In this Analyst Insight Video, GigaOm Analyst Matthew Kruczek draws on research he conducted for a pair of GigaOm research reports—the Key Criteria for Evaluating Low-Code Development Platforms and the GigaOm Radar for Low-Code Development Platforms. He presents a detailed decision-making framework for IT leaders, describing the key criteria, evaluation metrics, and emerging technologies that organizations should consider when seeking to adopt an LCDP. He then goes on to describe the findings of the GigaOm Radar report, which provides an in-depth competitive analysis of 10 vendor solutions in the sector.

View the Analyst Insight Video on Low-Code Development Platforms.

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A core strength of LCDPs is their ability to simplify and streamline intricate processes. Today’s businesses have a multitude of moving parts; investing in an LCDP not only helps to simplify the number of different applications being used to run a business but also helps to lower the cost of tech sprawl by funneling all critical tasks into a single suite.

With a myriad of vendors in the LCDP marketplace, prospective customers have a range of options to choose from. One factor to keep in mind is that there’s no “one size fits all” solution, so businesses should carefully consider their unique business needs when creating a short list.

In the accompanying GigaOm report “Key Criteria for Evaluating Low-Code Development Platforms,” we list the features that vendors must have to be effective in this particular market as well as differentiating features that may make one vendor a better fit for a certain business based on their use case.

In this Radar report, we analyze the leading solutions in the market, compare their feature-sets, and weigh the evaluation metrics used to assess them. This report is intended to give organizations a roadmap to which solutions would work well for their particular needs as they begin their investment in LCDPs.

All of the vendors listed in this report offer solutions that contain the table stakes (core features) needed to produce a well functioning LCDP, but as stated above, depending on your specific business needs, different solutions will appeal to your organization more than others, so pay close attention to how vendors compare on the key criteria (differentiating features) and evaluation metrics.

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One of the major barriers to entry in software development has always been the skills required to produce applications via traditional methods. Trained software developers are a highly sought-after resource and expensive to acquire. Architects and senior developers are necessary when building any production-worthy software because the build requires considerable groundwork. Therefore, the ratio of work to skilled personnel has been difficult to bring into balance.

LCDPs help solve this problem by abstracting away the foundational code inside bite-size modules, allowing businesses to utilize every developer to their maximum potential because now development can be purely focused on solving the business problem rather than building the software infrastructure. Business problems include workflow management, mobile application development, data forms and reports, and platform integrations.

LCDPs enable rapid development through the use of a GUI development system. Instead of using a traditional, code-based integrated development environment (IDE), LCDPs offer a more workflow-focused style of development, where users drag and drop pre-made actions onto a canvas to create the functionality they desire. This is where the term “low code” comes into play. These blocks of functionality are abstractions that developers configure through parameters and settings to achieve their desired result. Chained together, they produce a process that replicates code that another developer might also achieve through traditional means.

The “code” part of the development still exists; however, because these modules are so accessible, junior developers don’t have to rely on senior coders to write complex applications. Instead of reinventing the wheel each time, developers have a proven, tested, and repeatable piece of functionality they can use for many different, new applications.

Developing applications in this fashion is often superior to traditional development. In traditional software development, there’s a lot of setup and “scaffolding” code that goes along with the core “problem solving” code. LCDPs remove all of that noise and let the developers focus on solving the business problem.

Additionally, LCDPs are often integrated into other environments and platforms; for example, in sales and service automation or data integration. This benefits developers greatly because it allows faster customization of these environments and therefore quicker releases and a shorter time to market.

LCDPs have existed in the marketplace for almost 10 years, evolving into a framework that makes software development easier and more efficient for businesses through improved workflow, data integration, or specific functionality. Knowing which platform is the right fit for your business is critical to maximizing your ROI.

Figure 1. Low-Code Development Platform Features

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