The Growing Power of No-Code/Low-Code Software Development

In a digital world, the ability to code – to train a computer, using its own language – is key, hence the enormous push to make people literate in programming languages. “Don’t just play on your phone,” urged President Barack Obama in 2013, “program it.”  But today the demand for digital applications outstrips the programming talent. The became especially clear during COVID-19, when digital accessibility became a necessity. Enter low-code and no-code application development: Platforms where software is configured visually, using drag and drop interfaces. They’re faster and cheaper to use than traditional coding, but how well do they work?   On today’s Brainstorm, Brian O’Keefe and Fortune’s Robert Hackett discuss the promise of low-code and no-code platforms, and how they've stood the test of emergency situations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Laela Sturdy is a general partner at CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund, which helps growth-stage tech companies scale. She says the attraction of these platforms is to enable creators and non-technical people to access the power and magic of code.   Michael Beckley is the Chief Technology Officer of Appian, the first company to go public as a low-code vendor. He says low-code has the power to deliver clients perfectly tailored software in half the time.   Also in this episode, Veronica Soto, director of San Antonio’s Neighborhood and Housing Services Department describes digitizing an entire rental assistance program in a week, at the outset of the pandemic, in partnership with low-code platform Mendix.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices