Low-code/no-code platforms have been a game changer for ambitious organisations with progressive technological ideas, but without the in-house software engineers needed to bring them to life.
Low-code and no-code platforms can support your organisational goals by offering an efficient and adaptable solution to digital functions. Their ease of use (compared to traditional hard-coded software) provides opportunities for organisations to continually adapt to customer or market needs swiftly, and with comparatively lower staffing costs.
Application development time is shown to be 17% faster than custom coding, greatly improving the time to value and the return on investment.
But are these “plug-and-play” solutions really a magic bullet for banks? 9Yards consultants share their insights around low-code/no-code software for banks.
What is low-code/no-code?
A low-code platform is a user-friendly product composed of graphical user interfaces that allows for the drag-and-drop building of customised applications by professional developers and other team members alike. It allows for quick delivery of products, but you may be called to use your coding skills – particularly in the case of customisation, as well as maintenance and updates. Low-code can be a useful way to make the most of your developers’ time, allowing them to focus their attention on more complex tasks.
No-code pushes the button even further – team members need no professional training to build and launch products, using only the “building blocks” of the vendor’s platform. However, with 100% of the coding owned by the vendor, it is limited in its available scope of customisation, and may not satisfy your security needs.
Two things banks need to remember about low-code/no-code solutions
Overarchingly, the key point banks need to know about low-code/no-code products is that there is no successful solution without solution architecture. A software offering might be sold as the answer to all your pain points, but it is integral to assess its place in the greater scheme of business, technical, information and regulatory functions – and the detailed reality of your current state.
Determining the level of technical debt that currently exists within your organisation and developing processes to work with the legacy of those needs to precede the introduction of a new product.
1. Take a vendor agnostic approach
While it is reasonable to be inspired by a sales rep’s pitch, do your due diligence and investigate other opportunities (including traditionally-coded options, for the sake of thorough comparison). This will help ensure that you are sourcing a solution that works with all of your organisational needs, and not just a product that addresses a handful of them.
“Start with an agnostic model, then an agnostic reference architecture. Build a good understanding of them, and then move to work with vendors,” says Tatiana Konnova, one of 9Yards’ Senior Consultants. “You’ve got to have a strong idea as to what you actually want to achieve and then you can source a good product.”
2. Low-code/no-code is not autopilot
While the in-house technological management is significantly less for low-code/no-code than it is for traditional software, it’s not zero. Your organisation will need to ensure appropriate resourcing (financial and staffing) and expertise to ensure it can support you in reaching your business outcomes.
“While you’ve got the vendor providing the platform and the heavy-lifting engineering that goes with it, your organisation still needs clever people who can continually adjust it to your needs – putting in new business rules and configuring some of the logic without depending on going back to the vendor,” says Joel Fanning, 9Yards Senior Consultant.
Arrange a free consultation to learn how low-code/no-code could work in your financial institution
We’re excited by the many opportunities low-code/no-code brings to banks – when it’s implemented thoughtfully and strategically. To see how such a solution could work in your organisation, get in touch to arrange a free discussion with one of our consultants.
