals to collaborate on products the business needs.

Low-code/no-code has gained popularity as cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP have embraced the movement and prioritized it in their suite of solutions. Nearly 85% of enterprises are using low-code in some fashion to reduce IT logjams or accelerate speed-to-market, according to Forrester.

An oft-cited reason for low-code/no-code's popularity is the growing imbalance between developmental needs and the available workforce to code them. The Great Resignation has made it harder for companies to find the right developmental resources, all while the demands for code updates are increasing. As companies become more dependent on their technology to drive competitive advantages, those that can open up the development cycle to a wider range of employees will benefit from greater idea generation.

Users with no advanced knowledge of coding or software creation may use these intuitive techniques to build software for several purposes, such as creating mobile and business applications.

One of the critical success factors of this implementation was ensuring user experience and functional stability were not compromised due to the new approach. When nearly three million customers depend on these services to understand their financial status, there cannot be any post-launch errors or downtime. We helped YBS offer a superior digital experience without any issues. It can now continue to innovate on new digital tools through low-code/no-code without requiring additional development resources.

Why it’s time to embrace low-code/no-code

As more companies pursue application modernization strategies, they will need to take a hard look at what to do with legacy applications, many of which can be categorized as technical debt. Technical debt is the cost of shortcuts and quick fixes to technology that accrue over time.

Companies have a range of options for how they can address technical debt, from rearchitecting (upgrading a current application to run better in a legacy environment) to retaining (keeping code as is) to replacing (creating a completely new application).

Replacing or replatforming legacy code provides an excellent opportunity to build new applications using low-code or no-code.

Origins of low-code/no-code

For as long as computer programming has existed, innovators have attempted to make it easier to use and more visual. From FORTRAN to COBAL to C+, the programming language has gotten progressively simplified and streamlined.

The introduction of smartphones, specifically the iPhone led to developers using Xcode and Android Studio to develop apps visually.

Forrester's 2019 report on the low-code ecosystem gave a name to a long-standing movement.

Key differences between low-code and no-code

As the names state, no-code features drag and drop interfaces without engaging with any code. While low code is also visually dominant, it requires some basic logic to drive implementation.

Whereas a team of non-developers could conceivably build something through no-code/ low-code requires some development understanding and expertise to build a working product.

The reality is many applications that are fundamental to business objectives are too complex for no-code to handle but can be more rapidly built using low-code.

But if a marketing or sales department wants to build a landing page for a new initiative or client success needs a quick form to solicit feedback, they likely can accomplish it with no development resources using no-code.

Why no-code/low-code still needs quality assurance

A hallmark of traditional development projects is running quality assurance (QA) to ensure solutions are ready for deployment. Going low-code or no-code still requires automated testing to take advantage of the speed of this approach while still ensuring quality and strong security.

Using automated testing to eliminate lengthy manual test cases common to manual QA. Avoiding traditional testing eliminates any unnecessary manual processes that could slow down the low-code/no-code development environment:

• Build test cases visually by defining the user interaction on-screen.
• Build text execution by running multiple test cases workflows.
• Run parallel execution across several device types.
• Run accessibility tests at the click of a button.
• Connect to data generators to test near-real-time production data.

UST’s AI-powered low-code quality engineering platform QE360 provides accelerated, intelligent, and predictable software delivery while lowering the cost of quality. QE360 is ideal for organizations that want to realize the benefits of no-code development, such as speed and simplicity, while ensuring robust testing, including 360-degree application certification. While other Automation tools are available in the market, they do not meet all the requirements of a true low-code quality engineering practice.

UST QE360 has designed capabilities that bring purposeful innovation to bear and empower engineers with intelligence to improve productivity, reduce rework costs, and enhance the consumer experience.

UST’s approach to low-code/no-code

With our digital accelerators and end-to-end methodology, UST offers full application modernization services to expedite your strategy, fine-tuned over two decades. UST’s comprehensive suite of platforms, products and services help companies at all stages of their modernization journeys. We address your technical debt with our low-code/no-code platforms, which reduce maintenance and support while providing faster time to market.

Choosing the best path forward can be challenging. Schedule a free strategy session with one of our application modernization experts today, and we will work with you to build an action plan to help you future-proof your organization.