Low-code/no-code platforms for MSPs and system integrators deliver benefits on many fronts.
Presidio, a digital solutions and services provider, provides a case in point. The New York-based company uses these platforms to decentralize software development within their own business operations. Workers throughout the company are using technology to streamline and automate processes, making the company more agile, efficient and responsive, said Mladen Milanovic, vice president of engineering.
Presidio’s own technologists tap into these platforms to build products for client organizations in a faster, more collaborative way. “It has greatly accelerated our ability to demonstrate business results,” he said.
And Presidio advises client organizations on how they can also use low-code/no-code technologies to advance their digital initiatives and business transformation, Milanovic said.
For Milanovic and his colleagues, low-code/no-code platforms are proving to be significant opportunities to improve and expand their businesses.
“We see this as a big asset for us to accelerate our business internally and become more efficient, which helps us to be more competitive in the market. And it also creates a new offer for us: It allows us to offer new services in consulting and it allows us to have a faster business impact for our clients,” Milanovic said.
Growing interest
There is a high demand for low code development technologies. Gartner, the tech research and advisory firm, calculates that the global market in this space will reach $13.8 billion in 2021, up 22.6% on 2020 figures.
Gartner classifies low-code application platforms, intelligent business process management suites, multi-experience development platforms, robotic process automation and citizen automation and development platforms as low-code development technologies.
Interest from business technologists/citizen developers to automate workflows and processes, as well as business-driven hyperautomation needs, are among the leading drivers of adoption. low-code development technology, according to Gartner.
Service providers looking for low-code/no-code opportunities can find opportunities in such use cases.
Low-code/no-code development platforms simplify software development by combining code into building blocks that users can put together with little or no need for computer programming experience or knowledge. These platforms use visual interfaces and drag-and-drop features that users integrate to automate processes and workflows.
Low-code/no-code technology “makes solving problems more accessible,” says Ryan Martin, director of industry and manufacturing research at technology intelligence firm ABI Research, headquartered in New York City. . “It’s democracy in the problem-solving process [and] makes building solutions a modular activity.”
With CIOs, enterprise IT departments and business unit leaders all looking to how they can leverage these technologies to rapidly automate, modernize and transform, Martin and others say. That enterprise interest, in turn, creates opportunities for MSPs, integrators and consulting firms that can use low-code/no-code in their own development processes and advise clients on how to use technology.
For example, Atos, a global systems integrator based in Bezons, France, announced in April 2022 a partnership with Mendix, a low-code platform maker owned by Siemens, to drive hyperautomation in businesses . Under the partnership agreement, Atos is licensed to sell the Mendix platform in regions where Atos has a joint business collaboration with Siemens.
Arjan van Gompel, global lead for low-code platforms at Atos, said the partnership is a growth opportunity among many it sees in such technologies.
Atos teams use low-code platforms to deliver new applications, features and functions for its customers, van Gompel said. The company also partners with clients to build apps and automate, using their in-house low-code platforms or similar capabilities built into enterprise software from companies like ServiceNow and Microsoft, he said. .
If you’re looking at low code for corporate development, it has everything in the toolbox to build those corporate applications on top of your core systems.
Arjan van GompelGlobal lead for low-code platforms at Atos
“If you look at low code for corporate development, it has everything in the toolbox to build those corporate applications on top of your core systems,” van Gompel said.
Low-code/no-code allows teams to develop up to 10-times faster compared to traditional software programming, he said. What’s more, he added, it supports a more iterative development process and more business involvement — both of which help ensure the end product meets business needs.
Low-code/no-code business opportunities
Capgemini SE, an IT services and consulting company based in Paris, also shines a light on the growing interest and use of low-code/no-code platforms.
David McIntire, director of Capgemini Americas, said the company advises clients on the selection and implementation of platforms and also uses low-code/no-code technologies to deliver products and services for its customers.
Capgemini used these platforms to help an industrial conglomerate automate business processes and workflows in accounts payable, inventory management and other back-office functions, he said. The service provider also worked with a US cable company that used a low-code platform to rationalize and modernize capabilities in engineering, customer care and other divisions, as the company undertook a digital transformation strategy. And it has fielded inquiries from government agencies interested in deploying these technologies so that its own workforce can become citizen developers capable of automating manual processes within their own jobs.
In addition, McIntire said Capgemini can use low-code technologies to quickly create modular apps for industries and then quickly customize those for customers in a particular sector — thereby creating another avenue for business opportunities.
“We definitely see this as a growth opportunity,” McIntire added.
KPMG, a professional services firm with US headquarters in New York City, also sees opportunities to use low-code platforms to better serve its clients — and, in process, expand its own business offerings, said Gary Plotkin, a partner and head of the company’s US digital platforms business.
“The way KPMG looks at it is really around speed to market: With these tools we can quickly go from ideation to codification,” Plotkin said. “With low-code tools, we can drive change much faster.”
KPMG works with clients to use technologies to accelerate their innovation efforts, he said. Clients are also tapping service providers for integration work needed on low-code apps and to establish best practices for using platforms, he added.
In 2020, KPMG announced a partnership with Unqork, the developer of a code-free application platform, where KPMG lends its knowledge and experience in capital markets, banking, insurance and other industries to develop new ability. The companies at the time launched a Mortgage Forbearance and Loss Mitigation app developed for Community Preservation Corp., a nonprofit multifamily housing finance company in New York City.
Navigating the benefits, disadvantages
Like other service providers, KPMG advises client companies on the deployment and use of low-code tools. The company helps its clients with platform selection and training, Plotkin said. The firm also helps clients establish appropriate governance and guardrails, as well as set up centers of excellence — all aimed at helping clients maximize the benefits of these technologies while limiting the potential pitfalls.
For the latter, Plotkin and other industry executives identified security issues and duplication of effort as among the challenges. Organizations that fail to put guardrails and rationalization strategies in place can end up with an uncontrolled proliferation of apps and automation initiatives.
“You can increase your tech debt if you don’t retire other systems one at a time,” says Plotkin, noting that organizations may also see an increase in technical complexity. “I think that’s one of the biggest challenges.”
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