In recent years, systems have been developed that eliminate manual coding or reduce man-hours in order to eliminate the shortage of engineers.
This time, I will introduce low-code development tools and the difference between “low-code” and “no-code”.
Table of Contents
- What is low code
- Reasons why “low-code” and “no-code” are required
- The difference between “low-code” and “no-code”
- Why we need low-code and the difference from no-code
- Low-code selection points
- (1) “Overall optimization” as an organization, not “individual optimization” for each business
- (2) Appropriate ID and authority management
- (3) Flexible support for complex business processes
- (4) A system is in place to enable business audits
- ⑤ It has “scalability” that can withstand the operational load associated with function expansion
- ⑥Operability
- Case study
- Subaru Corporation
- Mitsui Bussan Realty Management Co., Ltd.
- summary
What is low code
Low-code is a tool/method that allows you to develop applications with as little code as possible.
It used to be called “high-speed development” or “ultra-high-speed development” until a long time ago, but in recent years it has been called “low-code development”. A tool called “Code” also appeared.
By combining various development platforms and tools, “low-code development” and “no-code development” become possible.
Instead of entrusting the development of applications to engineers with knowledge of programming languages as in the past, people who are familiar with the technical side while taking on the role of the business side can visually develop applications without writing code. .
Reasons why “low-code” and “no-code” are required
Japan is currently facing major IT challenges.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s ” DX Report – Overcoming the IT System ‘2025 Cliff’ and Full-scale Development of DX ” also mentions the ‘2025 Cliff’ , and many companies are working on DX. There are issues that hinder the promotion of The main challenges are as follows.
- Due to the existing system being built for each business department, each legacy system fell into a state (black box state) that could not be managed, and data could not be used well, and DX conversion could not be promoted as expected. .
- The shortage of IT personnel, which was 170,000 in 2015, is likely to expand to 430,000 in 2025.
- Because the user company has thrown it all over to the vendor company, the system has become a black box. Moreover, this also leads to an increase in maintenance costs.
Anyone can become a developer By utilizing “low-code” development tools and “no-code” development tools, it is possible to develop applications that better meet the needs of each organization. have a significant effect on the improvement of
The difference between “low-code” and “no-code”
The difference between “Low Code” and “No Code” is, as the name suggests, “Low Code” has less program code, and “No Code” can build a system without program code. there is.
Why we need low-code and the difference from no-code
There is also a difference in the scale of applications that can be handled by “low-code” and “no-code”.
The biggest difference is the scale of support for tools.
“No-code” is basically good for building small applications for a single department.
However, many “no-code” tools are often limited in functionality, creating many challenges as the company scales.
Possible issues
The term architecture refers to programming constructs such as how variables, functions, and algorithms are combined.
It cannot be developed with an emphasis on user comfort and operability (user experience/UX), and cannot be connected to conventional systems.
Applications developed with no code are in a stand-alone state (the system is not connected to a network or other devices and operates independently), so there are management issues in terms of governance. |
Compared to “no-code”, “low-code” can be used in a wide range of situations due to its superior scalability and flexible environmental response.
The advantages of low-code implementation are as follows.
Advantages of adopting low-code
By introducing low-code tools, it is not necessary to create all the code from scratch, so the programmer’s man-hours can be reduced and the work time can be shortened.
Since the system provider (vendor) provides security measures, there is no security concern. |
Low-code selection points
(1) “Overall optimization” as an organization, not “individual optimization” for each business
If each individual department or business division introduces an “individually optimized” tool, the system as a whole cannot be managed and becomes a black box.
In order to avoid the separation of data and processes due to black boxing, select a tool that aims for “total optimization” as an organization.
(2) Appropriate ID and authority management
In a company, ID management can be a major decision criterion in terms of security.
Equipped with a standard single sign-on (SSO) function (SSO function: a function that allows you to use linked systems and services without additional authentication by performing user authentication (login) once) and other functions. Let’s see if there are any.
Similarly, permission management is also an important factor. Make sure that the tool has a function to limit authority for each position and a function to control authority related to the organization.
(3) Flexible support for complex business processes
Let’s check whether flexible settings such as group decision-making (parallel approval), conditional branching, and linkage with different workflows are possible.
(4) A system is in place to enable business audits
As business processes become more complex and important, it is necessary to properly obtain and manage logs of who approved when.
Therefore, make sure that you have a mechanism in place to properly acquire audit logs.
⑤ It has “scalability” that can withstand the operational load associated with function expansion
As mentioned in (3), “low-code” development tools require flexibility.
When using a development platform in a large company, a huge number of operations and databases are built in a short period of time, and many functions are expanded. Scalability that can withstand such a huge operational load is required.
⑥Operability
Tool operability is an important factor in introducing “low-code” and “no-code” throughout the organization and promoting a digital shift.
Choose a “low-code” development tool that is easy to use and anyone can use it.
Case study
Subaru Corporation
We have created a portal site for suppliers through low-code development in order to share information with suppliers who have been restricted due to the effects of the new coronavirus infection.
This has helped mitigate the impact of the coronavirus.
Mitsui Bussan Realty Management Co., Ltd.
Mitsui Fudosan Realty utilizes low-code development to prevent departments from introducing applications without the approval of the systems department.
In 2014, we abolished 300 systems that were introduced by employees at their own discretion, and recreated our own tools to centralize operation status and maintenance.
summary
In this article, we will discuss low-code development tools.
Low-code tools are tools that allow you to easily develop system applications in today’s world where engineers are declining.
Let’s consider introducing it for the system construction of the organization.
