Organizations are facing a major software development crisis, with demand for modern applications outstripping available talent. In fact, leading market intelligence firm IDC predicts a shortfall of four million developers by 2025. Meanwhile, IT leaders say the resources they do have spend too much time managing legacy code, according to a new Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Unqork.
What can IT leaders do in response to this crisis? Clearly, manual coding—long the backbone of enterprise software—is not the solution. In fact, 60% of companies surveyed by Forrester Consulting said reducing their reliance on code is a strategic priority for the business.
So, how can IT decision-makers achieve both goals—better software, less code—at the same time? The Forrester Consulting study found that 70% of companies believe shifting to a codeless approach is critical or important to digital transformation success.
“Expected benefits of codeless architecture include improved application security, increased competitive differentiation, and acceleration of review and approval workflows,” the report authors found. In other words, codeless addresses their challenges head on. Of the more than 300 respondents,
- 55% said codeless would improve application security
- 54% said it would increase competitive differentiation
- 53% it would improve software review and approval workflows
- 53% said it would improve end-of-life software transition
Where code and low-code fall short
Change is inevitable when it comes to developing and managing software. Yet change has also been expensive, research shows—especially when it comes late in the development process or after a project is complete.
For example, 59% of respondents who develop apps with custom code said they would have to start all over again if there was a significant change in requirements in the middle of a major new app development project. Another 33% said it would have a significant impact.
Businesses using low-code declarative tools fared better. Still, 80% of respondents said such changes would have a moderate or major impact.
That is not a surprise, given that 70% of respondents said applications developed on low-code platforms are harder or require the same amount of maintenance and updates as using traditional methods.
The way forward is codeless
In short, both traditional code and low-code leave IT leaders stuck between a rock and a hard place. So what can they do? For the large majority of study respondents (70%), codeless architecture represents a way forward.
True, many respondents, accustomed to the limitations of low-code platforms, still have reservations about codeless. Around two in three (65%) believe codeless cannot meet all their development needs, including highly specific UI / UX behavior, complex logic, and integrations.
That may have been true for low-code platforms, but codeless technology, which is evolving at breakneck speed, has already overcome these limitations. Indeed, Unqork’s Codeless-as-a-Service platform can now handle extremely complex use cases—without zero code.
Here are just a few of the organizations that have already used Unqork’s platform to build complex, secure, and compliant solutions:
- Chubb, the world’s largest insurance broker, digitized its end-to-end brokerage process with Unqork. The new, unified UX increases broker engagement in value-add activities such as new business generation and client strategy.
- Leading investment banking, securities, and investment management firm Goldman Sachs built a fully digital, secure value acceleration portal with Unqork’s codeless platform.
- Using Unqork, the City of New York developed a COVID emergency response management system and virtualized services in just 72 hours. The solution handled delivery of food and critical medical supplies to hundreds of thousands of residents and front-line workers.
“A lot of our stuff has been difficult to modernize and digitize for web experiences,” adds Joseph Lo, Vice President, Wealth Production Innovation at global Fintech leader Broadridge. “Unqork has been a big help for us, and we’re using their platform to incrementally go through some of our most important applications and bring them to modern web land.”
Want to learn more about codeless? Download the Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Unqork.
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