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As the low-code market is set to boom in the coming years, consulting firms are taking on an increasingly important role in supporting their clients through their low-code digital journeys. Luke Thomas, Vice President Asia Pacific at Appian, outlines how consultants can guide their clients through the vendor selection process.
According to a recent market analysis, the estimated value of the global low-code development platform market is enjoying rapid growth. In 2020, the market is valued at $12.8 billion and is expected to grow to $125.8 billion by 2027.
Many enterprises choose a low-code platform for the speed, agility and security it brings to application development; however, clients will likely need help choosing the right supplier.
As with any growing market segment, there is a rapidly expanding group of low-code providers, many with similar products and services. Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each vendor and helping technology leaders identify the best option can be confusing and time-consuming and requires a focused approach.
So how can consultants guide and support their clients through this process?
Look for independent research
The first step is consultation with experts. Trusted analyst firms such as Forrester and Gartner offer unbiased assessments of the major low-code players, as do some technical news and media outlets.
Hear directly from customers
First-hand feedback is invaluable when it comes to measuring a supplier’s true performance. Here again, Gartner offers valuable insights, this time from real customers, in its low-code Peer Insights application platform. Other review sites where customers can rate the performance of low-code vendors include TrustRadius and G2.
Hold workshops
Once your client has created a shortlist, the next step is to help them compare and contrast suppliers to see how they stack up against each other. To do this effectively, you need to educate your vendors about your operations as well as learn about their offerings. They need to understand your processes, goals and unique challenges.
This can be achieved by holding a half-day or full-day workshop with each supplier to walk them through operations and key requirements.
Experience the platform in action
Once the workshops have identified a suitable platform, there are several ways to move forward:
- Request your own demo. Based on the findings from the workshop, your on-site team would work with the remote vendor team to design and iteratively configure a small representative application that would simulate the desired functionality and user experience.
- Do a proof of concept. A more practical approach, proof of concept, requires the vendor’s team to work on the project on-site with your development team at a set time. This allows you to experience the vendor’s platform in action as you build an application from start to finish.
- Start the proof-of-concept bake-off process. This is the same as above, except that you run the proof of concept at the same time with all the vendors you are considering. This provides an accurate comparison of features that are important to you, such as design complexity, speed, functionality or user experience.
Regardless of which option you choose, make sure that:
- Take a deep dive with each vendor to better understand the platform architecture and technical capabilities and gauge the experience your developers can expect.
- Visual designer tour. Again, you’ll want some hands-on time to get an idea of what your designers would see as they move through the various stages and iterations of the design.
- Get a free trial or a free basic version of the platform. Your developers can then work with the platform outside of a demo or proof-of-concept environment to better evaluate it in a more real-world environment.
Helping your clients choose the most appropriate low-code platform vendor requires focused research and gathering relevant information. You’ll know you’re working with the right vendor when they provide you and your client with everything needed to get started and the confidence that they can support the entire low-code journey.
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