How Low-Code Platforms are Changing the IT Landscape for SMBs

Developing custom applications has traditionally been a challenging task for businesses as it requires experienced software developers, extensive coding skills, and a deep understanding of programming languages.

Especially for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), developing an app from scratch is a costly and time-consuming affair. Skilled developers are hard to source, required resources don’t fit in the budget, and app development solutions by large enterprises don’t meet the unique needs of SMBs.

But with the rise of low-code platforms, that’s all changing!

SMBs have finally started to adopt the new technology of low-code platforms because it has become a competitive necessity. In return, low-code software development is helping SMBs to achieve more by investing less.

In this blog post, we will explore more about low-code platforms and discover how it is transforming the IT landscape for SMBs along with some best use cases.

Low-Code Platforms Explained

A low-code platform is a software development platform that allows users to develop custom applications without the need for extensive coding. These platforms have a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables users to visually design, build, and deploy applications specific to their business needs.

These platforms offer pre-built templates, drag-and-drop functionality, and visual workflows to develop an application. This makes it possible for business owners to develop and deploy applications quickly and efficiently, without the need for extensive coding knowledge or expertise.

A Low-code platform uses a proprietary rules engine to handle complex decision logic and automate the development process. Low-code platforms can be used for a wide range of application types, such as business process management, customer service, and marketing automation.

Features of Low-Code Platforms

The extensive features that low-code platforms offer for software development make them more appealing, especially to small and medium-sized businesses. Let’s have a look at some of these features:

Visual Modelling Tools

Low-code platforms make building applications easy with their visual modeling tools. Developing with low-code platforms is all about using pre-made templates and visual interfaces. The platforms have pre-existing modules designed to accurately match specific needs. Even with a basic knowledge of coding, SMBs can build a reliable and competitive application.

Drag-and-drop Interface

The drag-and-drop Interface is one of the most beneficial features of low-code platforms. With this feature, you can simply pick, drag, and drop pre-built components such as forms, buttons, and data fields from an in-built library into your project. This enables the users to quickly design the layout and other essential functionalities of their application.

Scalability

Low-code platforms have inherent scalability that makes scaling an application highly efficient. With low-code systems, it is quite easy to add resources to the application as the customer base expands and demands increase. With such scalability, SMBs with limited resources don’t have to worry about preparing their apps for peak usage in advance by investing heavily in resources and manpower.

Key Benefits of Low-Code Platforms for SMBs

The enormous benefits that low-code platforms offer are the main aspect behind how they are changing the IT landscape for SMBs. Here are some of the key benefits of low-code platforms for small and medium-sized businesses:

Faster Time to Market

Low-code platforms have the potential to drastically reduce the development time of applications and increase their time-to-market. This is a significant perk of low-code platforms making them ideal for SMBs. Compared to the traditional approach of software development, businesses can create, release, and update applications in a fraction of the time. A faster time-to-market can be a game-changer for SMBs wanting to gain a competitive edge.

Cost Effectiveness

Traditional app development requires hiring skilled developers and gathering specific resources, which could be prohibitively expensive for SMBs. Low-code platforms save the development cost by eliminating the need for specialized manpower and resources. Businesses can still develop reliable applications without worrying about spending a lot on resources. This can aid SMBs to allocate their resources and focus more on other aspects of their core business.

Increased Agility

Low-code platforms increase the agility of businesses to swiftly make changes and deliver updates to their apps without taking them offline for long periods. This helps businesses to be nimble and quick to adapt to the ever-evolving nature of the market. SMBs can easily adjust to new demands due to the adaptability of low-code platforms. The increased agility helps organizations to maintain a competitive edge and capitalize on emerging possibilities.

Improved Collaboration

Low-code platforms are built to facilitate efficient communication and collaboration between teams. SMBs can streamline their team efforts to work closely on app development projects by using low-code platforms. These platforms allow teams to exchange ideas, feedback, and progress reports to work together in real time on app development projects. This can aid SMBs in developing apps that better serve their users and improve operational efficiency.

Better Control

A low-code platform gives SMBs better control over their app development process. Even without hiring experienced developers and investing in specific resources, businesses can tailor applications specific to their needs. This benefit ensures that businesses can create applications that match the demands of their customers and can deliver the best user experience possible. Also, businesses can closely monitor the features of an application to understand its usability.

Use Cases of Low-Code Platforms in SMBs

The extensive benefits of low-code platforms make them applicable for use in various purposes across SMBs. Here are some common use cases of low-code platforms in SMBs from different industries:

Business Process Management- Low-code platforms are used to automate business processes such as customer relationship management and human resources. This helps organizations streamline their operations and focus on core business logic such as generating sales and acquiring customers.

Healthcare- The healthcare industry is using low-code platforms to develop custom applications for managing patient data, scheduling appointments, and tracking treatments. This helps healthcare organizations to reduce administrative costs and improve patient care.

Retail- Low-code platforms help small and medium-sized retail businesses create simple applications for managing inventory, tracking sales, and analyzing customer data. This helps them to improve their operations and focus more on their marketing efforts.

‍Data Management- SMBs can develop data management applications for themselves. They can create dashboards and reporting tools to visualize and analyze business data. This will help them to monitor their business performance and growth.

Process Automation- Repetitive tasks in SMBs like data entry, invoicing, and customer support can be automated with simple applications created using low-code platforms. This helps businesses to save resources that are required by less-priority tasks and invest them in core business practices.

Future of Low-Code Platforms

Low-code platforms are revolutionizing the IT landscape for SMBs by making software development faster, accessible, and cost-effective. The adoption of this new technology is growing exponentially among SMBs due to the enormous benefits it offers over traditional application development practices.

According to a report by Gartner, 70% of new applications developed by SMBs will use low-code technologies. For small and medium-sized businesses, embracing low-code platforms is not just a technological upgrade but a strategic move that can level the playing field with larger competitors in the future.