How low-code solutions are accelerating digital transformation
Quick takeaways
- Accelerate digital transformation: Low-code solutions enable faster application development, reducing time-to-market.
- Empower non-technical teams: Democratize software development with user-friendly, drag-and-drop interfaces and visual modeling tools.
- Modernize legacy systems: Seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure to reduce technical debt and improve operational efficiency.
- Foster secure innovation: Centralize shadow IT under IT-approved platforms, enhancing security, governance, and cross-team collaboration.
The world is going low-code, one solution at a time. Innovation and agility have become the core pillars of today’s organizations that strive to remain competitive amid ever-evolving market demands. It is unsurprising, then, that low-code solutions, with their ability to democratize software development, empowering established developers and citizen developers in the process, have now become indispensable to creating robust, efficient applications. Digital transformation journeys with low-code will continue to accelerate in light of these developments as the market is expected to grow from USD 28.75 billion in 2024 to USD 264.40 billion by 2032.
Organizations use low-code solutions to address productivity gaps, integrate or update legacy systems, and foster closer collaboration. Furthermore, many ERP systems face data load challenges and are becoming slower. Building low-code applications enables organizations to offload some of the functionalities to manage data loads and improve performance. Industry applications of low-code solutions are varied. For example, F&B and fashion businesses are exploring the potential of low-code solutions to improve supply chain resilience through faster development and reducing over-reliance on IT teams so that they can respond to market changes effectively.
In this blog, we explore how low-code solutions are driving digital transformation and the way they are changing business processes for the better.
Digital transformation and its challenges
Digital transformation is the use of technology to transform business models, improve customer experiences, and create agile organizations. However, as with any initiative, there are challenges to achieving these goals. One survey found that only 48% of digital transformation initiatives meet or exceed their business goals. Challenges arise from a combination of factors:
- Budgetary constraints, as any digital transformation project requires significant upfront investments.
- Software talent shortages and skills gaps, since the necessary expertise is crucial for implementation.
- Reliance on legacy software systems, change-resistance and the hesitance to experiment with new technologies.
Challenges notwithstanding, c-suite executives continue to invest in digital technologies. Over 80% of CIOs said they anticipate higher investments in digital technologies during 2025, with an emphasis on cybersecurity, data analytics, and AI. They’re specifically looking for technologies that have a wider user base, rather than being limited to IT teams alone.
The solution: Low-code solutions
The good news is that low-code solutions can meet this easy-to-use software requirement. Low-code solutions are a type of software that simplify application & web development etc. but which also requires professional development/coding expertise in the case of complex solutions.
Businesses do not have to rely on large IT teams when starting and progressing with their technology initiatives. A digital transformation journey with low-code gives enterprises faster development cycles – speeding up application development 10 times faster according to some sources.
Common user-friendly features of low-code platforms include:
- Drag-and-drop interfaces for ease and convenience.
- Visual, model-based application development methods to ensure that a wide group of users can view and understand the development process.
- Pre-built templates that can be used and reused as required, eliminating the need to build modules from scratch.
- Connectors that facilitate easy integration with external systems, data sources, and APIs.
For example, Microsoft Power Platform, a leading low-code solution, offers numerous tools for faster application development, spurring innovation, automating repetitive functions, gaining business insights, and integrating with external platforms.
Driving digital transformation with low-code solutions
By leveraging low-code software capabilities, you can build a foundation for long-term digital transformation success.
Modernize legacy systems
Unfortunately, many organizations must contend with technical debt that becomes more difficult to maintain over time. Legacy systems and the inefficiencies that result from them often add to organizational costs. Your digital transformation journey with low-code will help you address the challenges of legacy systems in multiple ways:
- Extensibility: One of the biggest advantages organizations gain with low-code solutions is the ability to integrate new systems with existing ones and customize the new infrastructure to suit business requirements.
- Faster development cycles: User-friendly interfaces mean that updating your legacy infrastructure happens within a shorter time span, saving costs in the process.
- Data integration: Low-code solutions enable you to integrate legacy data formats into your new systems, facilitating your data analytics functions in a trouble-free manner.
Use Case: Fortude designed a solution using low-code tools on Microsoft Power Platform to modernize the ERP system of a leading 3PL provider. The existing ERP system and Microsoft Dynamics NAV serviced accounting needs only. The custom low-code application integrated seamlessly with the existing systems to address quality control and repair execution functions. The end result is more efficient shop floor operations with greater visibility over business processes.
Empower your IT team
Low-code solutions enable organizations to streamline time-consuming, repetitive tasks (such as data verification and entry, answering queries, etc). This gives organizations the flexibility to allocate team resources to initiatives with more strategic value, leading to improved operational efficiency and overall productivity.
Use case: Fortude enabled a leading apparel manufacturer in Asia to improve productivity with a low-code solution. The solution consists of four components: an Admin Panel for data and analysis; a Power BI dashboard for near real-time machine downtime data; a Team Leads’ View for breakdown reporting along the production line; and a Mechanics View for incident responses. The manufacturer was able to reduce machine downtime, utilize resources more efficiently, and improve production levels.
Transform shadow IT into a secure, innovative function
Shadow IT is a concern for any organization. Over time, different components within an organization may develop applications separate from the corporate IT infrastructure. In some cases, the IT team may be unaware of the existence of these applications. There’s also an increased risk of security breaches, making your organization more vulnerable.
A digital transformation journey with low-code changes an organization’s approach to shadow IT by democratizing innovation and access to technology. It enables you to develop a centralized, IT team-approved platform that incorporates all applications for more secure, connected workflows.
Foster greater collaboration
Digital transformation is ultimately a community effort. Apart from incorporating shadow IT into formal organizational processes, it spurs greater collaboration between IT and non-technical teams to create a culture of innovation.
- Your team can leverage low-code solutions to extend or modify existing applications. The visual prototyping capabilities help teams share feedback for code rectifications or improvements to create better, more functional applications.
- The end result of a digital transformation journey with low-code is an agile organization that can bypass the typical lengthy application development process, innovate faster, and adapt to evolving external market conditions.
Addressing security and governance concerns
A digital transformation journey with low-code must prioritize security and governance for long-term success. A KPMG report found that 42% of organizations consider security a top concern, while 47% emphasized the need for governance when building applications with low-code solutions.
These numbers are unsurprising. With low-code functioning as a catalyst for democratizing development, organizations may struggle to retain oversight of their teams’ functions and risk exposing critical data. Organizations must therefore:
- Enforce strict access controls over application development and data sharing, ensuring that only the required team members are responsible for such functions.
- Ensure shadow IT follows the organization’s security guidelines and best practices.
- While low-code does not require highly specialized coding skills, when it comes to security and compliance, it is imperative to have team members (or external consultants) with cybersecurity expertise. These team members will be responsible for authentication mechanisms and will proactively detect and respond to security threats.
Starting your digital transformation journey with low-code
Low-code solutions are now a game-changer for digital transformation initiatives. They reduce over-reliance on IT teams and coding knowledge, help organizations update their legacy systems, significantly shorten development cycles, and provide a solution to turn shadow IT into an innovation advantage. User-friendly features of low-code solutions are driving their adoption, fostering greater collaboration across teams.
Organizations can circumvent security and governance concerns by implementing guidelines and best practices and incorporating cybersecurity experts into their digital transformation initiatives.
Fortude will work with you to understand your digital transformation journey and business outcomes, enabling you to utilize low-code solutions so that your organization is agile, resilient, and future-ready. Contact us to learn how you can fast-track your digital transformation efforts with low-code solutions.
FAQs
Low-code solutions accelerate digital transformation by enabling faster application development, reducing dependency on large IT teams, and fostering innovation. They streamline workflows, modernize legacy systems, and improve agility, allowing businesses to adapt quickly to changing market demands.
Low-code solutions support areas like process automation, data integration, customer relationship management, and supply chain operations. They enhance productivity, modernize legacy systems, and improve decision-making across industries such as manufacturing, retail, F&B, and logistics.
Low-code platforms enhance security through centralized governance, role-based access controls, and compliance with security standards. Organizations can integrate cybersecurity protocols, monitor application development, and manage shadow IT risks effectively, ensuring data protection and regulatory compliance.
Yes, low-code platforms offer extensibility, allowing seamless integration with legacy systems. They enable data migration, process automation, and system upgrades without major overhauls, reducing costs while improving operational efficiency and system performance.
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