You can't today browser any well-known tech news website or open YouTube without seeing Low Code Article or Ad. Now, I don't have anything against Low Code platforms I think they are a great tool to build MVP products and can save a ton of money and time instead of building an app from scratch. But, what is being advertised by some of the platforms is what driving me crazy as they promise something while the truth is a different story. Let's start by breaking the pieces down about the Low Code platforms. They are ready-made components websites that let you build apps or websites. The best thing happened in the p[ast few years. Anyone with no technical knowledge can now build an app or a website. Beyond amazing and a good step forward in our future. But, the biggest problem with these platforms is you are not in control in any way. You can't add this or that you are limited to the platform options and what they provide. You can get outdated easily without any kind of control over this. You don't know how your data is stored or even where. What if your app needs to apply if you have EU users? GDPR They might say oh we are applying it and in reality, they are not. And if you get caught that is a law suite you don't want to have! How is secure the platform? are they using TLS instead of SSL? Are they even hashing the passwords for user password? Guess what I saw many times all over the world companies, store the password in plain text. They even place it on the browser cookies! How can you extend your application? Can you provide outside world access to your data or services? How can you provide 3rd Party integration? How you can integrate 3rd party with it? They might request a certain amount of payments that exceed the cost of creating an app from scratch. So, where is the Disaster? The Disaster is when a company creates their ERP or Core Work on a Low Code Platform without any guarantee that this platform will stay running for the next few years! How many startups fail? 90% of them in the first 5 years. A lot of Low Code Platforms are just new startups! So you have a 90% chance of failing your product or app with no backup or a chance to export your work in any way! Creating an app from scratch is expensive and takes time. But, you have full control over your app. You can make sure your app secure and data is stored safely. You can do whatever you like add whatever you and whatever you like. No 3rd party risk, heck if the software vendor you are dealing with closes you can take the source code to another one. You have total control. So, I should not use Low Code Platform? No, use them for your MVP. In fact, since 90% of startups fail I would never hire software developers if I open a startup. I will create an MVP using Low Code Platform until I have enough income to cover from scratch development. MVPs are supposed to be easy fast and cheap or free. Building your core competencies on Low Code Platform is a very risky business. Many new companies are heading toward Low Code Platform to cust cost. Well, you will save upfront and pay the debt later on. And what I see small companies are the main users of this technology and they will face huge problems in the upcoming years. Previously published at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/low-code-upcoming-disaster-amr-swalha
