How Low Code Brings IT and Business Together for a Better Future

Most organizations are facing a problem- they need new programs and apps but there aren’t enough people to build them. Developers are in short supply and demand far outpaces supply. But the need for their expertise isn’t going away. That’s where low-code comes in.

Low-code development platforms have gained popularity in recent times because they bridge the gap between business and IT. 4 out of 5 businesses in the US currently use low-code, and in many cases, simple apps are built and maintained without involving a programmer. This takes the burden off the shoulders of IT, allowing the team to focus on enterprise-critical work.

When there’s no collaboration between IT and business, business units resent IT for not building solutions fast enough, while IT gets frustrated with the demands that pull it away from important work. A low-code platform can solve the problem by building a collaborative culture between IT and business users. 

While IT and business units have different priorities, they must work together to achieve enterprise goals. By working together, they can transform risky shadow IT into a source of innovation and speed. Low-code tools allow business users to develop applications that streamline their work with IT oversight. When IT partners with business users in app development, an organization’s digital build capacity increases.

What happens when IT and business don’t collaborate?

Some business units use shadow IT because they feel a bureaucratic IT department doesn’t prioritize their needs and takes too long to solve simple yet pressing problems. They opt for the ‘quick but risky’ solution rather than the ‘high-quality but high cost/time solution.

To avoid dealing with IT, many line-of-business workers develop desktop databases, spreadsheets, and other peer-to-peer file-sharing and cloud collaboration tools without the knowledge of the IT department.

Shadow IT is risky. While the applications may support crucial business activities, they avert the regular development and governance processes. As a result, they can significantly increase a company’s security risks.

IT and business can’t afford to work separately

For a company to be successful, departments must work well together. Organizational silos can negatively affect how departments interact with one another and work. For example, if the IT team uses different tools to manage its work and business users use another set of tools, the result will be shadow IT. Empowering citizen developers (non-IT employees)  through a low-code platform can help bridge the gap between business and IT.

Citizen developers are very good at creating digital solutions that meet the needs of their business units. They are in tune with the problems and know the solutions that are needed. But for their solutions to be effective, they must align their priorities with IT’s. If this doesn’t happen, they may design solutions that don’t scale well or don’t integrate with other teams’ systems.

If the IT team has limited governance over the citizen development process, they’ll be stuck putting out fires instead of supporting overall enterprise goals. A low code platform must not only reduce app development time and costs, but it must also allow for IT governance. 

Many business units have the “us vs. them” mentality that threatens company growth, efficiency, and culture. A low-code app development platform can solve this problem. It can ensure better alignment and clear procedures and that every department’s role complements the other. Organizations that fail to empower citizen developers will not succeed in the future. 

The solution – a low-code platform

Many workers see IT as an obstacle. They need to do their job and achieve their goals, but this is hard because they have to wait for IT to approve applications or complete tickets. Some who don’t fully understand what goes into the application development process lack empathy and want their solutions built right away. They just don’t understand why it takes so long.

Low-code decentralizes IT. The platform democratizes software development, empowering non-developers to build enterprise applications. But citizen developers need guardrails and governance. That’s why they must work with IT directly to accomplish more. With the right approach, pro developers and citizen developers can work together to achieve organizational goals.

Low-code technology- A collaborative environment for IT and business units to work together

82% of firms would like custom app development to happen outside of IT, and this makes a lot of sense. 42% of IT departments in larger companies are understaffed and overwhelmed. As requests for new solutions increase, IT workers are experiencing burnout and quitting. Low-code can help take the burden off IT. 

The app development technology has a great impact on IT and business team alignment. It changes the dynamics by putting business teams in a co-creative role. They develop and deploy apps in an IT-approved environment. Citizen developers play a pivotal role in creating and modifying new apps, workflows, and automation.

In the past, it would take months for an automation request to land on a developer’s to-do list. A low-code platform cuts that time dramatically. According to Gartner, 66% of large companies will use at least four low-code platforms by 2024 to speed up app development.

Citizen developers and IT can work collaboratively thanks to built-in tools for feedback loops, revision tracking, user stories, messaging, and more. Low-code’s visual nature keeps everyone speaking the same development language.

Helps reduce friction and costs and boosts productivity

IT and business teams might butt heads if their priorities aren’t aligned. Business units want solutions built right away, something IT can’t do because of a huge backlog of requests. Low-code platforms can make a difference when it comes to building solutions quickly. They boost agility and security and reduce the time required to develop new applications.

Organizations are also adopting low-code tools because of their lower cost and decreased technical barriers to entry. The platforms support cloud and hybrid deployments, providing on-demand scalability and reducing upfront capital expenditure significantly. Low code ensures faster innovation in lesser time without adding to IT costs.

By reducing IT’s backlog, low code increases productivity. A never-ending IT backlog can frustrate both IT and business users. Low-code tools democratize app development and relieve IT of the burden of having to manage each request themselves. Business units get faster results and can easily build and modify processes that change often.

Low-Code is the future of app development

IT-business alignment ensures an organization gets the right technology at the right time and achieves its business goals and objectives—whether it’s developing new revenue streams or improving customer service.

Low-code bridges the gap between IT and business, allowing teams to work together towards common business goals. It melds knowledge, skills, and resources so teams can work smarter, not harder. Gartner predicts that the need for developers will increase, but low-code and no-code tools will fill the gap. If you want to build an agile company that quickly adapts to market conditions, adopt low-code technology.