Low-code development is helping businesses and organizations with an easy, fast, and seamless automation of digital products. In fact, Redhat reported that low-code solutions have the potential to reduce the development time by 90%.
This is one of many advantages that low-code has over traditional coding. However, with all the advantages and opportunities available in low-code, it still battles with some challenges.
Low-Code Development Challenges
Limited Functionality
Low-code features are available in drag and drop components and templates, but how many functions will drag and drop create? The drag and drop components can only be useful to the extent of what the platform provides.
So, what do you do when you want to add a unique feature or style to your app? Low-code platforms can only offer what is available, there is little or no chance to create unique features or styles outside the boundary of the components the platform provides. So, you are limited to what you have on the platform, which might not be good for you especially if you are building something entirely new.
Vendor Lock-in
OutSystems reported that 16% of 3500 IT professionals from a survey cited vendor lock-in as a reason their organization was holding back from adopting low-code. Vendor lock-in makes customers dependent on a vendor for services, unable to switch to another vendor without paying huge sums. Vendor lock-in is one of the biggest fears facing low-code platforms.
Vendor lock-in happens in different ways. Some vendors can generate complex code that is difficult or impossible to maintain outside the platform, while some vendors restrict you from editing your applications once you stop using their tool. So, you don’t have much option than to keep your application on the platform if you want to keep making changes to the app.
Vendor lock-in can happen in 3 ways:
Your dependency on vendor-supplied customizations when requirements cannot be met using “out-of-the-box” capabilities.
Your dependency on vendor-supplied professional services to deliver solutions.
Your dependency on a licensed, proprietary vendor technology to run the application you have built.
Security Risks
Security breaches on low-code platforms are hard to deal with since you don’t have complete control over the code. Unlike traditional coding where you have control over your code, security breaches on low-code platforms can destroy the whole application if they are not well managed.
Also, the inability to access the source code of the data makes it difficult to determine the potential vulnerabilities in the app.
Limited Integration Options
Few enterprise applications exist in complete isolation. Most will need to integrate with other systems to consume and expose data to those systems. Low-code development platforms are promising to enable you to build the parts of APIs required for successful integration.
However, there is still complexity in managing APIs when you have to integrate lots of systems. This limitation is one of the biggest challenges of the low-code platform.
Although these challenges are real, it is worth noting that low-code platforms keep evolving over time, providing solutions to the seeming limitations. Regardless of these limitations, it is still estimated that 83% of enterprises are more likely to value low-code for flexibility, 67% for process automation, and 63% for speed.
It is still a good time to learn low-code development, take advantage of the GoCreate USA Bootcamp opportunity to learn, you will be glad you did. Sign up here to get started.