Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2022. Read them in this 14th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Top 3 Low-Code and No-Code Trends for 2022
By Eldar Chernitsky, Head of Product at
Appery.io
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital
transformation across all industries. However, as more companies are ad-hoc
migrating legacy apps to the cloud, tapping into artificial intelligence, and
launching new mobile applications, we're witnessing a growing tech talent
shortage, which could exceed 85 million workers by 2030.
Not surprisingly, businesses and professional
software engineers alike are turning to low-code and no-code application
development tools to build apps faster and at a lower cost.
Gartner reports that 80% of all technology
solutions will soon be created by non-technical users.
According to Forrester, low-code platforms could account for 75% of all enterprise software
development activity by the end of this year. IDC shares a similar sentiment, expecting the
global low-code developer community to grow at a CAGR of 40.4% between 2021 and
2025.
But where exactly is the low-code/no-code
market headed?
I sat down to talk to the Appery.io team whose
app builder
strikes a middle ground between the power of native apps and the
user-friendliness of no-code app makers. Here are some of mine, and their,
low-code trends for the upcoming year.
No-Code and Low-Code Trends to
Watch for in 2022
Low-Code Tools Will Get Simpler.
But There's a Catch
In 2022, I predict that the majority of
low-code tools are moving along the no-code trajectory, simplifying the
development process for non-tech users. An example of this is mobile app
templates, which come with pre-configured back ends and UI settings and allow
users to create fitness, real estate, hospitality, and eCommerce
apps quickly.
But, when it comes to enterprise technology,
low-code platforms now demonstrate powerful capabilities that stretch far
beyond application development. Through 2022, more low-code tools could add
support for business intelligence (BI), data science, and edge computing
technologies, empowering users to create enterprise-grade software in a
drag-and-drop way. Such features have already been added to OutSystems, Pega,
and Mendix, to name a few.
Artificial Intelligence Will
Become One of the Hottest Low-Code Trends
Sergii Pospielov, Head of AI Practice at
Exadel, expects artificial intelligence to infiltrate most low- and no-code
development platforms in the next few years. Certain AI functionality like
chatbots, customer sentiment analysis, and image classification are already available in Creatio and Google
AppSheet. And even if the low-code/no-code platform of your choice currently
lacks AI capabilities, chances are you can enable them through third-party
plug-ins and extensions. This alone speaks volumes about the popularity and
maturity of codeless programming.
Low-Code and No-Code Tools WIll
Continue to Dominate the Startup Scene, Promising VC Success to Technopreneurs
Apps built with low-code and no-code tools
consist of pre-configured back-end modules and UI elements. On the one hand,
this empowers software engineers and citizen developers to reduce project
duration and app development costs. On the other hand, low-code platforms are not designed for impeccable performance
and can usually handle a limited number of application users. That's why it is
small and medium-sized businesses or app startups that choose such platforms to
kickstart their projects.
Alexander Antsypov, Head of Development at
Appery.io, believes low-code and no-code platforms will continue to redefine
the startup scene in 2022 and beyond, helping technopreneurs put up minimum
viable product (MVP) versions of their applications faster, raise funds, refine
their solutions, and move on to the native app development tech stacks when
low-code starts to show its limits. To back up his claim, Alexander cites
Kollekto, Bloom Institute of Technology, and Switchboard as examples of
technology startups that built their web and mobile applications using codeless
programming tools like Bubble and Zapier and raised millions in VC funding. We can also
expect more investor activity in the low-code/no-code startup market, particularly
within the AI and enterprise software segments.
There is no doubt that COVID-19 made its
impact on the IT industry. With the current talent shortage, more businesses
will turn to low-code and no-code development so that their non-technical team
members can continue to build apps and keep pace with innovation. These three
trends around low-code and no-code will take shape in 2022, and IT leaders
should pay attention.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eldar Chernitsky is Head of Product at Appery.io (www.appery.io), the leading low-code application development platform from Exadel. Eldar has more than 10 years of experience in development including holding positions as QA Team Lead, Release Manager and Delivery Manager.