Does Low Code Live Up to the Hype? The CTO of Edelweiss, Rukesh Patel, Shares His Perspective

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Elizabeth Mixson
04/07/2021

By putting the power to innovate in the hands of non-technical professionals, low-code and non-code tools not only enable increased business/IT alignment and accelerate digital transformation efforts, they also help reduce the workloads of often over burdened software developers and engineers.

That being said, low-code tools are not without their downsides. Even if little to no code is required, low code tools still require extensive training. In addition, they’re not suitable for more complex use cases that require customization and optimized code.

Deciphering the when, where and how of low code implementation can be a deceptively difficult process. As Low Code Automation virtual event speaker and the CTO of Edelweiss, Rukesh Patel, puts it, “today it seems like everybody's pitching low-code, but when you get into the detail, you need to understand what you are actually getting and what you need. Because not every tool is fit for purpose. You’ve got to identify where it is suitable and where it's not.”

As with any new solution, Rukesh recommends that you start off small. Test it out on a few non-critical processes with people who are already experienced with low-code and, if things go well, iteratively expand.

Another major but often overlooked success factor is culture. By his own admission, Rukesh has not always put culture at the center of digital transformation and suffered the consequences. “I thought, if we get the strategy right, we should be able to push the strategy through. That just doesn't work,” he says. “See you want to build a momentum and, if you're doing the strategy first without having the culture right, the momentum is never going to kick in.”

Low-code implementations are only really successful if they’re incorporated into larger cultural transformations. Many CTOs, including Rukesh, talk about low code in conjunction with an agile culture. More specifically, a corporate culture that embodies the 4 key attributes outline in the agile manifesto: people over processes, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a plan. By combining such a culture with enabling technology such as low-code, companies can innovate at rapid speeds.

Beyond simply training people on what agile is and how to use low-code tools, Edelweiss also invested in certifying a large number of its employees in agile methodologies. Not only did this help ensure its workforce had the skills necessary to start developing their own low code applications, but helped a wide variety of workers evolve their skill sets and capitalize on new career opportunities.

However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. For a detailed overview of what successful low-code implementations require and how to build an agile, cloud-first enterprise, join us on May 18th for Rukesh Patel’s session on “Digital Transformation From The Mind Of The CTO.”