Low-code/no-code (LC/NC) platforms democratize workflow and application development, allowing companies and government agencies to modernize processes much faster than traditional methods—even in complex IT environments. Professional and non-professional developers alike can take advantage of these technologies to quickly build and maintain applications without having to be programming experts. These so-called “citizen developers” are now able to build their own applications because of the ease of LC/NC tools. This methodology becomes especially relevant as a potential solution for addressing the large skills gap and shortage of developer talent, including the rapid modernization of legacy applications to address the dwindling number of programmers familiar with legacy technologies.

However, in order for organizations to take advantage of these platforms to move existing or legacy applications, they must first assess these systems to understand what logic is contained within them and what processes are being run. Without detailed knowledge of the functions these applications are executing in their current state, and the environment they are operating in, transforming any application to another platform is fraught with risk.

For this very reason, LC/NC development cannot be done in a vacuum. You must first provide the required functionality of an application to the LC/NC platform, which explicitly implies garnering knowledge of all business rules that are being executed in that application.

The value proposition of LC/NC

LC/NC tools promise to do everything from solving the developer scarcity crisis to empowering the average business user to build applications. The potential of LC/NC platforms is promising. In fact, Gartner predicts that LC/NC solutions will make up 65% of at least new application development by 2024. Webflow, a no-code software company, raised $140 million in Series B, making its market value exceed $2 billion. Another no-code platform, Bubble, generated $100 million in Series A funding, and the value of business services they produced exceeded $1 billion.

It’s worth noting that although the terms are often lumped together, there is a distinction between low-code and no-code. While low-code tools require some understanding of programming languages, no-code tools only require basic logic, and generally employ a drag-and-drop user interface. It is also important to acknowledge that LC/NC tools aren’t necessarily meant to provide enterprise-grade software, but rather meet the increasing demand for functionality like more digitally-driven business processes. By using a LC/NC platform, organizations are able to:

• Get applications deployed quicker: This allows for faster and less expensive development of the applications needed to support some of the processes behind a digital-first business model
• Increase agility: Respond to frequently changing needs and demands
• Address skills gaps to quickly improve business processes: For many companies, this helps them digitize and automate tasks and processes faster than trying to hire and onboard hard-to-source development talent.
• Preserve programming resources: Allowing programming resources to focus on improving and advancing critical product priorities.

Choosing your LC/NC path

When choosing the right LC/NC platforms for your organization, it is important to keep the business context in mind. For applications being developed on LC/NC platforms, IT teams need to consider how these new applications will integrate with the wider IT environment, as well as how they fit with the overall digital transformation strategy.

Optimizing moving existing applications to LC/NC platforms using application modernization tools

Based on recent survey results, almost 80% of business and technology executives believe that legacy applications are getting in the way of their digital transformation initiatives. Hence it is a priority for them to modernize these applications and one option is to move them to LC/NC platforms. However, without detailed knowledge of these applications in their current state, modernization efforts risk failure. To successfully move relevant processes to a LC/NC platform, you need to first understand the business rules with context that are contained in the current applications. This is because adding LC/NC functionality without the proper context may not provide the true functionality you need to implement. Extracting such functionality will also allow you to identify the LC/NC platform that will allow you to run and maintain your target applications as per your requirements.

Extraction of business rules has traditionally been a tedious process, inherently filled with risk when performed manually. This is because poring over hundreds of thousands of lines of code leads to the strong possibility of missing out on identifying critical rules. Even if a few rules are missed out, the results and delays can be catastrophic.

EvolveWare’s Intellisys platform mitigates this risk as it extracts detailed information of the source in its current state and contains unique features to automate the consolidation of business logic into rules. Additionally, the platform provides API integration that can be customized for the export of those rules into modern platforms like business rules engines and LC/NC platforms. For enterprise and government organizations, this can become a driving force for rapid modernization. By using Intellisys, organizations can reduce the time spent on the extraction of business rules by 60+% without missing out on any relevant rules. This allows them to meet accelerated time-lines to successfully harness the agility of low code/no-code development platforms and drive innovation and scalability.

To learn more about the application modernization process and options provided by Intellisys, please click here or contact us.