Why Low Code No Code will become the mainstay in 2021

2020 has been a year that taught us to let go of old beliefs and embrace change. Traditional businesses that were quick to transform and move online had increased revenues owing to newer business models. Being online and connected, businesses can be run successfully. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the mindset from “plan and act,” to “act and adapt.”

Aligned with these ideas, we predict the following for 2021.

Cloud-Only and Cloud Services will dominate 2021

2021 is all about “Cloud-Only.” “Cloud-First” is already a legacy. Microsoft, Amazon, and Google continue to invest large amounts in cloud technology, cloud services industry is growing ten (10) fold. Businesses of all sizes, whether it's a startup or a multinational enterprise or businesses across industries and even government organizations are all turning fully to the cloud. Forrester predicts the Global Public Cloud IT infrastructure market would grow to a whopping 120 Billion USD with 35% growth in 2021.

In software development, there is a paradigm-shift to:

1. building applications that are serverless and cloud-native
2. building actionable intelligence leveraging cloud data services 
3. building developer environments with integrated cloud toolsets 
4. the rise in the adoption of containers and microservices 
5. building mixed reality (MR) enterprise solutions for an immersive experience

Low Code No Code becomes the mainstay

Low code platforms coupled with enterprise SaaS applications are significantly accelerating digital transformation and the innovation journey. These platforms with built-in industry-standard security features reduce dependency on niche technical skills and reduce the backlog of IT development projects. The approximate annual growth during the next 4 years is expected to be more than 28%.

Public Cloud providers are offering these platforms: Power Platform from Microsoft, AppSheet from Google, and Honeycode from AWS to build apps rapidly. Also, there’s an ever-increasing demand for Salesforce Lightning Plus Platform, Appian, AccelQ, Springboot, Bubble, and others.

Digital operations continue to reinvent through automation and collaboration

Businesses continue to operate in a lean fashion by finding ways to eliminate processes that aren’t adding any true value. Intelligent automation and AI-based chatbots will continue to rise and emerge to take over all service inquires.

Software development practices like Agile methodologies and DevOps / AIOps lead to changes in cloud infrastructure and services management. Cost management of these services against value delivered is monitored and necessary architecture adjustments made to ensure needed optimization. Everything as a code and Continuous Monitoring of everything (with auto-detection of failures) will continue to gain more prominence.

Data Platform: others will follow Snowflake

Snowflake has revolutionized modern data architecture by providing one centralized data source and one platform on the cloud and built many different workloads on it. With only one source of truth of data, it is democratizing and empowering the data platform and data warehouse. 

2021 will see the rise of more single data platforms that suit all enterprise use cases. For data-intensive computations, spark and cloud-native solutions will be the preferred choice.

Artificial Intelligence: AI for all

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated “Data to Everything,” all data captured, managed, enriched, and visualized in rapid succession — for some real insight and foresight leveraging AI. 

As we try to make sense of more data across various use cases, AI and ML will continue to be the shining stars. Gartner projects that AI augmentation will create $2.9 trillion worth of business value in 2021. 

Software Architecture: Microservices, Monoliths, Serverless will co-exist

As per IDC, enterprise apps will shift towards hyper-agile architectures by 2021, with 80% of AppDev on cloud platforms using microservices and functions, and over 95% of new microservices deployed in containers.

Like any Software Architecture, Microservices has use cases where it excels and corner cases where it fails. The same applies to Monoliths and Serverless architecture as well.

In 2021, we will continue to see the evolution of reference architectures where all the Software Architecture (monolith, microservice, serverless) will coexist. The most likely choice will be to use microservices for large-scale enterprise development (where SOA was traditionally used), monoliths for small scale development, serverless for event-driven and bursty loads.

Progressive WebApps will be the next big thing

Mobile technology redefined the online consumer experience and mobile users account for over 52% of all internet traffic. So, many leading brands are investing in progressive web apps (PWAs) to reach customers effectively and increase conversion rates. Mobile engagement statistics from Google’s research indicate a 42.86% lower bounce rate, a 134% increase in page views, 137% higher overall engagement, and 8 times faster load times.

PWAs ability to adapt to different screen sizes and share an app's URL reduced build time and cost, offline accessibility and security, and deliver potentially more benefits than mobile, PWAs will be a dominant web software development trend in 2021.

AI-based software testing to rule the roast

As organizations progress in their digital journeys, flawless customer experience, and aligning their release pace to market demands are paramount. The onus on testing teams would be to shift left and also maintain high-quality standards by running more tests, find more bugs, and releasing faster. 

AI-powered Codeless Test Automation & Test Management platform on the cloud helps embrace this challenge and keep pace. Triggering test automation execution through DevOps, make the entire process seamless. These platforms, further leverage AI to auto-correct test scripts, identify vulnerable areas, improve coverage, and enhance testing through risk analysis. So, these low code AI-based testing platforms will be an emerging trend in 2021 as they demonstrate more value at speed.

Thus, 2021 promises a myriad of new trends helping organizations move towards digital enterprise, become more competitive, and enhance user experiences. Service organizations like Blue.cloud will succeed when they can bring in Innovation-at-speed with reduced complexities to manage and emerge as skill-sourcing & capability-sourcing partners as against being outsourcing vendors. 

About Maruti Sivakumar V

Maruti Sivakumar V has more than 24 years of performance-driven and results-oriented IT experience in developing intellectual property, new business models, cost-effective solutions, and global delivery. He is known for his acumen in strategizing and successfully leading high-caliber global teams. He specializes in digital offerings development, digital platform development, solutions engineering, product development, and agile delivery. He is a champion of driving innovation and strategic initiatives.