Companies in the telecommunications business seem to be innovating constantly. No wonder, seeing how rapidly technology is advancing. It’s been only fifteen years since the release of 4G, only seven since we have been using 5G, and now we are already heading towards 6G, which has been announced as early as 2030. The never-ending race to conquer the next challenge is a direct consequence of the nature of the market. Telecom enterprises need to take care of their business goals by improving customer and partner experiences, reducing operational costs, and, of course, increasing revenue.
In order to innovate and win in the information technology arena, telecommunication companies have only two options for transforming core systems. Firstly, they can opt for a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) customizable upgrade or, secondly, completely rebuild current outdated systems in-house with traditional coding. Both options are often developed in technology silos, leading to incoherence with business needs and requiring expensive and time-consuming resources as well as skilled staff.
Fortunately, there is a third option that can help businesses quickly generate different applications that will transform their core systems. These digital technologies that assist telecommunications enterprises in efficiently developing everything, from mobile apps to complex workflows, are known as low-code/no-code (LCNC). But first, how do low-code and no-code models work?
Simplifying Telecom Solutions with LCNC
Low-code and no-code telecom models are based on—and built upon—development platforms. These “low maintenance” software tools allow developers to create new apps, portals, e-commerce, CRM, website widgets, and more by adopting some very straightforward elements. They are composed of visual components, such as drag-and-drop widgets that you can easily customize, scale, and link to create more complicated models and systems such as mobile or web apps.
Low-code and no-code components allow professional developers and novices to quickly create a software element without writing code line by line. They are mostly popular among business analysts and small business owners—people with little to no knowledge of coding, programming languages, or any sort of development work.
The Impact of Low-Code/No-Code Platforms on Turnaround Time
The epic shortage of skilled developers contributed to the rise of low-code/no-code platforms. More than ever, there is a need to improve turnaround time for development projects to solve business problems, as the market moves almost at lightning speed. Low-code and no-code development tools are extremely popular due to their convenience, deployment speeds, and affordability. These systems typically use a user-friendly graphical interface and drag-and-drop features to combine components and third-party application program interfaces (APIs). Application builders can rearrange and repeatedly test modules until the app works as expected.
Leveraging LCNC Platforms for Competitive Advantage
LCNC is a relatively new concept. However, according to insights from SlashData Q1 2022 and Q3 2023 global developer surveys, we see that 57% of developers use low- or no-code tools in their projects instead of 46% eighteen months prior. Additionally, more than a third of respondents disclosed they use such elements for at least 25% of their development assignments.
So, what exactly does LCNC mean for professional developers? Any action or step that reduces the need for manual coding or rewriting of a code can be considered an LCNC. Low or no code modules help create user interfaces and business processes, business logic in an enterprise bean, or write reusable code, ultimately reducing software development time.
For leaders, low-code platforms enable their IT and other cross-functional teams to surpass traditional deployment schedules, and time is money, as they say. Therefore, LCNC platforms allow businesses to stay ahead of the competition by quickly adapting and serving customers. On another ladder in the hierarchy, low-code platforms make lives easier for employees by helping them complete their tasks precisely and in less time, resulting in mutual satisfaction for all parties included in the project.
| The Potential of LCNC ➡️ | Reduce the costs for entry and deployment. | Shorten development cycles | Lower maintenance responsibility | Robust built-in governance |
| Democratize software development | Elevate Customer Experience | Combine your existing legacy system. | Improve productivity | Create prototypes quicker |
LCNC Efficiency in Micro UI Creation and Front-End Development
Due to all these benefits and working speed, LCNC is becoming increasingly popular among decision-makers in the IT industry. Statista says the global market revenue was almost 22.5 billion USD in 2022 and will likely reach 32 billion USD in 2024.
As a drag-and-drop or plug-and-play design technique that enables the creation of reusable components with minimal coding, it is no surprise it is quickly gaining popularity. It is a quick, efficient and accessible tool developers can leverage to build micro UI in minutes. Also, front-end code components appear almost instantly to ensure mobile apps are faster to assemble and release.
However, although components are easy to implement across multiple channels, low code still works best when we need to speed up development with something that does not drive significant business value. For example, companies can build customer experiences with low code to gain several advantages. From the ability to build on top of traditional legacy systems to upgraded UI tools, low-code platforms have the potential to improve customer satisfaction, retention, and revenue.
Navigating the Hurdles of Low-Code Development
Despite all its perks and buffers, low-code development does not go smoothly or seamlessly for many. LCNC implementation requires a mindset shift from telecom decision-makers to efficiently build, reuse, and combine existing parts for various new applications. Businesses that need to take advantage of low code correctly must set up future-proof foundations and prepare to easily incorporate third-party parts, regardless of whether they already use an LCNC platform.
1. Integrating LCNC, AI/ML, and Modern Analytics for Long-Term Success
While it is important for organizations to realize that digital transformations take time, since the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have felt additional pressure to speed up those initiatives. Again, that is where LCNC comes into play, with exceptionally easy-to-use, safe-to-implement and cheap-to-execute features. So, when developing a multi-year strategy, organizations must thoroughly understand how artificial intelligence/machine learning can contribute to their plans. Beyond that, there is also the matter of complex modern analytics such as data lakes and many other technological advancements organizations to keep up with. A clear innovation roadmap is the source of the LCNC components used in ICS.
2. A Balancing Act with BSS Transformation
On a less positive note, LCNC is not a solution to all your problems. When it comes to transforming business support systems (BSS), leaders must rely on more than just low-code, no-code models if they want to grow at scale, as critical applications may need maturing before low-code/no-code development can take effect. But there is a fortunate solution to this, since developers can opt for LCNC components that interlock more easily with non-low-code systems and wrap legacy systems. That way, they increase the chances for seamless integration with other LCNC components inside their organization. Even with all these hurdles and overrides, low code still beats traditional rapid app development when it comes to the creation of reusable components for different apps.
3. Effective Architecture and Testing
LCNC component-based framework allows the creation of reusable components for different apps. Since rapid application development (RAD) has its limitations in third-party tool integration, as well as in app-specific application programming interfaces (APIs), LCNC enters the picture to overcome these constraints. As explained above, it is a very flexible and scalable solution for building various applications, and as demand increases, more sophisticated LCNC development methods emerge. All we need is the right architecture and testing ecosystem to pave the way for these innovations. Then, we will be able to confidently and quickly build vital applications.
4. Compliance with IT standards?
A developer’s best when building an enterprise application development platform is to keep it open for integration and building. In 2024, IT leaders can no longer afford to keep their applications self-contained, freestanding, or isolated. Instead, they must invest in a mature, low-code platform that also needs to be highly agile so they can meet as many market needs or developments. The IT landscape is multiplex and dynamic, and it promises to only develop new levels of complexity as technology advances. Therefore, low-code has to be flexible enough to easily integrate with core and legacy systems while staying open for new technology integration, and we just might achieve limitless possibilities.
Adapting to Tomorrow: Rethinking Application Architecture for the 6G Era
As an adaptable, affordable, visually automated approach, LCNC also allows non-programmers to create new applications quickly and with minimal involvement of IT specialists, catering to its business-specific systems and processes.
In summary, CIOs should start rethinking their application architecture as new infrastructure and platforms emerge and 5G services continue to evolve towards 6G. Modern applications urge a different approach than they did five years ago, demanding portable, secure, and platform-independent features. All-encompassing flexibility is necessary, especially in deployment, whether developers opt for on-premise or cloud. In that vein, an LCNC-based BSS can help CIOs avoid issues building their applications.
With LCNC, developers can deploy applications in-house, in the cloud, and even a combination. This flexible application architecture is crucial in creating future-proof applications so that they can try to keep pace with the ever-changing, fast-moving business environment that never ceases to innovate.
