Revolutionizing Internal Tools: How Low Code is Reducing Development Time for Developers

As companies grow larger, the issue of developers spending significant amounts of time building internal tools becomes more pronounced. Surprisingly, for companies with over 5,000 employees, developers spend 45% of their time working on internal tools. This seems counterproductive since the purpose of internal tools is to enhance productivity. It begs the question, why are developers spending so much time on internal tools?

Internal tools are primarily developed from scratch by developers.

Retool conducted a survey of 650 developers and found that approximately two-thirds of developers prefer to construct fully customized applications from scratch. This finding may not come as a surprise, since building applications from scratch allows developers to have complete control over the final product.

In terms of programming languages, the most commonly used languages include JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, TypeScript, and Python. The survey also revealed that the most popular frameworks used by developers are React, Express, jQuery (which is somewhat surprising), Angular, and Vue.js.

From a logical standpoint, it makes sense to use the most popular frameworks such as React, Angular, and Vue.js for building both internal tools and company products. Using these popular frameworks enables companies to benefit from the vast community support available and helps developers to be more efficient in their work.

![Programming languages and web frameworks](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1678360376454/f8ee2d3b-0341-4806-b14b-876799aa21a2.png align="center")

Despite my surprise, jQuery's high ranking could be attributed to older companies with 15-year-old codebases that have not yet incorporated newer frameworks. These companies may be more comfortable using a familiar technology that has been tried and tested over time rather than adopting newer and less-established frameworks.

What is the reason behind developers' reluctance to use low-code development?

Despite the benefits low-code development offers, some developers are still reluctant to adopt this approach. Here are some reasons why:

1. Lack of Control: Developers are used to writing code and having complete control over the application's design and functionality. With low-code development, there is less control over the code, which can make some developers uncomfortable. In traditional coding, developers have the ability to customize every single aspect of the application, from the user interface to the back-end functionality. With low-code development, some of this customization is automated, which can limit the flexibility of the application. Developers who are used to having full control over their code may find it difficult to adopt a low-code development approach.
2. Limited Customization: Low-code development platforms are designed to be easy to use, which means they may not offer the same level of customization as traditional coding. This can be frustrating for developers who want to create highly customized applications. For example, low-code development platforms often have pre-built components that developers can use to create an application quickly. However, these components may not be customizable to the same degree as code written from scratch. Developers who are used to creating highly customized applications may find the limitations of low-code development platforms to be a barrier to adoption.
3. Integration Challenges: Low-code development platforms often require integration with other systems, which can be a challenge for developers who are not familiar with the technology. For example, a low-code development platform may require integration with a company's existing databases or APIs. Developers who are not familiar with these technologies may find it difficult to integrate them into the low-code development platform. Additionally, low-code development platforms may not have the same level of support for third-party tools and services as traditional coding, which can limit their usefulness in certain contexts.
4. Security Concerns: Low-code development platforms are still relatively new and may not have the same level of security as traditional coding. This can make some developers hesitant to use them for critical applications. For example, low-code development platforms may not have the same level of control over data security as custom-coded applications. Additionally, the use of pre-built components in low-code development platforms may introduce vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. Developers who are concerned about the security of their applications may be hesitant to adopt a low-code development approach.
5. Learning Curve: Developers who are used to traditional coding may find it difficult to adapt to the low-code development approach, which can be a barrier to adoption. Low-code development platforms often have a different workflow and require a different set of skills than traditional coding. Developers who are not willing to invest the time and effort required to learn how to use a low-code development platform may be hesitant to adopt this approach.

Despite these concerns, low-code development is gaining popularity among developers and businesses. As the technology continues to mature, it is likely that more developers will adopt this approach. Low-code development platforms are becoming more customizable and flexible, which can help to address some of the concerns developers have about this approach. Additionally, low-code development platforms are being integrated with more third-party tools and services, which can help to make them more useful in a wider range of contexts. As more developers become familiar with low-code development, it is likely that the learning curve will become less of a barrier to adoption.

Using Existing Service

Nowadays, the use of bundlers and automatic deployment upon pushing to GitHub has simplified the process. With the emergence of low-code app building, the development process has become even more straightforward and efficient.

Utilizing low-code development is similar to using an established service such as Stripe, as it can save a significant amount of time on infrastructure development. Choosing an existing payment processing service like Stripe also results in lower development costs in comparison to building a payment system from scratch. Stripe offers a user-friendly, pre-built payment processing solution that eliminates the need to create and maintain a custom payment system.

Creating a payment system from the ground up necessitates a substantial development effort, including the development and integration of the payment gateway, security measures, and compliance with industry regulations. Additionally, maintaining a custom-built payment system regularly can be a daunting task to ensure its continued security and functionality.

In contrast, Stripe offers a dependable, secure payment processing solution that can be quickly integrated into websites and applications. Stripe handles managing the payment gateway, implementing necessary security measures, and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. Additionally, developers can leverage Stripe's extensive documentation and support resources, saving time and effort during the development process.

How much time can be saved if using low code?

Let's say A developer needs to develop a dashboard for the marketing team. Based on industry standards and experience, creating a basic dashboard with a limited set of features can take around 60-100 hours of development time. This estimate includes tasks such as designing the user interface, defining the data sources, implementing data visualization, and setting up basic security measures.

In general, low-code development platforms offer pre-built templates and drag-and-drop functionality, which simplifies the dashboard creation process. This can reduce the development time significantly, allowing developers to focus on customizing the dashboard's look and feel or integrating it with other systems.

According to a study by Forrester Consulting, low-code development platforms can reduce the time required to develop an application by an average of 50-80%. In terms of creating a dashboard, low-code development platforms can help developers create a basic dashboard within a few hours, while a custom-built dashboard can take weeks or even months to develop. As of September 2021, the average base salary for a software developer in the San Francisco Bay Area is around $126,000 per year. If the company uses low code to develop such a dashboard, it can save at least 5k.

Conclusion

In conclusion, utilizing low code development platforms can be a game-changer for developers, saving them a significant amount of time without affecting their sense of pride in their work. Rather than spending hours developing basic infrastructure from scratch, developers can focus on creating products with significant meaning that can enhance their skillset and create value for their organization. By staying up-to-date with the latest technology, developers can ensure that they remain efficient and competitive in their work. Furthermore, low code development is here to stay and is likely to become more prevalent as more people adopt it, leading to the development of better products and more efficient development processes. As such, developers can embrace low code development with confidence, knowing that it can enhance their productivity and help them create more impactful products.

ILLA Cloud

ILLA Cloud is a low-code development platform with dozens of front-end components and database API integrations. You can use ILLA Cloud to build the front-end interface by dragging and dropping components and connecting to your database or API to complete full-stack development quickly.

ILLA proudly announces a partnership with Hugging Face, a suite of natural language processing (NLP) tools and services. They are most well-known for their open-source NLP library, which provides text generation, language translation, and named entity recognition tools. With Hugging Face, ILLA is more productive than before. Our users can do more with AI.

ILLA Cloud provides dozens of commonly used front-end components, allowing you to build different front-end interfaces based on your specific needs quickly. At the same time, ILLA offers a connection to Hugging Face, allowing you to quickly connect to the API, send requests, and receive returned data. By connecting the API and front-end components, you can implement the requirement that users can enter content through the front end and submit it to the API. The API returns the generated content to be displayed on the front end.

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