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1、 December 2023,IDC#US51431023 White Paper Extending Core Enterprise Systems with Low-Code Application Development Platforms Sponsored by:SAP Michele Rosen December 2023 IDC OPINION It has been 12 years since Marc Andreessen declared that software was eating the world,and theres no sign of it letting

2、 up.IDC projects that 750 million apps will be created globally by 2025(see 750 Million New Logical Applications:More Background,IDC#US48441921,December 2021).The shift to a digital-first world is driving much of this development,with organizations seeking to improve and streamline digital experienc

3、es for customers,partners,and employees,drive internal efficiencies,grow revenue,and innovate for competitive advantage and long-term success.The increasingly urgent demands for new and updated software puts pressure on IT leaders to increase their teams productivity to keep pace with rapidly evolvi

4、ng technology and business conditions.One reason for the proliferation of software is that every organization has unique characteristics and processes that require bespoke digital solutions.As a result,IT leaders have traditionally been forced to choose between tailoring packaged applications with c

5、ustom code or writing applications from scratch.These customizations have often been tightly integrated with core systems to enable the required functionality,making them difficult to update or replace and thereby creating significant technical debt and obstacles to coping with the accelerating pace

6、 of change.During the past few years,organizations have increasingly sought to address these challenges by adopting low-code application development platforms.These platforms provide an accelerated approach to development by facilitating composable development the assembly of prebuilt components to

7、create new digital solutions in a visual,drag-and-drop development environment.Because they both accelerate and simplify the development process,low-code development platforms can be beneficial to full-time developers looking to extend core systems without incurring technical debt,part-time develope

8、rs including both IT operations and other technical personnel,and line-of-business developers who are sometimes known as power users or citizen developers.These platforms empower these developers to participate in the organizations digital transformation safely and security by encapsulating much of

9、the necessary functionality in components and by providing a governance framework for monitoring apps throughout the software development life cycle.This white paper explores how the right low-code application development platform can help organizations to overcome obstacles to digital transformatio

10、n.It includes IDC research data on low-code application development that demonstrates the benefits of a low-code development approach,particularly the ability to respond to both challenges and opportunities more quickly and efficiently 2023 IDC#US51431023 2 without increasing technical debt and to i

11、ncrease collaboration between IT and line-of-business employees,which facilitates innovation.It also includes factors to consider when selecting a low-code application development platform.SITUATION OVERVIEW The Dilemmas of Digital Transformation Since the early days of enterprise computing,IT leade

12、rs have been forced to choose between buying packaged applications and building custom applications tailor to their organizations needs.The cost and complexity of building custom applications drive many organizations to adopt software that may not be perfectly aligned with the organizations business

13、 processes,negatively impacting return on investment.As a result,many millions of developer hours have been spent building custom software to extend the functionality of packaged applications to align it more closely with the organizations needs.As the pace of change has accelerated and demand for d

14、igital transformation has increased,IT leaders have struggled to keep up with the need to respond quickly to emergencies,regulatory changes,and business opportunities.This problem was further exacerbated by the transition to hybrid work environments driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.Add in the increas

15、ing need for real-time access to enterprise data and users expectations for responsive,omni-channel digital interfaces,and its not hard to see why IT leaders are so focused on finding better,faster ways to build digital solutions that meet these various needs.Organizations have tried many approaches

16、 to application modernization,including rehosting,refactoring,replatforming,and rewriting core applications.But many organizations have found that one of the most effective approaches to application modernization is the integration of core systems with modern development tools such as low-code appli

17、cation development platforms.As a result,according to IDC survey data,most enterprises expect to increase or maintain spending on low-code tools in the next year,and more than half of survey respondents said that full-time developers at their organizations will be producing a majority of their digit

18、al solutions using low-code developer tools by 2025.These organizations have decided that the best way to respond quickly to urgent needs and opportunities while minimizing technical debt is to rapidly create custom apps that seamlessly integrate with core systems without altering them.Benefits of L

19、ow-Code Application Development By providing a visual,drag-and-drop development environment with out-of-the-box components and integrations,low-code application development platforms can significantly accelerate digital transformation.As a result,many organizations use these platforms to fill the ga

20、p between packaged applications and custom software;for use cases such as last-mile digitization,which can be extremely valuable to individuals and small groups within the enterprise;and for creating modern user interfaces for core systems.IDC defines developers as people who create software and cla

21、ssifies developers based on the share of their time that they spend creating software.Full-time developers can be junior or senior developers,but they generally have training and expertise in both programming and general computing concepts.IDC research shows that these These organizations have decid

22、ed that the best way to respond quickly to urgent needs and opportunities while minimizing technical debt is to rapidly create custom apps that seamlessly integrate with core systems without altering them.2023 IDC#US51431023 3 full-time developers are increasingly distributed throughout the organiza

23、tion(see Figure 1),which further highlights the increasing importance of software development to all parts of the organization.FIGURE 1 Full-Time Developers Increasingly Distributed Throughout Organizations Q.What share of full-time developers are organizationally located in and report to the follow

24、ing units within the organization for which you work?Source:IDCs Developer View Survey,2023 In IDCs definition,the category of part-time developers includes two somewhat disparate groups:1.Technical staff who develop software,but not as their primary role(This group includes database and system admi

25、nistrators,data scientists,DevOps personnel,technical support staff,and IT operations.)2.Line-of-business developers,including business analysis,marketing and sales specialists,and customer support personnel,who have varying levels of technical training and expertise While part-time developers may h

26、ave very different skill sets,they have one thing in common:because creating software is not their primary role,they generally consider development as a means to an end a way to solve a specific business problem,which makes them perfect candidates for the type of component-based development enabled

27、by low-code platforms.Low-code development platforms can be useful to both full-time and part-time developers,with benefits varying depending on the developer persona.These platforms can help full-time developers and more technical part-time developers by streamlining the development process,which c

28、an accelerate time to market for digital solutions and can free up time for these developers to spend on more complex problems.For part-time developers,the ease of use inherent in low-code development empowers a wider range of employees to create digital solutions to business problems,which has a ra

29、nge of positive effects on the enterprise,from reducing shadow IT to encouraging innovation.Beyond faster and easier creation of digital solutions,low-code development platforms can encourage and facilitate greater levels of collaboration between different developer personas,improve staff retention,

30、and enable upskilling.051015202530OtherThird-party contracting firmsC-level leadersBusiness leaders and organizationsEnterprise IT(%of respondents)2023 IDC#US51431023 4 When they are first introduced to low-code development platforms,IT leaders often express concerns about extending the ability to c

31、reate digital solutions to employees without formal technical training or expertise.However,organizations that have taken the plunge often find that empowering employees with a well-managed low-code development platform can reduce shadow IT and increase the use of best practices.Leading enterprise l

32、ow-code development platforms give IT leaders a governance model and administrative dashboards that provide visibility throughout the low-code software development life cycle.Providing low-code app developers with prebuilt components and guided templates that meet IT standards ensures that all low-c

33、ode apps adhere to enterprise practices and policies,reducing technical debt.Augmenting Development In the past several years,much of the attention paid to low-code development has focused on the ability of these platforms to empower employees who are not trained developers.But IDC survey research s

34、hows that in many organizations,low-code development platforms are being used extensively by full-time developers.Currently,39%of respondents to IDCs Developer View Survey say that full-time developers at their organization are using low-code developer tools to create about half of all digital solut

35、ions,with an additional 40%saying these tools are used to create 2040%of the digital solutions in their organization.And these numbers are expected to increase dramatically within two years,at which time 87%of respondents say that full-time developers at their organizations will be using low-code de

36、veloper tools to create at least 40%of digital solutions(see Figure 2).FIGURE 2 Plans to Invest in Low-Code Developer Tools over the Next 12 Months Q.How would you describe your organizations plans with respect to investing in low-code developer tools over the next 12 months?Source:IDCs Developer Vi

37、ew Survey,2023 The widespread adoption of low-code platforms by full-time developers can be attributed to their ability to streamline development processes.By emphasizing component-based development,developers can use out-of-the-box components to quickly assemble modern,responsive user interfaces to

38、 extend core systems.As a result,low-code development platforms can free up highly skilled and specialized 010203040506070Enterprises expecting to increase spending onlow-code tools by 2024Enterprises expecting spending on low-codetools to remain the same(%of respondents)2023 IDC#US51431023 5 develo

39、pers to pursue more complex digital transformation tasks while less skilled developers focus on projects that can be created using prebuilt components a key benefit given to the ongoing difficulty organizations face in hiring the most highly skilled developers.Organizations that select a low-code de

40、velopment platform with extensive out-of-the-box connectors can integrate those user experiences and workflows with a wider range of core systems and data.When necessary,more experienced developers can modify components or write new components from scratch to increase the level of customization for

41、a given low-code app.These components can then be added to the organizations library for future use by both full-time and part-time developers.A consistent and thoughtful implementation of component-based development can lower project costs and speed time to market while still providing opportunitie

42、s for competitive differentiation.Many low-code development projects undertaken by line-of-business developers,especially in large organizations,involve last-mile digitization to digitize or automate individual or team-level processes that are just not strategic enough to merit attention from the or

43、ganizations full-time developers.These projects can provide significant value to the organization by making individual employees more productive.By empowering employees to build their own digital solutions,low-code development platforms can increase both employee productivity and employee satisfacti

44、on.And while most of the low-code apps created by line-of-business developers dont necessarily generate revenue or a significant cost savings in and of themselves,empowering line-of-business developers can have ripple effects throughout IT and the enterprise.Beyond faster and easier creation of digi

45、tal solutions,low-code development platforms can encourage and facilitate greater levels of collaboration between different developer personas,leading to opportunities for innovation that would not otherwise exist.Leading low-code application development platform vendors continuously incorporate the

46、 latest technologies into their platforms,and thats exactly whats happening with generative AI(GenAI),which has triggered a wave of technical innovation because of the astonishing variety of potential use cases.IDC survey data indicates that software development and design is one of the top business

47、 areas where respondents expect generative AI to have the greatest impact in 2023 and 2024(source:IDCs Future Enterprise Resiliency and Spending Survey,Wave 6,July 2023;n=890).Early indications are that generative AI will augment all aspects of the software development life cycle.Leading low-code ap

48、plication development platform vendors are adding generative AI functionality to their offerings in two key ways:Guiding developers through the software development life cycle through the use of a conversational AI assistant,preferably one that has been grounded in the best practices and patterns ap

49、propriate for the specific platform in question Generating assets,components,and increasingly complex artifacts that can be evaluated,customized,and curated by experienced developers to be added to the organizations library of software components Beyond faster and easier creation of digital solution

50、s,low-code development platforms can encourage and facilitate greater levels of collaboration between different developer personas,leading to opportunities for innovation that would not otherwise exist.2023 IDC#US51431023 6 Encouraging Innovation Involving a wider range of employees in the process o

51、f digital innovation can have other benefits for organizations.Nontechnical employees can improve their technical skills and their understanding of the factors to consider when building digital solutions.This kind of employee upskilling can improve job satisfaction and staff retention and can provid

52、e an attractive benefit to potential new employees.As their use of low-code development platforms matures,organizations can derive even greater levels of innovation through collaboration between developers with different skill sets and from different parts of the organization.Rather than working tog

53、ether as pair programmers,developers with different skill sets and roles can collaborate in the early stages of projects to explore different perspectives on a particular business problem and can divide technical tasks to accelerate the development process.The breadth of stakeholders involved in low

54、-code development projects IT and line-of-business developers,technical administrative staff,data scientists,and analysts can allow teams to dream big in the early phases of a project.The speed of low-code development can also facilitate experimentation by allowing teams to try out multiple approach

55、es to a digital solution.For example,developers can use low-code development platforms to create dynamic application prototypes that can be modified to meet user requirements.The use of low-code development platforms can also encourage the use of design thinking in the organization.Line-of-business

56、developers often perceive software from the perspective of the user interface because that is the aspect of software with which they are most often used to interacting,while many full-time developers consider software from the perspective of the underlying business logic.Blending these perspectives

57、can help organizations create software that is more user friendly,accessible,and intuitive.Low-code development platforms can also help organizations balance technical tasks across an increasingly diverse group of stakeholders.Developer scarcity remains a challenge for organizations,with the shortag

58、e expected to reach 4 million developers worldwide by 2025.IDC survey data shows that by giving full-time developers more time to focus on hard and interesting problems,low-code development platforms can improve staff retention(see PaaSView and the Developer 2021:Executive Summary,IDC#US47836121,Jun

59、e 2021).Use Cases As a result of the widespread adoption of low-code development platforms,the most productive and relevant use cases have become clear in recent years.As previously mentioned,these use cases tend to require greater levels of customization than package software provides without being

60、 strategic enough to merit the attention of the organizations full-time developers.These types of use cases benefit from composable development because of the combination of prebuilt components and the opportunity to write new components using custom code and,increasingly,to generate components with

61、 the help of generative AI.Extending Core and Legacy Systems Building software that leverages or integrates with core or legacy systems is so problematic that it is known as brownfield development,in reference to the term civil engineers use to describe building new construction on polluted or conta

62、minated real property.Low-code application development platforms can mitigate the challenges of brownfield development by providing a way to build on top of core and legacy systems without modifying them directly.Core and legacy applications are not identical 2023 IDC#US51431023 7 categories,but the

63、re is significant overlap because the most mission-critical systems are often the hardest to modify or replace.IDC defines legacy applications as applications that are outdated or obsolete because of the conjunction of two or more of the following attributes:use of antiquated programming languages s

64、uch as COBOL and FORTRAN,monolithic architectures;and an application size spanning 10+million lines of code.Just over half of applications at organizations are legacy applications,according to IDCs 2023 Developer View Survey.Enterprises have been working hard to modernize these legacy applications,b

65、ut theres still a lot of work to be done.Moreover,the value of the data stored in these core systems continues to increase.Rather than replacing these reliable and robust systems,organizations are leveraging composable development to further extend their value.As an example of a common reason to ext

66、end core systems,consider the case of a global organization with operations in dozens of countries.Changes in regulations or laws in all or even part of one of those countries necessitate the modification of a wide range of business processes.By leveraging low-code application development,organizati

67、ons can empower the rapid creation of regional versions of applications to meet these new regulatory requirements while leveraging the collaborative features in leading platforms to facilitate collaboration between geographically distributed development teams.Digitizing Manual Processes Low-code app

68、lication development platforms rose to prominence in 2020,when the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in remote and hybrid work and shone a spotlight on vital manual processes that could no longer be accomplished.Many of these processes were vital to a small number of employees or were

69、connected at some point to a larger digital process.To quickly digitize these processes,many organizations turned to low-code development tools and platforms,which remote employees could use to digitize the last mile of business processes.Many of these low-code apps were built to enable data collect

70、ion and access.In fact,it is likely that the most commonly built low-code app of 2020 related in some way to collecting data about COVID-19 policy compliance,such as vaccination records,from employees.Many versions of this app had to be built quickly to accommodate the specific policies in place for

71、 different circumstances in different geographic locations.Through this initial use case,many organizations recognized the potential for using these platforms to build software in response to event-driven business opportunities as well as for temporary urgent needs such as wars and natural disasters

72、.They also realized that last-mile digitization reduced the time it took to gather data while improving accuracy in data-centric processes compared with manual data entry.Improving Customer,Partner,and Employee User Experiences Enterprise-grade low-code development platforms offer a wide range of ca

73、pabilities and tools for building applications that include the business logic,workflows,and data necessary to accomplish a wide range of business processes.But the most common applications built using low-code application platforms create new user experiences for employees,partners,and customers,wh

74、ich makes sense given the low-code,visual drag-and-drop development environment,which centers on the assembly of graphical user interfaces using prebuilt components.Even before the COVID-19 pandemic,organizations were using low-code development platforms to expand access to data,such as by building

75、mobile apps to digitize processes for fieldworkers,who 2023 IDC#US51431023 8 often require access to native mobile capabilities such as offline data access.Native mobile apps can be difficult and expensive to build without recourse to a low-code development platform.These apps enabled organizations

76、to extend digital capabilities to new users and use cases.Recently,attention has shifted to the integration of generative AI-based conversational assistants into new and existing apps.The breadth of potential use cases for GenAI means that organizations will benefit from adopting a low-code developm

77、ent platform that makes it easy to add these assistants to new and existing user interfaces.The power of these assistants,especially once they have been given the ability to take actions,requires a robust governance and administrative platform to ensure that the assistant is managing data access app

78、ropriately and providing accurate and ethical responses with the appropriate tone as determined by the organization.Leading low-code application development platform vendors have experience managing apps built by nonexperts safely and securely and therefore will be able to help organizations infuse

79、user interfaces with generative AI in a safe manner.CONSIDERATIONS One of the biggest decisions IT leaders face in the implementation of a low-code development platform is the choice of vendor.Many of the low-code tools on the market can help an organization meet some of the use cases described prev

80、iously.But some organizations that began their low-code journey ran into challenges as usage increased,and they discovered that the tool they had chosen wasnt up to the task.IDC research shows that the degree of technical risk lack of security,flexibility,integration capabilities,and scalability var

81、ies widely among low-code development platforms.The sections that follow explore some of the key considerations for IT leaders when selecting a platform to use for a given use case.Developer Experiences IDC defines low-code application development platforms as software products that are intended to

82、accelerate and simplify the design and development of custom digital solutions.In both theory and practice,these platforms are used by developers with a wide range of training and expertise.When selecting a low-code development platform,IT leaders should consider which categories of developer person

83、as they want to empower in comparison to personas the vendor is targeting and what the development experience is like for these personas.Tools for full-time developers,who are notoriously picky about their development environment,must be flexible enough to allow them to get under the hood and,ideall

84、y,to work on the code underlying the components that low-code developers use to build digital solutions.On the other hand,line-of-business developers who dont have a lot of technical expertise prefer an intuitive development environment that walks them through the development process and abstracts a

85、way complex details.Some low-code platforms are a single development environment for all personas,while others offer multiple experiences designed for different personas.In either case,organizations benefit from low-code development tools that are seamlessly integrated with pro-code tools to facilit

86、ate full-stack development and collaboration.As previously mentioned,GenAI assistants will increasingly assist low-code developers.However,these assistants will need to be tuned appropriately to assist developers with different levels of expertise,such as by adjusting the level of technical terminol

87、ogy for different developer personas.All developer personas will benefit from AI assistants that can generate and explain code and documentation as well as providing conversational guidance through development tasks.Such tools 2023 IDC#US51431023 9 are poised to revolutionize the software developmen

88、t life cycle,but organizations will need to carefully evaluate offerings to make sure they are appropriate for the organizations priority use cases.IDCs Future Enterprise Resiliency and Spending Survey shows that many organizations are leaning toward trusted technology providers to help them navigat

89、e the rapidly evolving market for GenAI tools and technologies(source:IDCs GenAI ARC Survey,August 2023).Beyond the technical capabilities of the platform,organizations should consider vendor offerings for training and developer community.Leading platform vendors provide developer-focused conference

90、s,training programs,certifications,awards,and online communities for their developers.These vendors also have incorporated collaboration tools into their platforms to facilitate communication and the promulgation of best practices,which helps reduce shadow IT by bringing the organizations most innov

91、ative and digitally savvy employees into a governed framework in which they can be encouraged to improve outcomes by implementing best practices for low-code development.Prebuilt Components,Apps,and Connectors The availability of prebuilt components,apps,and connectors for use with enterprise low-co

92、de application platforms is another key consideration.By focusing on components,low-code platforms drive code reuse,ensure best practices,and simplify app creation for line-of-business developers but only if the necessary components are available to them.Leading vendors have created marketplaces whe

93、re customers can access apps,components,templates,and frameworks built by the platform vendor as well as by third parties.It is important to evaluate the specific components available for a given platform,particularly the user interface widgets,as these will be most commonly used by the least experi

94、enced low-code developers.Leading low-code platforms also provide the organizations full-time developers with a way to curate components in a private repository for use by low-code developers in the organization,which can significantly increase the potential number of use cases for implementing low-

95、code apps.IT leaders evaluating low-code development platforms should consider the following questions:Can the platform be used to build responsive,accessible,and omni-channel user experiences with access to native mobile and offline functionality?Does the platform provide integration with prototypi

96、ng and/or design tools to facilitate design thinking and the handoff from designer to developer?What accessibility standards do apps produced by the platform meet?Does the tool provide the capacity to infuse generative AIpowered conversational assistants into new and/or existing user interfaces?One

97、of the key differences between entry-and enterprise-level low-code development platforms concerns their ability to securely integrate with other enterprise systems.Deep integration with core systems ensures that low-code apps are secure and scalable.Organizations should consider the level of integra

98、tion with key systems required to accomplish their goals for a given low-code platform.For some apps,it may be preferable to leverage vendor-specific low-code development tools because they will be more tightly integrated with that vendors core applications.Integration capabilities with other tools

99、in the software development life cycle should also be considered,particularly with existing development and DevOps tools.Finally,robust enterprise low-code application platforms enable full-time developers to build and deploy custom connectors for systems that lack out-of-the-box integration.2023 ID

100、C#US51431023 10 Security,Governance,and Trust The capabilities of any development platform are irrelevant if they cannot be leveraged because of concerns about security,governance,and trust.When selecting a low-code application development platform,organizations should consider the capabilities of t

101、he platform to ensure a safe development environment.Leading enterprise low-code development platforms provide built-in DevOps capabilities such as CI/CD,as well as monitoring tools and administrative dashboards for managing the low-code development life cycle.Beyond these features,IT leaders should

102、 consider vendors that provide guidance and tooling to help establish a low-code center of excellence to:Evaluate the business value of proposed projects Set and enforce best practices,standards,and guardrails for low-code developers Facilitate collaboration between IT and line-of-business developer

103、s to align low-code development initiatives with business needs Collect and analyze KPIs and metrics to evaluate the effect of low-code development on the business Act as a force multiplier by sharing information about new components and templates,successful projects to use as models,and opportuniti

104、es for training.CONCLUSION Successful digital transformation requires a new way of thinking about software development.Rather than choosing between packaged applications that only meet some requirements and long,costly custom development projects,organizations are increasingly looking to low-code ap

105、plication development platforms as a way to achieve their digital transformation goals.While some organizations are interested in moving fast and breaking things,most prefer to move fast without breaking anything,especially mission-critical core systems.Low-code platforms can provide the guardrails

106、necessary to accelerate digital transformation without increasing technical debt or security risks.With the right platform,organizations can accelerate innovation by building software more quickly and efficiently and by facilitating collaboration between line-of-business employees and IT,which can l

107、ead to business process transformation and opportunities for continuous improvement.Low-code platforms can provide the guardrails necessary to accelerate digital transformation without increasing technical debt or security risks.About IDC International Data Corporation(IDC)is the premier global prov

108、ider of market intelligence,advisory services,and events for the information technology,telecommunications,and consumer technology markets.With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide,IDC offers global,regional,and local expertise on technology,IT benchmarking and sourcing,and industry opportunities and

109、trends in over 110 countries.IDCs analysis and insight helps IT professionals,business executives,and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives.Founded in 1964,IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group(IDG,Inc.).G

110、lobal Headquarters 140 Kendrick Street Building B Needham,MA 02494 USA 508.872.8200 Twitter:IDC Copyright Notice External Publication of IDC Information and Data Any IDC information that is to be used in advertising,press releases,or promotional materials requires prior written approval from the appropriate IDC Vice President or Country Manager.A draft of the proposed document should accompany any such request.IDC reserves the right to deny approval of external usage for any reason.Copyright 2023 IDC.Reproduction without written permission is completely forbidden.