The ultimate low-code development guide

Low-code has been growing in popularity, and its market is expected to reach $29 billion in
revenue by 2025. But, what is low-code? What are its benefits, and what can you build with it?
Let’s find out.
What is low-code?
Low-code is a software development approach that enables developers to create applications
with minimal hand coding.
Unlike a traditional coding environment, where developers manually write lines of code to
produce software, with low-code, developers use a model-driven, visual language with a drag-
and-drop graphical interface.

Because of its visual development capabilities and automation, low-code enables developers to
create complete applications with modern user interfaces, integrations, data, and logic much
faster than traditional development.

Why is low-code popular?

Development teams are under a lot of pressure to respond to increasing customer expectations
and to accelerate digital transformation efforts. And the demand to create new business solutions
isn’t expected to slow down any time soon.

Traditional development was not designed to keep up with today’s need for speed, and
the explosive SaaS adoption created by free-wheeling business teams has reached the point
where it is hindering productivity.
In addition, hiring developer talent is more difficult than ever. There just aren't enough
engineers in the world to fulfill the current development needs.
This has led to the growing adoption of low-code.
log Post

Debunking 7 Myths about Low-Code

At OutSystems, we're familiar with all the pushback and skepticism against low-code. Let us break
it to you: not everything you hear is true. In this blog post, we'll debunk the top 7 low-code myths.

What Can You Build with Low-Code?

As the pressure on IT to deliver more and faster increases, many organizations are turning to low-
code to surpass the barriers imposed by traditional development tools. But, what can you really
build with low-code? Explore a few low-code app examples here.

The Role of Low-Code in an Enterprise Digital Transformation

When business demands innovation that IT can't deliver, dysfunction ensues. That's where low-
code comes in. In this blog post, we'll explore the benefits of using low-code for your digital
transformation initiatives and share three success stories.

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Low-Code Is the Future - OutSystems Named a Leader in the 2019

Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms
Gartner estimates that "by 2024, low-code application development will be
responsible for more than 65% of application development activity."
22 Aug, 2019, 16:44 IST

SINGAPORE, Aug. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- OutSystems, provider of the number one low-
code application development platform, was named a Leader in the new 2019 Gartner Magic
Quadrant for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms.* This Magic Quadrant was renamed
by Gartner this year; previously, it was named the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise High-
Productivity Application Platform as a Service. It is the second of two Gartner market categories
where OutSystems has been named a Leader recently -- Enterprise Low-Code Application
Platforms and Multiexperience Development Platforms.

OutSystems believes one thing is clear -- low-code is the future of app development. It is going
to surpass traditional coding as the app delivery platform of choice in the next few years. Gartner
estimates that "by 2024, low-code application development will be responsible for more than
65% of application development activity."

Low-code has helped OutSystems customers achieve unparalleled results like:

 Schneider Electric launched 60 apps in 20 months, with most delivered in just 10 weeks.
 Ricoh replaced legacy systems, achieving a 253% ROI and a payback in just 7 months.
 thinkmoney delivered a modern mobile digital banking experience in just 14 weeks.

"Our customers are achieving incredible results on our platform," says Paulo Rosado,
OutSystems CEO. "We believe our latest recognition from Gartner simply underscores what we
have been hearing for years: OutSystems makes it possible for organisations to capture new
markets, create new services, and captivate customers in new and unimagined ways. We are
pioneers in this space, and we will continue to lead the way."

The OutSystems low-code application development platform addresses critical issues like the
skyrocketing demand for new enterprise applications, the need to modernise aging legacy
systems, and the shortage of full-stack developers. OutSystems covers the widest range of
capabilities for enterprise-grade development and full lifecycle management, including business
process management (BPM), integration workflows, UIs, business logic, data models, web
services, and APIs. OutSystems offers access to capabilities such as an advanced web and mobile
user experience, B2C support, and even batch processing. OutSystems customers state that they
selected OutSystems for its strong vision and innovation.

"Our customers' success clearly reflects the value of low-code application development in
accelerating value delivery in enterprises across Asia Pacific. As a pioneer in the low-code
development space, OutSystems continues to help enterprises address digital transformation
roadblocks, while bolstering their capabilities to deliver great user experiences with enhanced
agility and speed," said Mark Weaser, Vice President, OutSystems APAC.
In fact, OutSystems customers consistently rate OutSystems highly. OutSystems is an October
2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice for Mobile App Development Platforms and
a February 2019 Customers' Choice for Enterprise High-Productivity Application Platform as a
Service Software on Gartner Peer Insights. The Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice
distinction is based on feedback and ratings from end-user professionals with experience
purchasing, implementing and/or using the product or service. Vendors must have a minimum of
50 published reviews, with an average overall rating of 4.2 stars or higher.

"OutSystems provides a great platform for rapidly bringing applications to life and managing the
entire SDLC process. The development and operational tools provide a cohesive ecosystem that
allow an enterprise to be productive and innovative." -- Senior Application Specialist in the
Services industry --

"If your ambition is to deliver robust and innovative solutions in a very productive and efficient
way, the OutSystems platform will suit your needs." -- IT Project Manager in the Healthcare
industry --

In the Magic Quadrant report, Gartner offers its own definition of Enterprise Low-Code
Application Development Platforms, stating that they support "rapid application development,
deployment, one-step deployment, execution and management using declarative, high-level
programming abstractions such as model-driven and metadata-based programming languages,
and one-step deployments. They support the development of user interfaces, business logic and
data services, and improve productivity at the expense of portability across vendors, as compared
with conventional application platforms."

Read a complimentary copy of the Gartner July 2019 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Low-Code
Application Platforms.

*Gartner, "Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms," Paul

Vincent, Kimihiko Iijima, Mark Driver, Jason Wong, Yefim Natis, 8 August 2019.

*Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Multiexperience Development Platforms, Jason Wong, Van
Baker, Mark Driver, Adrian Leow, Paul Vincent, 10 July 2019.

Gartner Disclaimers -- Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its
research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the
highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of
Gartner's research organisation and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner
disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any
warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Gartner Peer Insights reviews
constitute the subjective opinions of individual customers based on their own experiences, and
do not represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates.

Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user
reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the
views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates.

About OutSystems

Thousands of customers worldwide trust OutSystems, the number one low-code platform for
rapid application development. Engineers with an obsessive attention to detail crafted every
aspect of the OutSystems platform to help organisations build enterprise-grade apps and
transform their business faster. OutSystems is the only solution that combines the power of low-
code development with advanced mobile capabilities, enabling visual development of entire
applications that easily integrate with existing systems. Visit us at www.outsystems.com, or
follow us on Twitter @OutSystems or LinkedIn
at https://www.linkedin.com/company/outsystems.

9 Best Low-Code Platforms To Use in 2023

Cordenne Brewster•6 min read

Low-code platforms provide intuitive and visual tools for businesses to optimize their
software development process.

Gartner predicts that by 2024, 65% of application development projects will rely on low-
code development.
Though low-code development antagonizes the norms of traditional software
development, low-code platforms clearly remain a worthwhile investment for many
business users.

Businesses that wish to scale must look for innovative ways to improve their
productivity. Investing in low-code platforms might be a modern solution to this
endeavor.

To learn more about low-code development and what low-code platforms can best
enhance your software projects, continue reading!
What Is Low-Code Development?

Low-code development is a software approach that eases development by

offering users drag-and-drop functionality through an easily navigable graphical
user interface (GUI).
Though classic programming does not exactly mirror the blobs of green you might
have seen in The Matrix, it does tend to be a complex ritual.
A basic software project requires the use of at least one well-suited programming
language as well as the application of various software principles, from for-loops
to object-oriented programming.
Frameworks, package repositories, and integrated development environments (IDEs)
are also often integral pieces to a classic software project.

In contrast, the GUI of a low-code platform is often component-based with pre-

defined templates. Instead of typing in a set of brackets, punctuation, and strings of
words, you can simply plug in the modules that best fits your objective.

That said, low-code development, in particular, does allow for some coding. Minimal
coding enables more skilled users on low-code platforms to customize their
application a bit more than a no-code platform — where no coding can occur —
would allow.

Either way, both of these types of software development boost efficiency and save time.
And time is money, after all.
However, the most defining aspect of low-code development platforms (LCDPs) is
their accessibility. Through low-code platforms, citizen developers — that is, business
users with little to no coding experience — can build functional, fully-featured
applications.

Benefits of Low-Code Development

The most obvious benefit of low-code and no-code development is the ease of access. But
with this access comes a number of similarly desirable benefits.
Take a look below at some of the principal benefits of low-code development.
 Benefits of Low-Code
Development
Scalability
Low-code platforms are easy to use and low-code applications are easy to build. The
result is the continuous delivery of clever business solutions without the need for
professional developers.
Reducing the complexity of the software development process stimulates increased
productivity and decreased costs. Naturally, this means greater potential to scale.

In addition, low-code platforms protect against technology churn, where

businesses must replace outdated products and methods to vitalize their growth.
Technology churn is closely related to legacy debt. Overcoming legacy debt is a large
issue in information technology (IT) and occurs when technology can no longer
support business requirements.
Fortunately, low-code platforms can take on both of these challenges with ease.
Needless to say, low-code and no-code platforms do not depend on standard
programming languages or methodologies.
Therefore, businesses can find security in modernizing their software development life
cycle via low-code application development.
Agility
Low-code platforms empower rapid application development. This means that businesses
that employ LCDPs can deliver apps at a rapid pace.
For consumer apps, this speeds up your time-to-market, increasing your return on
investment via quicker feedback and faster decision-making.
If you decide to use low-code platforms to build business workflows and custom
applications for internal use, you will likewise gain the advantage of agile development,
but with far fewer iterations.
The extra time you save can go towards working on more critical tasks and projects to
support your business.
Capability
LCDPs and digital transformation go hand-in-hand. Low-code platforms utilize
reusable components with a visual approach to circumvent the needs of
traditional coding.
Such a novel way of development is sure to make waves in the industry. In fact, it
already has.
Other than empowering developers, low-code platforms can better respond to business
and consumer needs.
And since low-code tools are widely accessible — literally and figuratively —
business information can be shared throughout the company.
On an organizational level, this capacity paves the way for cross-silo collaboration
where teams can work horizontally across various business activities.
Low-Code Platforms Use Cases
There are a number of reasons to use low-code development. Here are some specific
examples of what you can build using low-code and no-code platforms.
Mobile Applications
Businesses must accept the reality that they exist in a digital-first
environment. Most, if not all consumers, are looking for software to meet their
needs.
Business-to-consumer (B2C) mobile apps can enhance customer experience and brand
awareness across the board.
Of course, mobile app development is no easy task. But low-code development makes it
possible.
Using Mendix, a popular low-code platform, insurance provider VGZ Cooperative
built a mobile app for its customers.
Custom Apps
Sometimes the biggest problem businesses face isn’t reaching customers, but
managing bottlenecks within their own organization.
 Yo
u can use low-code platforms to manage internal workflows.
LCDPs can be helpful when it comes to building internal workflows. The
Tennesse Department of Health, for example, used Caspio’s low-code platform to
build an IT asset management system.
Now the department manages roughly 20,000 state assets using their own custom
application that took only two months to build!
Microservices
Many monolithic applications are being phased out in favor of microservices. There is a
strong case for microservices based on principles such as loose coupling and service
orientation.
In 2017, 62% of companies said they were either using or planning to use microservices.
But making the transition is hard.
Indeed, low-code platforms can speed up this process exponentially. Within low-code
platforms, you can find enterprise features and high-impact functionalities to re-build
the architecture of your application.
Data Science
Data is a bigger part of day-to-day life than people care to admit. It’s the one thing
separating a good hunch from highly qualified business intelligence.
Sometimes generic software isn’t flexible enough to account for whatever data-related
operation you must undertake for the sake of your business. And this is where low-
code platforms come in.
VisionX is a powerful low-code tool with data engineering capabilities. The LCDP has
had some pretty niche applications from fleet management for ski area vehicles to the
configuration and asset management of quantum computers.
9 Best Low-Code Platforms
Now, that you have a good background where low-code development is concerned,
you might be thinking about investing in a low-code platform yourself.

The following platforms have high ratings amongst various software development
circles.

1. Appian

Appian is a low-code platform equipped with native deployment tools and integration
options with DevOps tools like Jenkins.
Designed for businesses of all sizes, Appian allows users to build business process
management (BPM) applications.
Essentially, BPM applications help businesses organize and optimize business
processes.
2. Mendix
Mendix provides tooling for testing, building, and deploying applications through a
low-code software platform.
Founded in 2005, there are over 4000 companies using Mendix. The platform relies on
model-driven engineering (MDE), a mode of development that emphasizes abstract
modeling.
3. OutSystems
OutSystems is an omnichannel low-code platform, meaning enterprises can build
applications across a variety of mediums.
Real-time performance dashboards and strong security measured are some of the
prized features of the platform, along with the capacity for rapid development.
4. Quickbase
Quickbase is an LCDP for creating workflows. It’s well-suited for helping teams find
solutions to bottlenecks and reform operations.
No-code is also available through Quickbase. Not the mention, strong assets of the
platform are its prebuilt marketplace and useful third-party integrations.
5. Zoho Creator
Zoho is an Indian multinational technology company that business marketers know
well due to its customer relationship management (CRM) tool.
However, Zoho Creator is a minimalist platform with intuitive visual features for low-
code/no-code development. It’s a veteran player in the industry.
6. Kissflow
Kissflow promotes itself as a ‘unified digital workplace’. Its primary purpose is for
workflow and process management.
A rule-based model removes the need for custom coding, letting you add
conditions to customize your workflow. This is a mainstay of low-code
development which Kissflow thrives on.
7. Salesforce Lightning
Salesforce is another familiar title for marketers. Often HubSpot vs. Salesforce are
compared as two competing CRM platforms.
Alternatively, Salesforce Lightning is a component-based application development
framework. The components in this scenario act as low-code visual pieces for app
building.
8. Microsoft Power Apps
Microsoft Power Apps is a service for building custom business apps, fast and without
complexity.
The functionality of the service is impressive, namely for its inclusion of pre-built
artificial intelligence components.
Extensibility is an appealing feature as well, with more than 200 connectors to integrate
disparate data and systems.
9. Nintex
Nintex is a low-code platform for process management and workflow
automation. Automation tools can be key to fostering growth in your business and
Nintex works to accelerate digital transformation within your organization.
It’s worth noting that Nintex is highly rated with 10,000+ organizations in diverse
industries reporting desirable returns on investment.
 How To Use Low-Code Platforms for Your Business
Finding the right low-code platform for your business can be difficult. Not every
platform has the features and functionality that best suit your company’s needs.
This is why companies like Trio specialize in providing the technology, resources, and
professionals to get your business where it needs to be.

9 Best Low-Code Platforms

 Appian. Appian is a low-code platform equipped with native deployment tools and
integration options with DevOps tools like Jenkins. ...
 Mendix. ...
 OutSystems. ...
 Quickbase. ...
 Zoho Creator. ...
 Kissflow. ...
 Salesforce Lightning. ...
 Microsoft Power Apps.