By Lars C Tandrup, Principal, Ernst & Young LLP
Codeless architecture is fundamentally transforming the way we engage with our clients. I prefer to think about codeless architecture in a way that neither myself, my team nor my clients need to think about it at all.
Building consensus across business and technology stakeholders has traditionally been one of the most challenging parts of my job. Often, the business does not understand the downstream consequences of their requests. When technology teams push back, the business teams incorrectly see them as blockers rather than partners. Infighting is sure to follow.
This challenge is more significant in larger organizations. Their technology environments are sprawling and complex. As a result, both the complexity and duration of net-new development tend to grow exponentially. At the same time, technology teams have less bandwidth for innovation because they spend a vast majority of their effort simply trying to keep the lights on.
Removing code removes friction
Codeless architecture is completely changing my dynamic with clients. Instead of writing thousands of lines of code, developers (sometimes known as “Configurators”) are now able to build secure, robust applications within an entirely visual environment. Better yet, they know they are not taking on technical debt in the form of custom code, creating yet more work for them down the road.
With codeless architecture, I see the improved alignment between business analysts and application developers. They work shoulder to shoulder (sometimes literally, sometimes virtually) and look at the same screen. This is possible because a codeless visual interface is so intuitive that business users can follow along as developers do their work. Setting up a new workflow is very similar to how business analysts do something in Visio.
With codeless architecture, I see the improved alignment between business analysts and application developers. They work shoulder to shoulder (sometimes literally, sometimes virtually) and look at the same screen.
The ability to foster that close working relationship is something brand new. And it has the potential to speed up development and help ensure that the end product truly serves the business, thereby unlocking the value and benefits that are often described in the underlying business case.
From wish list to production
In the old, code-based paradigm, it took a great deal of time and effort to make even relatively small enhancements to custom applications. As a result, business stakeholders knew they might never really get any of the capabilities on their wish list, which impacted discussions around v1 releases. Too much would get jammed into that first release, slowing development and delaying the availability of truly critical capabilities.
When I explain to business leaders how quickly we can get to the first iteration of a project using a no-code platform, they are confident that there will be a second, third or fourth iteration.
When I explain to business leaders how quickly we can get to the first iteration of a project using a no-code platform, they are confident that there will be a second, third or fourth iteration. As a result, we can have much more focused discussions about priorities, get to v1 faster and then keep iterating — whether that means adding capabilities from our initial list or new capabilities to meet changing needs of the business.
Codeless architecture in action
Every single one of the implementations that my team and I have worked on involving codeless architecture has been significantly faster than using the traditional paradigm.
For example, a relatively new insurer in Europe wanted to completely revamp their agent interactions. Before, agents looking for a quote had to pick up the phone, fill out a PDF form, and then wait days to get a quote for their customers. We picked a relatively complex insurance product that required significant inputs to create a quote as a pilot project. In just a few months, the process was transformed from one of the most challenging agent processes to one of the easiest.
We picked a relatively complex insurance product that required significant inputs to create a quote as a pilot project. In just a few months, the process was transformed from one of the most challenging agent processes to one of the easiest.
We also worked with one of the world’s largest global insurers to build something that, just a few years ago, would have been unimaginable — a unified global marketplace for their core business. Given all the differences across national and regional regulations and markets, there was no commercially available software that came close to supporting such a solution. But with the extreme flexibility and speed of no-code, the team was able to account for all local variations while still creating a single, unified program.
So, the speed enabled by codeless architecture adds much more value than simply speeding time-to-market, which in itself is a value-adding element. When people realize that they can make changes quickly, they are far more open to thinking creatively and engineering far more transformative solutions for their business and their customers.
The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ernst & Young LLP or other members of the global EY organization.
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