No-Code has sparked tremendous excitement and interest across the industry, due it’s potential for transforming and democratizing software development. But is the Enterprise ready for No-Code?
There's been a lot of hype about how No-Code is transforming the world of Enterprise software development. To understand why this is true though, you have to step back and look at the three waves of technology advancement:
Wave 1: The term "Low-Code" was first coined back in 2014 (by Forrester analysts John Rymer and Clay Richardson). This described the first generation of visual, drag-and-drop tools that emerged as a faster and easier way for IT to build apps. While it delivered significant benefits in speeding development and reducing costs, Low-code still required involvement of IT and development skills. You had to write some code (albeit less than compared with fully custom development).
Wave 2: The next wave introduced the early No-Code tools that opened up potential for non-developers to build apps. This dramatically expanded it's reach and applicability by allowing business groups to be empowered to build (unconstrained by IT and professional developer talent shortages). However, the apps built by these early tools were typically simple use-cases focused on simple data entry or forms apps. Smaller startups and SMBs flocked to these early No-Code platforms (like Wix, Bubble, etc.) for building out simple web sites or web applications.
Wave 3: Enterprises are now beginning to adopt No-Code to address a wider range of use cases. It's now common to see them build sophisticated apps that may extend out to customers and partners, and range from the simple through highly complex, mission-critical solutions. You also are seeing Enterprises in industries that have more complex governance processes and regulatory requirements begin to adopt No-Code, as are larger organizations that have many distributed teams simultaneously working in tandem.
This third wave of No-Code could not have come at a more important time in terms of demand and supply of talent
We are witnessing one of the largest talent shortages in modern history of software developers - according to analyst firm IDC, the overall developer population in 2020 was 26.2 million, roughly half of whom were full-time developers. This may seem like a lot - but consider:
the dramatically increasing appetite by businesses of all sizes to use Software/Digital as a competitive advantage and
explosion of demand for online processes and new digital apps -- that got accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic
The supply of developers has been vastly outstripped by the market demand for new software applications: IDC has predicted that by 2023, over 500 million new digital apps and services will be developed and deployed using cloud-native approaches – the same number of apps developed in the last 40 years!
This increased appetite for apps takes IT well past its breaking point – it’s just not possible to simply “work harder” and expect IT to deliver independently on this many requests for apps. So it’s no surprise that No-Code has been embraced by Enterprises in response to these demands.
No-Code platforms have now potentially increased the talent pool inside most organizations by a factor of 10x by allowing employees within the business itself to take on or assist in development tasks.
But is the Enterprise ready?
To support adoption and scale of any new technology innovation, Enterprises require the availability of proven and scalable guidance, training and community resources. As a case study, consider the first use of Agile methods for software development which began over a decade ago. It was initially popularized by small, single development teams and rapidly gained popularity in startups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). As it started becoming adopted by Enterprises, the development of a set of Enterprise Agile guidance emerged as Scaled Agile Framework for Enterprises, or SAFe which made Agile ready for the Enterprise.
Ultimately this type of guidance was crucial for Enterprises to be confident in deployment of Agile methodologies: the same is now needed for No-Code.
To address this need, earlier this year I co-authored (along with Katherine Kostereva) the No-Code Playbook - a vendor-agnostic guide that empowers teams to deliver Enterprise business applications of any complexity with No-Code. The Playbook provides guidance on how to organize efficient IT and business collaboration and deliver game-changing results leveraging the potential of No-Code approach while staying compliant with governance requirements. The hands-on guide was built to organize the No-Code development process by business-led and Fusion teams. The No-Code Playbook helps organizations embrace an efficient, lean, and iterative development process by empowering non-technical professionals to deploy business applications without deep technical and coding skills.
Now, take No-Code to the next level
Tachyon Solutions is proud to offer a comprehensive Enterprise No-Code Training Series curriculum based on the concepts from the No-Code Playbook. This training series is uniquely targeted at Business/IT leaders and practitioners who are seeking to expand their understanding of No-Code strategies and practices, and operationalize how they plan, design and go-live with their No-Code applications and establish an integrated approach to people, processes and structure in support of scaling adoption of No-Code over time.
Tachyon Solutions also offers a broad range of standard and customized consulting services to assist clients with planning and delivering No-Code implementations. This includes both standard consulting workshops targeted at up-front No-Code planning, design and architecture support; and also Custom consulting services which can provide more highly specialized and tailored services and best practices to guiding your No-Code vision or establishing your No-Code Center of Excellence (CoE).
Regardless of your Enterprise No-Code needs, Tachyon Solutions is here to help you be successful.
We provide guidance, training and consulting that helps both Enterprises and Enterprise Startups leverage No-Code to accelerate growth by enabling new product innovation and digital transformation initiatives. We provide practical experience, tools and know-how from 40+ years of industry expertise and operational leadership honed from executive roles in product management and software development. This allows you confidence that you are being guided down the path that will help you navigate your journey of planning and executing on your No-Code strategy and initiatives.