No-Code and Low-Code Platforms Are Booming: What Businesses Need to Know Before Diving In
More and more tech giants are entering the no-code and low-code market, leading many companies to wonder whether they still need to outsource their web development at all. If they simply train staff to use no-code and low-code platforms, could that save the company money?
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Over the past two years, the pandemic has put no-code and low-code development back in the spotlight. Their promise that work can be done with "no programming at all" or "just a little programming" is enormously attractive to businesses. Mu-Fan Teng, co-founder of 5xRuby, Taiwan's largest Ruby / Rails system development company, says: "No-code and low-code can indeed meet some business needs, but before diving in, companies need to be aware of the risks involved."
3 Major Risks of Using No-Code and Low-Code Platforms
There is a wide range of excellent no-code and low-code platforms on the market today, covering website building, project content management, team collaboration, email marketing, mobile web building, process automation, e-commerce, financial management and more. For businesses with uncomplicated needs, they can already handle most of the work. But Mu-Fan Teng cautions: "Each of these targets a single domain and solves a single problem. When you run into compound requirements, it becomes hard to manage everything on one platform." For example, if a company builds its website with a no-code service, connecting it to a separate email marketing platform may not be supported.
There are three risks in using no-code and low-code platforms. First, all your data can only be used on that platform and you don't own your own code and data; if the platform shuts down, customers lose their data (even downloaded backups can't be used on other platforms). Second, when you hit a bug, you have to wait for the platform's own engineers to fix it, because engineers you hire yourself can't solve it. Third, customization is limited: each no-code and low-code platform has its own areas of strength and service ecosystem, and cannot deliver advanced customization.
Assessing Fit: 2 Indicators to Consider Before Diving In
Only after a brand has understood all the risks should it think about how to use these tools properly. Many brands weigh a variety of services and tools during digital transformation. Sho Chang, Executive Director of 5xRuby, says: "If a client's needs aren't complex and they don't need to manage multiple platforms, we won't necessarily recommend building a system from scratch." For a typical online store, for example, no-code and low-code platforms are perfectly adequate. But if the business later grows, its needs and management become complex, or it wants to build up a large database of its own, it should consider bringing in a technically skilled web system developer to plan things out.
So when does a business need a professional web system developer? Sho Chang offers two indicators. First, assess how complex the business and its operations are. No-code and low-code platforms usually offer "off-the-shelf" services; if the business itself is relatively complex, it is advisable to integrate and centralize its services to avoid scattering its data across various restrictive platforms. Second, assess how many special requirements the business has. Special requirements are items that "cannot be standardized and must be customized," such as a clinic's appointment booking and rescheduling system. Once there are more than three special requirements, it's time to consider working with a professional web system developer.
As for which approach saves more money, Mu-Fan Teng says: "Over a longer timeline, the cost difference isn't large." The costs you have to pay are still there; it's just a question of paying up front or paying later. Some argue that the rise of no-code and low-code platforms will replace engineers. Mu-Fan Teng believes that people who are good at using no-code and low-code tools are more like "product planners and designers." Most engineers will still need to write code, except for roles like "sales engineers" or "customer support engineers," who don't write code but have enough technical knowledge to support their work.
As 2023 approaches, business owners can use the insights above to decide which kind of service to adopt. If no-code and low-code can't solve your problem, 5xRuby also offers system consulting services for 2023. Please contact Sho at [email protected]
About the Company
5xRuby is the largest Ruby / Rails system development company in Taiwan, providing system development, technical consulting and corporate training services to clients around the world. We have also long been deeply involved in the tech community, working to advance its growth and help engineers advance their careers. Our corporate value is "Use the tools that make engineers happy to create services the world loves."
5xRuby (五倍紅寶石軟體開發) is not affiliated with any other educational institution of the same name, and our business and operations are entirely independent. We make this statement to avoid confusion. Our company website is: https://5xruby.com/
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