How low-code empowers SMEs to do more with less
Across the globe, 9 out of 10 businesses in every sector are undergoing digital transformation to improve customer experience, cut costs, and remain competitive.
While large enterprises possess the resources to purchase and experiment with several tools to see which works best for their digital transformation requirements, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) don't have that luxury, as they typically work with tight budgets, small teams, and limited technical expertise. Moreover, the diverse range of sectors that SMEs operate in—from agriculture to the space industry—translates into a wide spectrum of unique business processes.
Off-the-shelf software solutions aren't capable of catering to the diverse operational needs of SMEs across sectors and sizes, so critical processes often remain manually handled through physical paperwork, spreadsheets, and emails. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle: A lack of customized software tools results in SMEs opting for manual workflows, and the resulting complexity makes it harder to customize software, forcing SMEs to remain dependent on manual processes.
For SMEs to see their digital transformation journey through, they need solutions that are accessible, customizable, and scalable. This convergence of needs is where low-code solutions deliver.
As the name suggests, low-code platforms allow users to create a wide range of purpose-built applications without needing to write a lot of code. And it's steadily gaining traction: The market size for global low-code development platforms is expected to increase seven-fold to $264.4 billion by 2032, an analysis reveals.
The report also highlights that the demand for low-code development is particularly high among SMEs, given how low-code empowers nontechnical users to build applications, eliminating the need for expensive development teams while maintaining flexibility and scalability.
That said, how can SMEs best leverage the benefits of low-code to create a competitive advantage? To understand this, The Long Game Dialogues brought two experts on board:
Bharath Kumar B, Head of Marketing and CX, Zoho Creator
Akshat Jain, Finance and Operations Lead, Rasvihar
They reveal some of the SME-specific operational bottlenecks that low-code can address, how low-code will enhance (and not replace) human teams, and what organizations should keep in mind before adopting low-code platforms.
Democratizing app development with low-code
SMEs everywhere typically face two limitations—technical expertise and resources—and low-code helps SMEs address both of these effectively, Bharath explains.
"We [at Zoho Creator] have seen users with zero technical expertise, people who have never built any technology tool in the past, being able to build interesting, complex applications in a matter of weeks," he points out.
How is this democratization of software development made possible? Low-code platforms come with a drag-and-drop interface that helps users with little to no programming expertise develop and deploy applications for their specific use cases.
Related: Your A-to-Z guide on low-code
Low-code platforms also abstract away the complexities involved in key IT issues like hosting, governance, and security that require significant time and resources to implement from scratch.
When I want to build an application, there are a hundred things that will get in my way to stop me from doing it. Where will I host it? How will it work on mobile? How will it be secure? As a non-developer, or even as a developer, there are a hundred things that will stop me from doing that building part. Low-code actually takes care of each of these components for me.
— Bharath Kumar B, Head of Marketing and CX, Zoho Creator
Low-code vs. no-code: Which is better for SMEs?
If we're talking about users with little to no technical expertise, what about no-code platforms? Compared to low-code, where users still have to write some code, no-code platforms completely do away with the need for coding.
However, with great comfort often comes greater limitations. No-code platforms, with their prebuilt templates and components, are adept at building simple CRUD (create, read, update, delete) applications quickly. But they can be quite restrictive when it comes to customization—something that's essential for SMEs where no two businesses are the same.
And this is where low-code's flexibility comes in handy. Low-code allows businesses to integrate custom code for niche requirements that build applications tailored to specific processes. The hybrid software development model also ensures scalability, as low-code platforms can help SMEs configure customized functionalities or integrations for their applications when business requirements evolve.
Low-code in action: An SME's story
At his firm, Akshat was trying to automate certain aspects of business operations, like product documentation, without setting up an IT team. "We'd have a long learning curve if we went for something that's sophisticated. We realized it'd be slightly costly if we went for an out-of-the-box solution and we also didn't know if it'd eventually work out," he recalls.
As he was looking for a solution that's more flexible and less expensive, he came across low-code development. "It was low-risk because we could build step by step," Akshat explains, adding how low-code helped him create applications with only the essential features, as opposed to prebuilt software solutions that come with loads of features that SMEs have no immediate use for.
Full case study: How Rasvihar transformed jewelry manufacturing using Zoho Creator
Getting started with low-code in three steps
Having analyzed the merits and suitability of low-code, SMEs should take a step-by-step approach while adopting low-code to ensure a smooth and sustainable implementation. Here's a three-step roadmap for SMEs to implement low-code that Bharath suggests:
Define clear business goals: "Before starting, be clear on what you're trying to achieve," Bharath emphasizes. Defining specific use cases or pain points upfront, such as automating paper logs or streamlining email approvals, grounds the low-code project in tangible business value and sets realistic expectations.
Start small with pilot projects: To begin with, automate a particular manual workflow using low-code, gather feedback internally, and make improvements accordingly. This iterative progression reduces risk, improves understanding of the platform, and builds confidence among teams.
Have internal champions drive adoption: As SMEs gain firsthand experience with the capabilities of low-code platforms, Bharath suggests appointing representatives from each department as internal champions for low-code development, who can provide support for colleagues and advocate for best practices, cultivating cross-departmental adoption.
How AI is making low-code smarter
If software is eating the world, as the saying goes, then AI is now eating software itself. In just a few years, generative AI has transformed every aspect of software, from code writing to quality assurance—and low-code is no exception.
According to Bharath, low-code has three foundational elements:
Accessibility: Regardless of technical expertise, all users should be able to create meaningful applications tailored to their workflow and needs.
Ease: The entire low-code experience—from learning and building to deploying and scaling—should be as seamless and straightforward as possible.
Power: Beyond simple automations, low-code platforms should be able to support mission-critical, enterprise-grade applications.
With generative AI, these elements get further strengthened. Now, the input to build the low-code app can be in any form—whether it's a text prompt or even an image of a hastily-sketched workflow—and AI-powered platforms can intelligently translate the idea into a functional application.
AI can also suggest improvements, fill in gaps in the workflow, and optimize code for performance and maintainability. When coupled with AI, low-code can help SMEs cut down development time from weeks to hours without compromising on crucial areas like security and governance.
Also read: The $685 billion opportunity: A step-by-step roadmap for SME AI adoption
AI is nicely touching upon all these keywords (accessibility, ease, and power). It empowers everyone to build, makes the whole process easier, and helps you build powerful solutions.
— Bharath Kumar B, Head of Marketing and CX, Zoho Creator
Watch the full conversation here: Low-code development: Building more with less
