As the demand for new and innovative software applications continues to grow, enterprises of all sizes should be embracing alternative IT strategies – like low-code/no-code (LCNC) software and citizen developers, according to SAP VP of LCNC Products Sebastian Schrötel.

Schrötel works to automate enterprise processes, create customer value, and unify end user and developer experience, and he expects LCNC will soon be the "standard method for creating almost any application or software artifact," he told SDxCentral. "Software development must become faster and easier, and empower business experts (so-called citizen developers) to participate more significantly in the creation of new solutions."

Gartner projects the low-code development technology market will grow nearly 20% in 2023 to reach $26.9 billion. This development technology has ballooned in popularity because it allows enterprise citizen developers "to create functional applications without the need for extensive coding knowledge or experience," Schrötel argued.

Gartner Senior Market Research Specialist Varsha Mehta noted LCNC is attractive to enterprises with high demand for speedy application delivery, and both professional developers and citizen developers should lean on "diverse low-code tools" to hit "the level of digital competency ... required for the modern agile environment."

"Ideally companies bring together IT professionals and business experts to make their LCNC development program a success. This requires some form of change management within the organization and will be an ongoing effort," Schrötel said. "With all of that in mind, after initial trainings and when being supported by IT, citizen developers will be ready to get hands-on and accelerate innovation for their companies."

The vendor's SAP Build LCNC offering includes process automation and application development capabilities that support the creation of enterprise business sites "faster and without code," Schrötel said. Although the vendor's portfolio is designed for integration into SAP cloud environments, "we also offer connectivity to third-party systems to provide the necessary flexibility and minimize lock-in effects," he said.

While LCNC development tools offer competitive advantages and market adaptability, "I understand why some developers and IT professionals may be skeptical about the use of LCNC development platforms," Schrötel admitted, citing challenges like IT governance, managing varying skill sets, and integrating with existing systems and databases.

Schrötel claimed SAP's LCNC services are differentiated by applicable use cases and the vendor's support of the citizen developer community.

"What sets SAP's LCNC offering apart from others on the market is our comprehensive suite of low-code and no-code tools," he said. SAP also offers learnings resources and events like LCNC hack-a-thons, along with defined best practices on setting up a successful citizen developer program.

"As an enterprise software vendor, we understand the importance of IT governance, and that's why we also support IT admins with guidelines and features for product lifecycle management, DevOps, monitoring, and role management," Schrötel added.

And to address modern development challenges, the portfolio includes pre-built content focused on automation, application temptations, and business site layouts "based on SAP's deep domain knowledge of business processes," he said. And the vendor's ecosystem of developers and partners are able to offer support and expertise for SAP's LCNC portfolio, which helps prioritize the customer experience, he explained.