What CFOs need to know about low-code tech

COVID showed how important it is to use technology, such as “low-code” software development, to help your teams adapt to challenges.

What if employees who aren’t coding experts could get involved in creating apps that boost productivity? Tech tools and platforms labeled as low-code can help. Both IT and non-IT folks can use them to build a variety of applications or solutions and even add custom features.

According to Brian Sathianathan, chief technology officer at artificial intelligence (AI) innovation company Iterate.ai, low-code tools can set the stage for automating manual systems, improving efficiency and freeing your employees up to work on more strategic projects.

“Speed is low-code’s super power,” he said. “In many cases, utilizing a low-code platform can accelerate application delivery (up) to 17 times that of a traditional development model.

“Teams gain instant access to powerful emerging technologies that would otherwise require considerable budgets to develop and integrate without low-code, transforming (research and development) ROI and yielding key modernization benefits,” Sathianathan said.

Evaluating low-code

If IT buys into a low-code strategy, it can open the door for using tools like:

• machine learning
• big data integrations, and
• third-party vendor services, such as ERPs or software as a service capabilities available as application program interfaces (APIs).

But when you start talking to vendors about their low-code development tools, ask plenty of questions. The experts at Gartner say it’s vital to find out how they can grow with your company’s needs. Low-code platforms shouldn’t be evaluated based on just one use case, Gartner said, but against several potential options.

Also, you need to be able to understand the underlying approach to the vendor’s development tools or platforms. This includes the process of how code is abstracted and added. If the solution doesn’t easily connect with the other key programs and software you use, it isn’t worth it.