CV_MarApr_22_2

By Mike Fitzmaurice Putting modern low-code tools in the hands of professionals (we’re not talking about citizen developers but people who develop applications for a living) generally results in a dramatic boost in application/solution delivery. It’s an observable pattern. It shouldn’t be controversial. So why do many channel providers remain surprisingly traditional when it comes to delivering software for customers? It’s commonplace to see integrators sticking with either classic commercial offerings or selling large-scale monolithic development projects, even when both represent a missed opportunity compared to low-code. Let’s dig in to understand why. There are twin rationales for choosing commercial-off-theshelf (COTS) solutions or large custom development, and they’re often diametrically opposed. Commercial software has the aura of being “proven,” making the initial sale easier and allowing systems integrators to offload updates (or perceived shortcomings) onto the commercial vendors. The value-add comes from configuration and integration – a relatively quick in-and-out sale – plus a cut of the subscription fees that represent recurring revenue – at least initially. Mind you, you’ve delivered something that just about anyone else could have delivered. Moreover, after the next renewal, future revenue is likely to go directly to the vendor – not to you. Monolithic development projects are the opposite – expensive, bespoke solutions designed to address significant customer challenges. The service revenue and delivery timeframe also are large. Superficially, that can seem like a good thing to a systems integrator or service provider; they get a long-term development project with significant revenue hours. But the message being sent is, “We have no EMERGENT Benefits SMBs Gain from Using Low-code/No-code Have seen greater business agility 79% Saw improved time to market 56% Noted higher personal/team productivity 53% Overcame the capability limitations of SaaS/COTS solutions 34% Source: Accenture Low-Code Changing the Game for Systems Integrators 10 CHANNELV ISION | MARCH - APRIL 2022

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