From Software Engineers to Citizen Developers: Is No-Code the Future?

On the 1st and 2nd of March, we attended the big InsurTech Insights Europe event in London, where we had the opportunity to learn about how low-code/no-code is redefining change management. The CTO at Brit Insurance, Bilge Mert; the CEO of Root, Louw Hopley; and Genevieve Landricombe, Legal Transformation Director of KPMG, discussed how low-code/no-code solutions help businesses cut costs by reducing the amount of time developers spend on simple UI tasks and instead, focus on real problems. 

Before I share my opinion, I'd like to explain in a few words what low-code application platforms (LCAP) and no-code solutions are. LCAP uses visual building blocks like drag-and-drop and pull-down menu interfaces to automatically generate code while no-code solutions are completely hands-off with 100% dependence on visual tools. 

I agree that low-code/no-code helps reduce routine work, save time, and company money, especially since software engineers are in high demand and highly paid. Non-technical developers with limited or no coding skills, known as citizen developers, cost much less in the hiring market. However, low-code/no-code solutions are not applicable for everyone. Some industries like finance, medicine, space, and the military cannot use LCAP/no-code due to security reasons. Data privacy prohibits disclosing client information or storing data at third parties. Similarly, the insurance industry faces the same problem, as there are standards the market follows, and choosing low-code/no-code solutions increase the risk of developing insecurely because there's no visibility of any platform code vulnerabilities. 

Furthermore, information governance is not the only obstacle to using no-code/low-code. I won’t deny that at distriBind, we use low-code/no-code solutions, but only for internal purposes. For example, we used Microsoft PowerApps to create an annual leave booking system, which was helpful and time-saving. We also use some Microsoft no-code tools like SharePoint to create a document flow. 

However, I can't imagine how we would be able to build the complex distriBind system based on low-code/no-code. The main limitation is the lack of UX/UI flexibility and the inability to build a proper custom product. We use different APIs, AI solutions, and data science & machine learning with plenty of custom intelligent formulas, charts, and graphics to automatically process and validate data in any format and present it in an easy-to-use way. I can’t imagine how we could achieve this using only no code/low code solutions. 

In summary, low-code/no-code solutions are beneficial for some companies, but not all. It depends on the industry and the level of security required. distriBind has great UX/UI flexibility and we have been able to build a proper custom product which is curing the insurance industry of it’s spreadsheet addiction with a digital hub for delegated authority.  So, although we don’t have a low-code/no-code solution, we can still save you time, reduce your workforce and enable you to grow your business.  If you would like to know how distriBind can help you, please get in touch at contact@dsitribind.io 

P.S. I forgot to mention that Excel can also be classified as a low-code solution but as we all know at distriBind we are curing the insurance industry of its spreadsheet addiction and happy to help you get rid of it.