No-code solutions are on the rise and they will democratize and digitize how you’ll work. Because it’s time to un-code your company.
(this article originally appeared in Medium and was written by Katharina Beitz)
Is there a greater paradigm than the need for tech-savvy people and coding to develop and disrupt traditional industries? One of the most common features to digitize planet earth lead us to ridiculously high demand for software development in every company.
That changed rapidly during the last years and people start to recognize.
Besides the most complex task right now, e.g. the evolution of Quantum Computing and progressive artificial intelligence solutions, there is a complete shift for founders and CEOs who relied heavily on software developers.
It’s time to update the paradigm around coding.
The End of Coding As We Know It?
Not long ago, we emphasized the relevance of coding, implemented hacking schools, attended courses, and registered apps for pupils, employees, and career-changers.
But let’s face it, in times of digitization, not all software developments are here to survive. Some of them could be replaced with visually appealing interfaces, which do the same job, but easier, more cost-effective, and less faulty.
This is great news.
For the overwhelmed and overworked software developer whose to-do-list in your company is flooded, for the marketing employee who waits in line to get five minutes with the development team during a meeting and for the solo-founder, who needs to channel all his resources everywhere.
How to Learn About No-Code?
Another great resource I found during my research on the no-code movement is the conference happening this week, presented by one of the leading platforms and filled with all the thought leaders of the growing industry of no-code professionals, like John Rymer, John Bratincevic or Mike Williams.
(If you’re able to attend, let me know about your learnings afterward.)
No-Code is Tech for Everyone. Finally.
Marketing, retail, e-commerce in general, or app-based fintech are getting more complex. They require customized solutions most of the companies don’t even know yet.
Until now software developers are asked too much in almost every organization — the juggling with priorities is having serious consequences on the economic drive and business models.
Not everyone wants to be a programmer, and programming is by far not the only tech skill you should focus on.
As Mike Williams, one of the expert voices on no-code startups and mentor on Makerpad, another well-known no-code platform, summarized earlier this year:
“In the past, you would have to hire developers, even some designers, too and this could take you literally 6 months and anywhere from 50.000$ all the way up to 100.000$.”
That’s why no-code and low-code services are even part of the top trends in 2020. The democratization of technology will enable citizens without further data skills to implement analytics and gain a never seen before technological know-how.
In short, it will change our attitude towards new product development cycles.
It could make your visions accessible.
The Scope of No-Code
There are several highly popular no-code tools which you presumably heard of. I want to mention them shortly to give you a glimpse into the opportunities.
Shopify, maybe the most popular e-commerce platform besides WooCommerce. It’s built completely without code.
Ninox, a customizable platform to build apps with your team and to digitize every imaginable business operation.
Airtable, the organized spreadsheet to plan and structure everything.
Webflow, in comparison to WordPress it is more powerful, design-focused, and not dependent on dozens of plugins which make the workload sometimes unbearable.
Bubble, a drag and drop editor to develop products without coding.
Zapier, a powerful automation tool between apps.
“No code basically allows you to take your idea using minimal time to a live product very quickly. ” (Mike Williams)
In between the typical development process, you have to state very heavy assumptions. Even if you only prototype for very first user feedback or market validation, your usage of resources, internally or externally, is high.
The optimization impact of no-code tools like the ones above is endless.
Instead of programming whole workflows, you pretty much put together drag-and-drop wireframes and share it with customers to gain powerful feedback.
Instead of 5 different software interfaces from logistics to marketing and sales, all of the employees work in one software — the subscription and maintenance cost you less in a year than all of the other in one month.
Say Goodbye to Spreadsheets
It isn’t very costly to take your idea to a live product — a surprising statement you don’t listen to everyday.
Get used to it.
Business people need to be able to build solutions by themselves in order to get the results they want. The problems they face are often too complicated to solve externally with an IT team. Why not rely on the people who know exactly what they want due to their professional experiences in the exact field?
The results could lead to a 360° agile development inside your business.
That means marketing employees are developing their own solutions to target the problems they face.
What doesn’t sound too complex, is revolutionary for a majority of businesses all over the world.
The avoidance of spreadsheets and forms, the decreasing time you spend on workflows in between teams, and precise targeting of the problem — the advantages of no-code services are quite endless.
Everyone can be the Admin
The idea that everyone can implement and “no-code” their prototype for a greater audience is the foundation of development we will watch grow and become stronger during the next years.
To no surprise, serial startup founders are educated on no-code products — without them they couldn’t afford wireframes or quick iterations on products that look effortless and high in quality to persuade investors and jury members.
The fundamental question is: will you and your team also be courageous enough to start your idea — without programming skills?
Let me know about your experiences with no code and how you interacted with no-code platforms and services so far!
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