Low-Code and No-Code
Innovation Alphabet
Low-Code and No-Code
in a nutshell
Complicated IT tasks have no escape in a world evolving toward simplification. Low-code and no-code platforms are development environments that allow the creation of digital products and services to any kind of user — who can rely on visual editors without having to use hand-written code. They were born in response to the shortage of skilled software developers and the need to shorten coding time.
Differences
| Features | Low-code | No-code |
|---|---|---|
| Primary users | Developers | Business users |
| Purpose | Speed of development | Ease of use |
| Coding required | Low but present | No |
| Customization | Total customization available | Pre-built templates to customize |
| End-to-end development | All platforms provide end-to-end development | Some platforms provide only limited capabilities |
| Complexity of end product | Complex apps | Simple apps |
| Cost considerations | Cost-effective for companies a team of developers | Cost-effective means to reduce IT department backlogs |
• Low-code platforms
Low-code platforms save up to 90 percent of the coding process. No specialized knowledge of programming languages is required because the basics of operation are already set up. The code that remains to be written is purely descriptive and states the designer’s intention. It is an approach that speeds up but does not replace code production, leaving the possibility of enhancing its components through writing.
• No-code platforms
No-code platforms, on the other hand, are ideal for users who have little programming skills. They feature predefined tools, templates and simplified workflows that allow applications to be developed in a totally self-service manner. This is an optimal solution to respond quickly to business needs. The possibility of customization is, of course, limited. For this reason, no-code platforms often collaborate with other flow management platforms.
low-code
• Work4labs: Work4, the global leader in social and mobile recruiting, helps companies connect through social media, advanced analytics, and data. The company needed a solution that could handle huge amounts of data without errors and without requiring the support of expert developers. Xplenty provided them with an easy-to-use, low-code ETL (extract, transfer, load) platform that allows data to be transferred in just a few clicks and can be used without any coding.
• North Carolina State University: By leveraging Mendix as a low-code platform, the University of North Carolina was able to manage its workload (related to hundreds of courses and awareness programs totaling about one million students enrolled) through the creation of two apps. The first is Reporter, designed to manage the registration of optional courses and ensure compliance of classes and seminars. The second is a lab management gimmick that reduced administrative time to 1/3 of the original time.
• Apex Imaging: This is a business that does re-branding and re-imaging for companies such as Home Depot, Starbucks, and many others. It provides comprehensive business solutions, including project management. Apex Imaging has equipped itself with low-code features to make spreadsheets more efficient and understandable in order to speed up work and eliminate errors.
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NO-CODE
• Google AppSheet: The AppSheet platform combines no-code development and Google Artificial Intelligence to allow aspiring developers to automate business processes at any time. The resulting applications inherit features based on machine learning algorithms with which to create predictive models that generalize historical app data. AppSheet can collect data from any device by synchronizing with the original data source and perform real-time analysis using custom dashboards and automatically generated reports.
• Microsoft PowerApps: PowerApps offers rapid solutions for the creation of custom applications in response to business needs. The results of simplified programming can connect to corporate data stored either in the Microsoft Dataverse database or in other online or local databases (SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, SQL Server, and so on).
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Check out more of the Innovation Alphabet:
Gamification
Gamification
Gamification is actually adding a game-like element to make more fun and engaging something that’s not necessarily a game. It’s all about turning a task that might be boring or difficult into a more enjoyable and motivating activity. You can also earn points, badges, and rewards for completing certain actions or challenges. Are you ready to play?
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Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence
A smart business means efficiency: Business Intelligence represents the ability to collect up-to-date data, present it in easy-to-understand formats, and deliver it in a timely manner to employees. Making data-driven decision-making and management processes leads to competitive advantage, reduces inefficiencies, and improves productivity and service at all levels.
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Artificial Scarcity
Artificial Scarcity
We often tend to desire what we cannot have. Or what we are in danger of losing: Artificial Scarcity is a strategy that flaunts a limited number of items that do not correspond to actual availability. The goal is to stimulate the perception in consumers that the stock of items is about to run out and thus create a need based on the “fear of being cut off” or the intention to buy the item in order to resell it at a higher price.
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Subscription Model
Subscription Model
A subscription model is a business tool that generates revenue by charging customers a fee at regular intervals. The company provides products or services to subscribers on a subscription basis, usually monthly or annually. In this way, loyalty has become more important than acquiring new users.
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Holacracy & Flat Organization
Holacracy & Flat Organization
A “flat organization” breaks down the traditional hierarchy and removes its negative connotation, while “holacracy” is the business tool that facilitates its formation. Flat organizations place more emphasis on communication and collaboration, aspiring to a distributed decision-making process that gives each employee a voice. But this is a model that is difficult to implement.
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Mass Customization
Mass Customization
Mass customization is an initiative adopted by companies to embrace the increasingly diversified needs of customers. By offering customizable products and services, consumers feel engaged and can bring their creativity into play. Brands gain from this a boost in perceived value and the opportunity to fuel a positive word-of-mouth marketing.
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Coopetition
Coopetition
If you can’t beat them, join them. Coopetition is a business strategy that defines cooperative and competitive relationships between competing companies in the same young or high-growth market. The goal is to travel a stretch of road together to lower initial research and development costs. Once the desired results are achieved, the companies will return to being enemies as before.
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MVP
MVP
To the disappointment of all sports fans, this is not an article about Michael Jordan. In the language of business, MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product and indicates the version of a new product that has enough features to attract customers. In this way, a team can gather the most feedback with the least effort, improve the prototype, and validate its sale.
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Agile
Agile
Agile is an approach to software development designed to respond to change. Teams quickly analyze the context in which they operate, identify uncertainties faced, and figure out how to adapt to always move forward. Interaction between individuals comes before processes and tools; collaboration with the customer is more important than negotiating contracts.
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Bounded Rationality
Bounded Rationality
The best solutions always come to mind when it is too late. This is because human beings tend to make decisions on the basis of satisfaction rather than optimization. Bounded Rationality means that we are unable to think clearly and linearly, we proceed by trial and error and forget all the possible variables that affect the process. But we are also flawed.
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