Is traditional coding becoming a thing of the past? For many organizations, the answer is a resounding yes, according to a new Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Unqork.
Six in 10 companies surveyed said reducing their reliance on code is a strategic priority for the business. More striking, seven in 10 believe shifting to a codeless architecture approach is important, even critical, to digital transformation.
Unqork commissioned Forrester Consulting to assess how legacy code, technical debt, and old systems bog down software engineering teams and stifle innovation—and how adopting modern codeless development methods can alleviate this pain.
Forrester conducted an online survey of 312 IT and digital strategy
decision-makers across industries to evaluate codeless architecture application development. Participants, based in North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific, came from across industries, including government, healthcare, technology & technology services, financial services, and insurance organizations.
Hidden (and not-so-hidden) costs of custom code
When it comes to traditional coding, the study found that two challenges stood out—slower innovation and security risks.
For most respondents, legacy code and tools delay new technology projects. For example, 69% reported that developers are being pulled back from new projects because they must maintain existing software. And 53% said that they delay or shelve new technology projects in order to allocate resources to maintain old ones.
When asked how a significant change in requirements in the middle of a major new app development project would impact a project, 59% of respondents developing apps with custom code said they would have to start all over again, and another 33% said it would have a significant impact.
Respondents also expressed reservations about the impact on security of legacy software. In fact, it was the top reported concern among respondents.
Breaking free from code
Given these concerns, it’s not surprising that 60% of companies surveyed said reducing reliance on code is a strategic priority—and that for 70%, a codeless architecture approach is important to digital transformation.
Low-code solutions reduce coding, but the study found that they still result in lots of new legacy code to create and manage. “Companies using low code platforms, for example, often still use custom code for highly specific UI/UX behavior, complex logic, and integration,” the study’s authors write.
Codeless architecture takes an entirely different approach by removing code even from these more complex use cases.
It may sound futuristic, but it’s already here. And it’s already driving innovation.
“With codeless technologies like Unqork, you’re able to be closer to what the business needs are, what the client needs are, what the solution needs are,“ says Joseph Lo, Vice President, Wealth Production Innovation, Broadridge. “And you’re able to impact those changes in a much closer way to what the solution requires than with traditional models.”
The codeless revolution is just beginning. Only 10% of the study’s respondents have gone completely codeless—i.e. no hand-coding at all. That means organizations that go codeless now have the opportunity, as early adopters, to gain a significant advantage over competitors.
“We’re at the point where we’re struggling to figure out the next thing we want to port over to Unqork’s codeless platform, because there are just so many options,” says Ross Ball, Dev Ops Lead, The Workforce Group.
Download the Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Unqork.
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