Low-Code/No-Code the paradigm of “Anyone can code”

The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and being used widespread, has changed the way companies do work and how they do it. The result is a shift toward making technology (IT) accessible to everyone. Which led to the low-code/no-code (LCNC) platforms taking the world by storm in the development of application and problem solving. The acceleration of LCNC platforms is due to companies feeling pressured to innovate and solve problems faster than ever, and them becoming more digital. Through LCNC, coding and app development is no longer for software/app developers, but people with little to no coding skills can do it. This results in workers being able to produce high level apps and services for customers and companies. One of the well-known platforms that supports LCNC is Salesforce by using something called declarative programming. 

Programmers and developers are left to wonder what will happen in the future if business is to implement 100% of LCNC in their problem solving and innovation? What will happen to their jobs and career? Will their qualifications and jobs become obsolete? All these are valid questions and fears as discussed in the Accenture publication on 17 June 2021 on ‘The low-code/no-code revolution promises to ignite a 'Cambrian' explosion of user-generated innovation’, that “In 2021 alone, LCNC platforms are predicted to account for 75% of app development, and this trend is likely to grow as 60% of current low-code/no-code users expect their weekly usage of the platform to increase; some as much as 30% or more”. 

Though the future might look grim, this situation can also be viewed in a positive light. With companies now coding their own applications, programmers are left with solving and innovating programmatic problems that LCNC cannot. Programmers will also be needed in solving problems that come with the widespread use of LCNC, as any technology that comes brings with it both the good and bad. 

How one survives with ever-changing and developing technology will depend on their ability to view problems as a chance to gain a new set of skills. One must be willing to accept the fact that skills they have now might not be relevant one or two years from now, and that they must adapt the ‘learning never stops’ motto as their own. 

As an Electrical engineering graduate with experience in c++, I can do either programming for programmatic problems or also solve other problems with LCNC (Declarative programming). This is good for when I am working with programming languages I have not used before like Java and Apax. I can learn those languages while solving problems, meaning I can be productive while upskilling and reskilling.