The low-code and no-code movement has been part of the tech world for quite a while now and has managed to make a lot of waves in the digital landscape.
However, will the rise of low-code/no-code result in fewer developer jobs or is that just a sort of irrational fear of the unknown that has always been the case with technology and developments?
For our part, we believe that “NO“ is the answer to the first question and “YES“ to the latter one. At least, in the next 5-10 years. We can hear you’re thinking “Why?“. Let’s put it in plain and simple terms.
Low-code/no-code tools can’t offer diversity
Low-code or no-code platforms provide drag-and-drop tools that enable users to create applications quickly without coding. But what kind of applications are we talking about? Definitely not about those that are competitive and “stand out from the crowd“. Rigid templates that such tools use let you build nothing more than apps to limited standardized parameters.
So, when it comes to innovation and real value creation, we doubt there’s a single enterprise willing to take the risk of using such solutions instead of involving competent architects.
Automated coding might create security problems
In addition to all major application flaws and vulnerabilities security experts have been fighting for years, low-code/no-code apps are subject to such risks as:
- shared responsibility for security
- little to no oversight on whether the code conforms to known security practices
- unencrypted data transmission over HTTP
This point is doubly important when engineering applications to handle sensitive data, i.e. healthcare, financial, etc.
Low-code/no-code platforms do not allow you to develop software projects using cutting-edge technology
By “cutting-edge“ we mean AI, ML, quantum computing, neuromorphic computing, deep learning, and such like.
Actually, solutions like Microsoft Power Apps just can’t keep pace with the demands of the above technologies. They simply can’t assess the complexity, say, an ML project.
These platforms are not designed for dealing with lots of dynamic updates or large amounts of data such projects require.
You will probably run into the lack of flexibility that kind of tools inherently have and end up with the need for custom code.
Again, we don’t believe low-code/no-code will replace developers in the near future. Still, we do believe the platforms will continue to evolve, and maybe, over time, they will change the skill sets required to deliver innovative tech solutions.
What do you think of what we have said? Let us know in the comments below!
