The Compelling Need for Low-Code in Legacy Application Modernization

India is on the brink of a technological revolution, with millions of dollars in investments flooding into the country for not only physical infrastructure but also for digital tools. Just last year, CII-Colliers revealed that the country’s data centre industry will witness investments of over $10 billion in the next 3 years, solidifying India’s bid to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027.

With technology at the centre of India’s transformation initiatives, it is imperative that its base digital infrastructure undergoes transformation if the nation hopes to achieve its goals. However, in this quest to become a digital leader lies a huge challenge: legacy systems. Even today, in many organisations, legacy systems are still used to run daily processes and are a huge hurdle in the path of digital transformation. Legacy systems not only consume a significant portion of IT budgets but also make businesses incapable of adapting to fast-changing customer needs. Additionally, these systems are also vulnerable to cyberattacks as they rely on outdated protocols. This is a critical concern for many Indian businesses that operate in an increasingly connected world.

Methods of legacy application transformation and the value of low-code platforms

Depending on the need, several methods exist to transform legacy applications. For example, many organisations decide to do a complete rewrite, starting from scratch to build a new system using modern technologies and architectures. While this approach allows for a clean slate and eliminates outdated code and design, it comes with high costs and significant business disruption during the transition. Some organisations may also opt to migrate the application to a new platform or infrastructure while maintaining the existing code. While re-platforming can be less costly and time-consuming compared to a complete rewrite, there are challenges related to compatibility issues with the new platform and limited modernization of the old code.

There is another compelling method that has gained huge traction in recent times. Low-code visual software development, which helps developers accelerate the software development process using a friendly and intuitive drag-and-drop process. The low-code development approach offers organisations the ability to modernise their core systems without the cost and risk of traditional development approaches.

Let us look at some of the common legacy systems that are prevalent in most organisations today and understand how low-code platforms can be used effectively. In most companies, legacy systems often struggle to keep pace with the dynamic requirements of modern businesses, leading to inefficiencies, security gaps, and slow time-to-market for critical applications.

Additionally, companies utilising Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems understand the value of tailoring their core applications to suit specific business needs, but these customisations can be expensive and upgrades are normally complex. High-performance low-code platforms offer a way to modernise traditional ERP platforms by enabling cloud-based innovation alongside legacy systems, gradually phasing out old applications as new components come online. These platforms also allow for extending legacy ERP applications with modern web and mobile interfaces without costly, specialised development. Similarly, in-house enterprise systems can face challenges in adding new features over time. Here too, low-code platforms can be used to create new solutions and get over the hurdle of a software product vendor’s support discontinuation.

Another big advantage of a low-code platform is its ability to abstract complex coding tasks into intuitive visual interfaces, which allows developers of varying skill levels to collaborate seamlessly. This democratisation of software development not only accelerates time-to-market but also reduces the risk of errors and vulnerabilities commonly associated with manual coding. Low-code platforms also incorporate built-in security features and compliance protocols, which ensure that applications developed on these platforms adhere to industry best practices and regulatory standards. This proactive approach to security helps mitigate risks and strengthens the overall resilience of applications in an increasingly risky digital environment. With low-code development platforms, organisations also have the ability to transition from outdated applications to create new internal and external portal applications as optimised web or mobile apps.

Revolutionising digital infrastructure with low-code

In conclusion, high-performance low-code development platforms offer a streamlined approach to modernising legacy systems, reducing technical debt, and improving data accessibility. With the advantage of pre-built connectors, web services, and application programming interfaces (APIs) that seamlessly harmonise data sources, low-code platforms empower organisations to easily navigate the complexities of legacy modernization. Embracing low-code platforms is not just for catching up with the latest technology trends; it’s imperative to unlock a gateway to innovation and accelerate business growth.