3 Reasons Why VPs of Engineering Are Choosing Low-Code

I often hear the phrases "Low code is not flexible" and "Scaling is the major issue with low code" when talking to developers who have used it to build complex use cases like food ordering apps, e-commerce apps, and tools like that. For any type of application building, it's important to understand who you are developing it for, what is the ROI, and what they are going to achieve. 

Low code is something that can be best used when you want to build apps for internal use, rich data dashboards, CMS apps, or any app for operational needs within your organization. Developers, the primary creators, benefit hugely from pre-built UI components, ready databases, and API integrations. Important stat: 70% of new applications created by enterprises are expected to utilize low-code or no-code technologies, stats Gartner findings. 

Suppose you have an engineering team spending 20% of their daily core engineering time building internal apps using traditional methods which is time-consuming. This could lead to a loss of revenue for the company, as the focus is on doing trivial tasks rather than achieving impact engineering. Not only is impact engineering the major factor, but cost-efficiency and speed of development are major factors, too, that are addressed by low code. 

As low-code continues to lead the charge in application building, the VPs of engineering of the fastest-growing companies can focus more on impact engineering projects that help their company generate revenue. Now let's understand how VPs of engineering can make the most optimal use of low-code.

Reason 1: Cost Savings

Back in 2023, I went to an engineering conference where I met leaders from the fastest-growing companies who were obsessed with saving costs of application development. Discussions were all around choosing the development frameworks and hiring best-in-class developers. I met with one VP of a company that deals in ad tech. His clear words were: 

"We had to develop an internal software for expense management fast. In the past, this would have cost about $100,000 and necessitated recruiting more developers for several months of development time. With our current crew, we developed the app in a matter of weeks by utilizing a low-code platform. Our development process was streamlined by the platform's drag-and-drop interface and pre-built components, which cut expenses by 60% and freed up resources for other important projects."

Another example is a US-based leading machinery manufacturer that saves $350,000 annually. They reduced maintenance allocations by up to less than 10%, and app development costs were reduced by up to 70% compared to traditional development costs. 

Reason 2: More Focus on Impact Engineering Projects

Engineering teams often work on impact engineering projects that include building new external-facing apps for the company or building a new tech stack that helps the company optimize its processes. But trivial tasks come to their way more frequently. Suppose your customer support team raised a request to build a customer support dashboard for their day-to-day work. It takes away the focus from the engineering team. Developing it with traditional methods consumes plenty of core time. 

Here's where low code comes in. Pre-built templates, connectors, UI components, and built-in security features help the engineering team fast-track the internal app creation. Low-code eliminates traditional methods and enhances the productivity of the teams. 

Reason 3: Speed of Development

Imagine your team that used to take 3 months to deliver any internal app can now deliver it within weeks all because of the low-code platforms. Low-code platforms offer ready UI controls such as table grids, buttons, dropdowns, charts, and more. The only thing that users should do is bind data to them with the help of ready databases and API connectors. 

Building the application frontend is super fast with low code. When it comes to logic building low-code platforms also offer a visual interface to design frontend logic. Logics can include navigation, email alerts, notifications, app exits, and more stuff like that. 

Final Thoughts

Why you should invest in low code?

1. Save a lot on development costs 
2. Save hundreds of engineering hours and focus more on impact engineering
3. Develop apps within weeks

I hope this article helps you understand the major benefits of adopting low code in your organizations.