Low-code development has emerged as a game-changer in the software industry, offering a revolutionary approach to application creation. Imagine building complex software without diving into endless lines of code. With low code, building robust applications is no longer confined to the realm of expert coders.
This article explores ten diverse use cases, ranging from native mobile apps to IoT-enabled solutions, showcasing the versatility and efficiency of low-code development. Discover how organizations across industries leverage low-code platforms to streamline processes, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation.
What is Low-Code Development?
Low-code development is like building with ready-made blocks instead of starting from scratch. Rather than writing tons of code, it’s a way to create software applications using visual interfaces and pre-built components. Imagine you have a box of Lego pieces and want to build a spaceship. Instead of making every part from raw materials, you can assemble the pre-made Lego blocks quickly.
Similarly, in low-code development, you use drag-and-drop tools and templates to design the layout and functionality of your app. These tools often come with built-in features like databases, user interfaces, and workflows, so you don’t have to code them from the ground up. It’s like having a bunch of handy shortcuts to speed up the process.
This approach is useful for people who aren’t expert coders but still want to create software. It makes development faster and more accessible because you don’t need to know coding to get started. Plus, making changes and updates is easier since everything is already structured and organized. Overall, low-code development simplifies the software creation and empowers more people to bring their ideas to life.
What Can You Build With Low-Code Application Development?
With low-code application development, you can build a wide range of things, from simple tools to complex business applications. Here are some examples:
- Basic Websites: You can create websites with interactive features like forms, galleries, and contact pages without much coding.
- Mobile Apps: Build mobile applications for both iOS and Android platforms, including features like push notifications, GPS tracking, and in-app purchases.
- Workflow Automation: Streamline business processes by automating tasks such as data entry, approval processes, and notifications.
- Customer Portals: Develop portals where customers can access their accounts, view order history, and interact with support services.
- Internal Tools: Create custom tools for internal use within organizations, such as project management systems, employee directories, and inventory management systems.
- Reporting Dashboards: Build dashboards that pull data from various sources and display key metrics and insights for decision-making.
- E-commerce Platforms: Set up online stores with features like product catalogs, shopping carts, and payment processing.
- Integration Solutions: Connect different software systems and applications to exchange data and automate processes.
Low-code development empowers individuals and organizations to create diverse software solutions quickly and efficiently without extensive coding expertise.
10 Low Code Use Cases for Solving Business Problems
1. Native Mobile Apps And PWA
Low-code development simplifies mobile app creation, saving time and resources compared to traditional methods. With low code, businesses can efficiently build purpose-driven native apps and PWAs without the need for specialized developers. Leveraging the ReactNative framework ensures rich user experiences across platforms, enhancing customer satisfaction and driving revenue.
Erie Insurance’s First Mobile App With No Mobile Developers
Erie Insurance, a leading insurance provider, faced the challenge of engaging customers through mobile platforms without the expertise of dedicated mobile developers. With low-code development, Erie Insurance has successfully launched its first mobile app and Progressive Web App (PWA), enabling customers to access policy information, file claims, and receive updates seamlessly.
2. Web-based Customer Portal
Low-code enables the swift creation of cost-effective web-based portals, offering self-service experiences like claims submission and bill payment. These portals, tailored for internal and external users, streamline operations and drive revenue. By reducing reliance on customer support teams, they empower users to perform tasks independently, enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction while minimizing wait times and workload.
Acropolium Self-Service Portal
Acropolium, a software development firm, aimed to enhance customer support processes while improving client satisfaction. Leveraging low-code technology, Acropolium developed a web-based self-service portal that empowered customers to access account information, submit queries, and track support tickets independently. This streamlined customer support processes, leading to improved client satisfaction levels.
3. Workflow Automation
Low-code streamlines back-office operations by automating workflows for tasks like invoice processing and approvals. This eliminates manual labor, saves time, and optimizes resources. Automation reduces repetitive tasks, enhancing the development cycle efficiency. Integrated services through low-code further optimize enterprise workflows, offering widespread improvements across the organization.
Kaneka Malaysia Harnesses Manufacturing Data to Drive Automation
Kaneka Malaysia, a prominent manufacturing company, sought to optimize production processes and improve operational efficiency. Utilizing low-code development, Kaneka Malaysia automated workflows and harnessed manufacturing data effectively. This results in increased productivity, minimized errors, and accelerated decision-making processes, thus enhancing overall operational efficiency.
4. Splitting Apps Into Microservices
Splitting a large app into microservices facilitates rapid development and updates, each offering enhanced security. Low-code platforms aid 49% of businesses in maximizing productivity. By transitioning monolithic apps into microservices through low code, applications become more agile and efficient. APIs enable seamless updates, ensuring fast deployment without disruption to the system.
PostNL Speeds Parcel Delivery with Microservices
PostNL, a leading postal and parcel delivery service provider, faced scalability challenges with their monolithic applications, resulting in performance bottlenecks. By adopting a microservices architecture through low-code development, PostNL has achieved greater scalability, flexibility, and resilience. This enabled them to handle increased parcel volumes efficiently and deliver packages to customers faster.
5. IoT-Enabled Apps
Low-code development facilitates seamless integration with IoT platforms, enterprise systems, and third-party services, enabling organizations to access and leverage actionable data insights. It empowers the efficient creation of IoT-enabled apps, fostering rich customer experiences atop connected devices. Additionally, constant monitoring detects and resolves issues preemptively, ensuring optimal app performance and minimizing downtime.
WRSTBND Boosts Sales With Mendix-Enabled IoT For Turnstile
WRSTBND, an event management company, aimed to enhance the attendee’ experience at their events while capturing valuable data for analysis. Leveraging low-code IoT development, WRSTBND integrated IoT sensors with turnstiles, enabling them to optimize event operations and personalize marketing efforts. This IoT-enabled solution resulted in increased ticket sales and improved event ROI.
6. Replace, Migrate, or Extend Legacy Systems
Low-code offers a seamless solution for modernizing legacy systems without discarding them. It efficiently updates business processes and rebuilds core structures, allowing organizations to adapt without disrupting existing functionality. Whether building around a functional core or decentralizing it with replacement apps, low-code facilitates gradual updates or complete rebuilds, making it an adaptable and efficient approach to address the challenges posed by aging legacy systems.
BDC Accelerates Loan Processing Using Mendix’s Core Lending System
BDC, a financial institution, faced challenges with its outdated legacy loan processing system, hindering efficiency and customer satisfaction. Embracing low-code development, BDC modernized its operations by implementing Mendix’s new Core Lending System. This streamlined loan origination, automated approval processes, and enhanced customer service, resulting in improved processing times and customer satisfaction.
7. Business Models
In our digital-centric era, organizations are inherently involved in software services alongside their core physical products. Low-code development empowers the creation of applications that augment core offerings, opening avenues for commercial sale. By addressing customer pain points and catering to new markets, these low-code apps enhance the existing services and generate new revenue streams. This versatile approach aligns businesses with the digital landscape, ensuring competitiveness and adaptability in the software-driven market.
Collin Crowdfund Leads with a Lending Platform
Collin Crowdfund leveraged low-code development to lead with a lending platform, innovating its business model and providing efficient lending services to clients.
8. Social Network
Rather than pursuing a generic solution, focusing on solving a specific customer problem is more effective. Developing a massive social media platform like Facebook can be daunting, even with low-code development. Instead, offering turnkey social solutions tailored to a particular purpose streamlines the process.
Low code allows for the rapid development of apps that cater to specific communication needs, empowering businesses to efficiently fulfill the requirements of their audience.
Location-Based Social Network App Development – Hango App
Hango App utilized low-code development to create a location-based social network app, facilitating social connections and interactions based on geographic proximity.
9. Supply Chain Management
Low-code development solutions have been instrumental in streamlining supply chain management processes and optimizing inventory management, logistics, and distribution for improved efficiency and cost savings.
10. SaaS Development
Businesses have embraced low-code development to build Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, offering scalable and customizable software solutions while reducing development time and costs.
Benefit From Low Code Development Solutions
- Speed: Low-code platforms provide visual interfaces and pre-built components, enabling rapid development of applications. This accelerates the time-to-market for new products and features, giving businesses a competitive edge.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Low-code development reduces development costs. It also minimizes ongoing maintenance expenses, resulting in significant cost savings over time.
- Flexibility: Low-code platforms allow for quick iteration and customization of applications. This flexibility enables businesses to adapt to changing market demands and user feedback more effectively, ensuring that their software remains relevant and valuable.
- Ease of Use: With intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces and visual development tools, low-code platforms are accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise. This democratizes the development process and empowers individuals across the organization to contribute to app creation.
- Integration: Low-code solutions typically offer robust integration capabilities, allowing businesses to connect their applications with existing systems, databases, and third-party services seamlessly. This promotes interoperability and enhances the overall functionality of the software ecosystem.
- Scalability: Low-code applications can scale to accommodate growing user bases and evolving business needs. Whether it’s adding new features, supporting additional users, or expanding to new markets, low-code development provides the scalability businesses need to thrive in a dynamic environment.
- Innovation: By streamlining development processes and reducing technical barriers, low-code empowers businesses to innovate more freely. It encourages experimentation and iteration, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the organization.
When Low-code Isn’t the Optimal Choice for Businesses
While low-code development offers numerous advantages, there are situations where it may not be the best option for businesses. Here are some scenarios:
- Highly Customized Solutions: In cases where businesses require highly customized or complex applications with unique functionalities, traditional coding may be more suitable. Low-code platforms may not offer the level of customization needed to meet specific requirements.
- Performance-Critical Applications: Applications that require high performance, such as real-time processing or heavy computational tasks, may not be well-suited for low-code development. Traditional coding allows for fine-tuning and optimization that may be necessary for such applications.
- Legacy System Integration: There can be issues when integrating with legacy systems that use outdated technology or require complex integration processes. In such cases, custom development may be necessary to ensure seamless integration and functionality.
- Regulatory Compliance: Industries with strict regulatory requirements, such as finance or healthcare, may find it challenging to meet compliance standards with low-code solutions. Custom development offers more control over security measures and regulatory compliance.
- Long-Term Scalability: While low-code development facilitates rapid prototyping and initial deployment, it may pose challenges in terms of long-term scalability. As applications grow and evolve, scalability issues may arise, requiring additional customization and development efforts.
- Highly Specialized Applications: Industries or niche markets that require highly specialized applications tailored to specific needs may find low-code platforms limiting. Custom development allows for precise alignment with unique business requirements and industry standards.
Conclusion
Low-code development offers businesses a versatile and efficient solution for addressing various challenges and streamlining operations. With low-code platforms, organizations can rapidly develop and deploy applications, saving time and resources while enhancing productivity and innovation. However, for highly specialized or performance-critical applications, low code maight not be a good choice. Understanding the limitations and strengths of low-code development can help businesses make informed decisions and maximize the benefits of this technology. Overall, low-code development presents a valuable opportunity for organizations to stay competitive and agile in today’s digital landscape.
FAQ’s
1. How to use Low-Code Development?
To utilize low-code development effectively, start by defining your project requirements. Then, choose a low-code platform that aligns with your needs and skill level. Utilize visual interfaces and pre-built components to design and develop your application rapidly. Finally, test and iterate your application to ensure functionality and usability before deployment.
2. Can Low-Code Platforms Be Used for Building Mobile Apps?
Yes, low-code platforms can be used to build mobile apps efficiently. They offer visual development interfaces and pre-built components that streamline the app development process. With features like drag-and-drop functionality and cross-platform compatibility, low-code platforms enable developers to create mobile apps for both iOS and Android platforms quickly and effectively.
3. What industries can benefit from low-code development?
Many industries can benefit from low-code development, including finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and logistics. Low-code platforms streamline app development, automate workflows, and improve customer experiences. They are particularly useful for organizations looking to modernize legacy systems, enhance operational efficiency, and adapt quickly to changing market demands.