No Code Tools - Ace the Game of Digital Transformation in the Financial Market

In the good old days, when someone in a financial service company had an idea for a new bit of software, it meant hours, days, weeks, and months of meetings, sketches, designs and trials. Sales teams interfaced with marketing teams who then, together, did their best to get the message across to IT teams and coders. Then after months of miscommunication, redos, alpha testing and beta testing, you realise that your competitor had the same idea and beat you to the market anyway.

Then to add insult to injury, your compliance department and the regulator may have other ideas about your new amazing concept.

Low-Code Programming

Then along came Low-Code Programming which has actually been with us for a number of years now. Low-Code enables companies to get software and applications out to the market faster and at less cost as they are a simpler and quicker alternative.

Low-code, as the name implies, is a development concept that requires little coding to create processes and applications. In place of employing complicated programming languages, a team can utilize visual interfaces with basic logic and drag-and-drop widgets. Low-Code has improved the time to market dramatically, especially in the areas of risk management and payments. However, in the financial services sector, there is still a barrier to non-technical individuals.

What is No-Code then?

No-code environments are software development systems in which even non-technical and financial people can get involved. Processes and applications can be created without anyone composing a single line of code. These no-code programmes usually have a user-friendly interface and drag-and-drop capabilities, allowing the user(s) to envision the implementation process and describe the overall business logic with ease.

The move toward a distributed workforce

Before the COVID lockdowns, financial organizations were required to generate a lot of paper for reporting to the regulator among others. Almost overnight, they were forced to digitize for a remote workforce. The difficulty for managers to understand how well their workforce was performing could not be understated. We had to reinvent the wheel when determining what kind of support was needed. No-code platforms and widgets help managers change the way teams collaborate-in a matter of days or weeks, not months or years. No-code can play a big role in running a global, remote or hybrid workforce.

Who are No-Code developers?

The simple answer: anyone! No-code systems not only cut out vast amounts of time in IT and development, but they also bring the magical world of application and software development to the man on the street...or rather the small business owner and entrepreneur on the street. Now, anyone with an idea or a need can jump onto a No-Code platform and start to see their idea come to life quite quickly. Sales and marketing teams can interface in real-time, with other departments like the dealing desk, compliance, and clients, right from the initial concept of an idea through to the completion of the project.

Benefits of No-Code Development

1. The obvious benefit is the speed at which anyone can bring a whim, to a concept, to a functioning product to the market. Gone are the days of time-wasting meetings or of the young hedge-fund manager not having the time or the funds to find a team to develop a great idea.
2. In the past, interdepartmental communication squabbles would often kill a project before it got out of the concept stage. Today's offerings empower everyone to collaborate regardless of their technical ability. Often, the least technical member of the team might have the best ideas but not have the technical knowledge to implement them. No-Code bridges communication gaps.
3. Increased accessibility has now demystified the art or science of application development and has released it from the IT department to let it flood out into the hall and corridors and out into the streets. Now everyone from compliance interns, to the head of risk management, to the CEO can easily get involved in the design and creation of software.
4. You can design and build applications and processes on your own terms with limitless flexibility. No-Code allows you to build your creation quickly as a prototype before you invest any more time and resources. You can now launch customer-facing applications in hours instead of months and, later, empower any member of your team to make changes as required, in real-time.
5. And, last but not least, are the cost savings. This isn't just about what it costs to develop and launch an application, it is about the ongoing costs of legacy maintenance and IT staff. It is also about the cost of lost business when your competitor beats you to the market with an application or the cost of lost productivity with legacy applications that are behind the times.

According to Harvard Business Review, no-code platforms have evolved from just facilitating function-specific tools to making it possible for a broader range of startups and business employees to truly own their automation and build new software applications with no coding while increasing organizational capacity.

The Size of the Industry

According to Gartner, the global research firm, the no-code and low-code platform market grew by an average of more than $1 billion per year, from $3.47 billion in 2019 to $8 billion in 2022. It is forecasted that the no-code-low-code platform market will grow almost 20% in 2023 to $10 billion and to $12.3 billion in 2024.

Post-pandemic, Gartner also reported a 23% increase in the uptake of the use of low-code/no-code platforms.

The Next Level?

We are already seeing the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the arena of low code and no code development. In fact, there are those who believe that AI will supersede any need for no code platforms as AI will be able to create the processes and software dreamed up by the user.

So, whether you are a financial startup or an existing enterprise, and your next great idea consists of a new way to manage risk, increase motivation for your IBs, or reduce fees for your payment gateway, take a look at No-Code programming environments. You just might be surprised.