What are low code development platforms?
Low code development platforms are platforms where you can build applications, relational databases, and collaborative spaces with almost no coding. Each low code platform provides a unique service. These platforms are usually available on browsers (web-based) and as Android/iPhone applications.
What are the best features of a low code platform?
Workflow automation: This is one of the best features of low code platforms. Workflow automation enables cutting down planning time, communication time, and other time costs involved.
Visual Analytics/Dashboards: This feature allows for an easy overview of the data. The different types of graphs in visual analytics enable you to freely analyze data from different viewpoints.
Drag and drop function: This function allows for a fairly simple ‘app’ building process.
Function/Formula capabilities: This is important if you want to analyze your data or group certain records together or perform functions on them. This becomes important in situations where you have to create new columns in relation to other columns. For example - If you want to get the profit, you will put a formula for the difference between revenue and cost of business operations.
Automation: Automations are the best feature of any low code no code platform there is. With automation, tedious tasks such as sending congratulatory emails and messages become easy.
Integration capabilities: This is also an important feature of a low code platform. A business always uses multiple tools such as Google Calendar, GSuite, Slack, and other business-oriented platforms. To be able to integrate everything into one low code platform would cut down the time costs involved with switching between the apps.
Cloud collaboration: You can collaborate with all your teammates using low-no code platforms. There’s no need to manually send important documents, pictures, legal documents, or anything!
Everything in one place: Most low code no-code platforms allow you to integrate with popular apps such as Google Drive, G Suite, Google Sheets, Google Docs, etc.
Ease-of-use: This might be the most important feature to look out for. Most of these low code platforms are easy to use, but some of them, like Zoho, might require some coding knowledge.
Free plan: Most low-code platforms have a free plan. You, as a smart business owner, can use the tool on the Free plan before buying a subscription. That’ll help you decide if the tool is helpful to your business or not.
Low maintenance: Low code apps must be low maintenance. High maintenance could counter the cost benefits associated with low code apps.
Availability on multiple platforms: You want your low code app to be available on multiple platforms such as browser, iPhone, and Android. It’s so much better if your employees can access the data from anywhere in the world.
Migration from databases: Migration from other databases becomes important because you might just want to import data from one popular database to another.
Compliance with regulatory standards: You want your low code platform to be compliant with the data regulation laws of your industry, or you may not be able to use a platform for multiple purposes.
Security: Using a low code platform means you will be trusting the platform with your data. You’ll want that platform to have the most secure servers and security protocols.
Scalability: You want your low code platforms to be scalable. Imagine you’ve built an app for 15 of your employees. More of your employees want access to the app. What if the platform doesn’t allow more than 15 users? Your app will go to waste. That’s why you must analyze the scalability of a low code platform before using it for your business.
Low-code platform examples
For eg., in the case of retail, there’s a need to adapt to the digital world with apps that serve customers.
So, low-code platforms can be used to develop and deploy apps for Order processing, inventory, and online order fulfillment. This avoids dedicating or hiring a large team of developers to build apps using traditional methods. Also, Low-code tools help retailers build the software they need at a lower cost.
How do I choose a low-code platform?
Requirements: Define the requirements of the apps that are to be built and estimate pricing.
Integration: Analyze Integration requirements and check if the tool has the capability.
Hosting: Check hosting, DevOps, and Governance options
Security: Understand compliance, security, disaster recovery, and backup requirements of the tool
UI easiness: Understand user interface easiness of the platform for the end-users
How popular are low code development platforms?
These platforms are quite popular as they ease the way of doing business. Low code tools can cut down development time by 50-90%, according to this report by 451 research.
Some of these platforms are popular regionally. Zoho Creator, an Indian SaaS productivity tool is popular in India whereas Airtable, an America-based SaaS productivity tool is popular in the United States, UK, and Australia.
What are some of the best low code platforms?
Some of the best low code platforms are:
Quick Checklist: Which low code platform features should you essentially look out for?
Scalability: This is the most important feature of all. You may initially set out with a set number in mind, let’s say 10. But eventually, you’ll want to include more users. That’s where
Security: You want your data to be secure. Who wants their competitors to have access to all their internal data? Nobody.
Drag and Drop UI: This is also an important feature. You want your employees to be able to build applications with an easy-to-use drag and drop UI.
There’s no “one-size-fits-all” low-code tool for all of the business cases. Each of the tools has its unique abilities. We work on creating solutions using Airtable, Knack & Zoho creator and we can suggest which one suits
Reach out to us at vijayd@kwiksync.org.
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