Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023. Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
3 Low-Code Application Development Trends
By Shomron Jacob, Engineering Manager – Applied Machine Learning and Platform, Iterate.ai
Low-code application development will see a frenzy of adoption in 2023 due to a trio of converging factors. Organizations that have thus far remained true to old-school coding will increasingly question that loyalty, as competitors harnessing drag-and-drop low-code interfaces to efficiently assemble pre-coded modules into full applications routinely beat them to market with new features.
2023 will see these three low-code trends play out:
1. Low-code will expand key verticals, including manufacturing, retail and more
Pre-coded modules enable businesses to access the most advanced and emerging technologies that would otherwise require hard-to-find (and often prohibitively expensive) expertise to harness-especially in areas such as AI/ML, IoT, and data integrations. In 2023, those opportunities will drive rapid low-code adoption across more industries ripe for low-code’s advantages. Manufacturing and retail are particularly primed for low-code modernization.
Manufacturers will address mission-critical reliability requirements by positioning more powerful AI-based oversight into internet-connected edge computing devices. Each minute of downtime on a factory floor can cost six figures in productivity losses, placing a premium on reliability unparalleled in any other industry. AI at the edge can rapidly recognize and remediate events that would otherwise cause devastating downtime. However, legacy equipment and edge system limitations call out for robust-yet-lightweight AI/ML applications that deliver reliability with low overhead. Low-code offers a perfectly-suited solution for this need and will see a lot more traction in this industry in 2023 because of it.
Retailers will also flock to low-code strategies in the coming year, with their sights set on rapid iteration and delivery of innovative customer experiences and competitive differentiation. (Ulta Beauty provides a good example of how low-code can accelerate retail innovation.) Retail success now fully requires high-quality digital experiences. With low-code’s quick pace, brands can run circles around competitors when it comes to leveraging new technologies and bringing fresh, polished experiences to market.
2. Low-code will be championed by DevOps
DevOps teams will pressure their organizations to adopt low-code in 2023, as they increasingly recognize opportunities for more simple and seamless development workflows. Low-code enables existing developers to contribute effectively to application initiatives that might otherwise be beyond their skillsets (think advanced AI). Therefore, a low-code strategy allows DevOps to operate development tooling more efficiently and with less headcount, while reducing management complexity and increasing the quality of teams’ daily work experience.
3. Enterprises look to low-code to enhance the developer experience and remain competitive
Low-code will earn enterprise adoption as a key differentiator in the increasingly critical developer experience as well, enabling organizations to better recruit (and/or retain) top-tier developer talent in 2023. Developer teams that switch to a low-code strategy not only deliver applications at least 10x faster (and often much faster), but have a much more enjoyable time doing so. Low-code abstracts away the tedious and-let’s face it-boring block-and-tackle work that doesn’t get developers excited, allowing them to get straight to the innovative work they’d rather do. Low-code’s pre-coded modules also make a playground of the most cutting-edge technologies within reach. As economic shifts are sure to make some top developer talent available in 2023, enterprises that adopt low-code will have a clear competitive advantage in the developer experiences they offer.
Expect a big year for low-code
The convergence of maturing low-code capabilities, macroeconomic factors, and organizations’ pressures to innovate, low-code is poised to have its biggest year yet in 2023-and deservedly so.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shomron Jacob is an Engineering Manager focused on Applied Machine Learning and Platform at Iterate.ai, creator of the Interplay low-code platform for rapidly prototyping AI-based applications across industries. Shomron began his career as a software engineer but soon found himself learning ML/AI, and switched his professional direction to follow it. He lives in Silicon Valley.
