Gigabit January 2019

DIGITAL DISRUPTION
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that over 50% of the UK’s digital tech
businesses say they are facing
a shortage of skilled workers.
This is where low-code platforms
like Mendix offer an interesting
alternative. The idea behind it is simple:
low-code platforms allow firms to
create apps without the need to code.
Instead of writing lines of intricate
coding language, the platform uses
a more visual approach involving
drag-and-drop components and
graphics. This relieves highly-skilled
software developers so that they can
focus on more value-adding tasks,
helps firms develop vast amounts of
code quicker, and it also helps to
encourage collaboration across
departments creating what den Haan
describes as ‘BizDevOps.’ “We really
are changing the paradigm of how we
look at software development,” he
explains. “Low-code enables people to
build software up to 10 times faster
which solves part of the skills gap. You
also have greater collaboration: instead
of a programmer building the application
with input from someone in
business operations, people in the
business units can actually be part of
the development team. This is beneficial
as they’re able to bring a greater
JANUARY 2019