No-code crashes into the enterprise
Is no-code about to have a breakthrough moment in large organizations?
Welcome to issue #2 of the No-code Analysis newsletter, a weekly newsletter about no-code, product development, user experience, and technology.
This issue is focused on the rise of no-code tools and their adoption in medium and enterprise organizations. Tools have matured rapidly and there have never been fewer barriers to adoption. Will the opportunities outweigh the challenges for the bottom-up adoption of new tools?
Here’s what you’ll read about in this issue:
No-code tools represent the next evolution in software
There are unique characteristics shared by many no-code solutions
The no-code landscape is already huge and growing quickly
Will ‘No-code Operations’ be the next hot tech job title?
If you enjoy this issue, please like it above or leave a comment below. Have suggestions to make this newsletter better? We’re listening here and on Twitter @nocodemethod!
We are entering a new era of software
Source: Pexels
In a recent Techcrunch article, Alex Nichols and Jesse Wedler predicted that we sit on the precipice of a new generation of software that will be defined by no-code tools.
It seems like every software funding and product announcement these days includes some sort of reference to “no code” platforms or functionality. The frequent callbacks to this buzzy term reflect a realization that we’re entering a new software era. - Alex Nichols and Jesse Wedler, Techcrunch
For those that are tuned in, this seems very plausible. There has been a growing amount of buzz in recent months, and the term seems to be experiencing a tech culture moment that may prove to be as omnipresent as “cloud”, “AI”, “crypto”, and “virtual reality” were in previous years.
Beyond the buzz, however, the authors have made an important distinction. No-code is not simply a new category of solutions, it represents a completely different experience for a new category of users.
Similarly, the real promise of no-code tools is very different than previous generations of SaaS tools. Rather than aiming to provide the pre-built solution for a set of problems, no-code solutions aim to provide the platform and powerful building blocks that creative users can snap together to create their own solutions.
No-code tools share common characteristics
This new generation of solutions reflects a different approach that inherently shapes the user experience. Shared philosophies and characteristics go well beyond lying on one side of the code/no-code dichotomy that the name suggests, shaping everything from the initial onboarding process through a user’s entire lifecycle with the tools.
Visual: user experiences are typically centered around easy-to-use visual interfaces that allow users to create custom business workflows using configuration and logic skills rather than writing text-based code.
Configurable: the most powerful solutions offer plentiful free templates, enabling creators to immediately begin editing and modifying powerful pre-built solutions and components rather than starting from a blank canvas.
Collaborative: many successful tools feature a growing and supportive community, empowering users to contribute pre-built clonable templates and share their step-by-step tutorials.
Maintenance-free: users are able to focus on creating and configuring their projects, leaving concerns about development, hosting, security, updates, IT infrastructure, and scaling to be handled by the vendors.
Put together, the tools offer a familiar experience that is easy to understand for a massive population of users that use consumer apps to create and share content online. As users get a taste of how simple it can be for anyone to experiment and build their own purpose-built tools, it will surely be a matter of time until they notice the stark differences with the software they use at work.
The no-code landscape is exploding
Scott Brinker–the well-known thought leader in the marketing technology space–has taken notice and has grouped no-code tools into an evolving framework that is helpful to understand the major patterns in the no-code landscape.
Themes are already emerging within no-code tool capabilities, naturally grouping around categories such as design and content creation, spreadsheet and database interfaces, and workflow automation.
These patterns are extremely helpful to imagine the ways the custom workflows and solutions created with these tools may one day live alongside and integrate with existing business systems, offering a nimble alternative to custom development work that relies upon over-worked internal development teams.
No code Landscape 2020
Source: Scott Brinker, Chiefmartec
It would be natural to look at these logical categories and assume the landscape is already defined and overcrowded. A quick look at the evolution of Brinker’s marketing technology landscape, however, immediately puts that idea to rest. The current no-code landscape bears striking resemblances to the first iteration of the martech landscape. In the coming years, it would not be surprising to see the no-code landscape see a surge of new entrants while existing solutions become more powerful and blur the lines between categories.
Marketing Technology Landscape 2011-2020
Source: Scott Brinker, Chiefmartec
The verdict is still out on whether no-code tools will make their way into the mainstream enterprise, but there is clear evidence that usage continues to expand and interest is high. It would be unwise to bet against the eventual rise of a new breed of creators and no-code developers in teams looking for a competitive advantage.
Is “no-code operations” the next big job title in technology?
David Peterson from no-code vendor Airtable picks up on this theme in a thought-provoking blog post in which he predicts that “no code operations” will be the next highly sought-after role in technology. Whether this specific title gains usage, it is not difficult to imagine organizations looking to no-code tools for the answer to this common question.
“I just need this one simple thing built and it will easily save me 10 hours a week. Why is it so hard to get this on the roadmap??” - David Peterson
With the massive potential for savings of time and money that no-code represents, organizations will likely be unable to resist the allure. Whether a new job title emerges or existing teams find ways to bring these new tools inside their existing corporate infrastructure, no-code skills will surely be in high demand.
Only time will reveal who will be responsible for building this future, but it may be a good time to crack open your favorite no-code tools and prepare to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. Whether or not a dream job materializes, you’ll surely have a lot of fun learning and probably find a few creative solutions to your own problems along the way.
Quick bits
💰Modeling potential financial outcomes for startup founders in Causal
Causal is a very impressive tool that allows simple creation of financial, investment, business, and marketing models within a nice visual interface. The tool excels at handling ranges and time durations, so it is quite simple to model out multiple scenarios and determine a range of potential outcomes.
Getting started with Causal is a simple process, made simpler because they offer a variety of pre-built templates that can be cloned and easily modified.
As an example, they recently worked with the prolific Tyler Tringas of Earnest Capital (investors in Makerpad, Jetboost, and others) to rebuild a founder break-even model using Causal. This tool will be worth a browse if you’re trying to decide whether to turn that side project into a full-time startup or stick with the day job.
🤝The NoCodeDevs community rolls out a lifetime PRO membership
The NoCodeDevs community, a social network for no-code makers, recently announced that they are launching a re-imagined version 2.0. They’re rebuilding from the ground up with plans to launch October 1.
To celebrate–and probably to generate momentum for the sizable undertaking–they’re offering lifetime NoCodeDevs PRO memberships for only $9.99. After creating a free account and spending about 15 minutes browsing the discussion threads, the supportive attitude and collaborative nature of the community members are very impressive. It didn’t take very long to realize that this is a bargain for lifetime access to a community that has the potential to be unique. The paid tutorials, monthly boot camp sessions, and how-to videos are a bonus.
It will be exciting to participate and observe as the community grows over time.
Next issue
What does the term no-code (or nocode or low code) actually mean? Are we talking about tools, philosophies, a new product development paradigm, or all of the above?
That’s all for this issue. Thanks for reading. We hope it gave you some things to think about and inspires you to get out there and build!
Please let us know what you liked, what you didn’t like, and point out anything we missed. You can drop a comment below, and we’re always listening on Twitter @nocodemethod.
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