How Low Code Apps Empower Citizen Developers

Recently, Google’s IO conference showcased ^[1], a cutting-edge AI feature to make appointments and phone calls without you ever having to pick up the phone. We also saw cryptocurrency take center stage, daring to revolutionize the world of currency and exchange as we know it.

But what about the field of business? Have there been any revolutionary advances that change the way we work?

Low-code platforms have been powering the way forward for businesses of all sizes to maximize their productivity and rethink the way they operate. However, they aren’t the agents of change–they’re merely the byproducts. The real driving force behind this innovation is the citizen developers: business users who are taking matters into their own hands, empowered by low-code app builders.

Low-Code App Builders Make Running to IT a Thing of the Past

Traditionally, when business users needed a new application or implementation done, IT had to be called in. Only IT had the staff to code, and programming wasn’t a skill easily learned by a business user. Considering the number of apps you’d need to run a business, you can see how IT could be easily bottlenecked by the sheer number of requests.

But low-code app development platforms have turned the situation around. Instead of having to run to IT or forcing business users to learn how to code, low-code app builders have let both sides reach a middle ground.

Without the absolute need for programming expertise, business users can create their own applications. Low-code app builders allow IT staff to focus on more complex projects and let citizen developers create easier requests on their own.

The rise of citizen development isn’t imaginary. According to a survey conducted by Kintone, a no-code platform for enterprise teams,^[2]of all citizen developers are motivated to build apps themselves because they feel IT takes too long to give them the application they need.

But are these low-code apps really making a difference in the real world, or is it all just smoke and mirrors?

Learn more: The best apps in the company are made by citizen developers. Here's why.

The Numbers Show It, Low-Code Apps Deliver Real World Results

One of the major issues with hand coding is the time taken to take an app from idea to reality. And pre-packaged software isn’t much better. Low-code is designed to reduce the very same time taken. According to a survey taken amongst citizen developers by FileMaker, 57% of the surveyed businesses reported low-code had drastically reduced their development times to less than three months. Considering most applications take much longer than three months when coding them by hand, this is a huge improvement. The faster the app gets to the hands of the users, the quicker they can use it to improve productivity.

Another 94% of the surveyed businesses felt the pre-packaged software they’d used previously was inflexible and unable to fit their needs.

FileMaker talked to citizen developers and found that 93% felt their custom apps removed or reduced inefficient tasks from their queue. Of those same developers, 73% reported the custom apps they built had returned a positive ROI.

Learn more: Gartner on Citizen Development

What Can You Build With Low-Code App Development Platforms?

The low-code platform is great for simple implementations. However, there are a few critical types of applications that low-code app builders excel at making. They are broken down into four categories.

• Innovation apps
• Migration apps
• Operational efficiency apps
• Customer engagement apps

Innovation Apps

New technologies like AI (Artificial Intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), and blockchain, are exciting fields to try out. Here, low-code apps can bring these technologies to business users and make their work easier.

Migration Apps

Migration apps are low-code apps that are designed to port and move data and users from a legacy system to a newer, cloud-based system. Data can move seamlessly across apps without the need for humans to get involved.

Operational Efficiency Apps

These are the most common low-code solutions and utilities designed to make work easier for business users. It’s also where workflow and process improvement apps fall into place since they automate manual processes and ensure higher accuracy of processed data.

Customer Engagement Apps

Customer engagement apps are used to improve the experience the customer has with the product or organization. They can be UI frameworks, widgets, and more. Since these are meant to be customer-visible, you will have an option of visually changing app designs and colors to match your organization.

Conclusion

Citizen developers are fast becoming a mainstay in companies around the world, and not just because of the apps that they’re creating. These individuals are changing what it means to work in business. They’re creating the tools they need, leading their own teams into becoming developers, and expanding their skills, all with the help of low-code app builders like Kissflow.

Kissflow's citizen development platform aims to automate workflows and remove the paper from companies entirely, using easy-to-use and efficient tools for higher operational efficiency. If you’re looking for a no-code work platform to make the lives of your staff easier, try Kissflow.