Low-Code at Scale for the Enterprise
There are quite a few “low-code”, even some “no code” platforms available to customers that can replace the “old school” practice of writing custom software solutions for businesses and they are gaining new customers on a regular basis. These platforms are not magic, though, and enterprise architects, system owners, program managers and business stakeholders must take steps to ensure that the proper team and processes are in place to scale low-code for the enterprise.
The purpose of these low-code platforms is multi-faceted, with the primary goals being to accelerate application development and provide a platform where multiple applications can be built and deployed (we will talk about multi application enterprise performance in another article). Low-code solutions also mean that a team of full stack software engineers is not required to build the application from scratch; business analysts and developers certified on the platform of choice are often chosen to develop these low-code solutions.
While these platforms deliver on most of their promises, bear in mind that just like writing custom software solutions there are special considerations when building applications for the enterprise that must be addressed.
Building Low-Code at Scale
When building software solutions for the enterprise, scalability and stability of the application must be addressed. This is true especially when the application is being developed using a low-code platform. Generally, modern low-code platforms are architected to scale with the power of the cloud. However, the design of the applications running on the platform and how these applications utilize the platform’s resources can still create issues with performance. If best practices are not followed, performance problems and slow response times can be seen in even some smaller scale applications, let alone a large organization or enterprise.
The right team is crucial for scaling Low-Code applications
When developing for the enterprise, the best teams include specialized resources who have their own unique responsibilities for ensuring app performance. Enterprise applications should have a data architect, database administrator, and a performance testing team in order to ensure that the application and the platform will handle the load and throughput generated by the users.
Data Architects are responsible for building data models that will scale, they will also ensure that referenced data has a clear, identifiable connection with parent data. This means that when more complex data objects are created the views used to back these data models will have low execution times when queried.
Database Administrators know the ins-and-outs of the database (Oracle, MySQL, etc.) chosen to back the application. These specialists understand how to tune and optimize the database beyond good data architecture. These resources also have an immeasurable value when the need arises to build complex views or stored procedures.
Performance Test Engineers bring a very unique set of skills to the project. This team will execute performance tests and report any slow response times to the development team. Depending on their skill level and familiarity with the specific platform, some performance test engineers will even offer solutions to resolve these issues.
Putting it all together for optimal performance
Once the team is in place, iterative application development can begin. With a low-code platform, development can be tasked to business analysts and developers who are certified on the platform, with the proper oversight from the rest of the team. The best programs will have a set of processes in place to ensure quality, both functional and performance-oriented, throughout all stages of the development cycle. By integrating data architects, DBAs, and performance test engineers along the way, performance issues can be identified early, and the system will be designed and built from the ground up to scale to meet the demands of the enterprise – at launch and into the future.
Vision Point Systems has one of the premier performance testing teams in the industry. We specialize in making sure your system will realize all of the benefits it’s set out to accomplish. If you’d like to learn more about our performance testing team and how your organization can achieve optimal performance for Low-Code at scale with our help, visit our website.
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