Authored by Sagar Vemala - Manager, Engineering, WaveMaker, Inc
In my experience working with multiple enterprises and ISVs from various domains, I find them caught in a familiar conundrum. While setting up efficient development practices, they invest significantly in a common framework for web, mobile UI, and backend systems. They aim for reusability, consistency, and reduced development time and effort.
However, a recurring pattern emerges over time. Development teams that were initially enthusiastic about their framework often become entangled in addressing immediate business needs. Maintenance and enhancement of the framework take a back seat, leading to a gradual decline in its effectiveness. Some organizations attempt to remedy this by allocating a separate team for ongoing framework maintenance, but this, too, comes with its set of challenges.
Despite the initial vision of reaping long-term benefits, teams frequently fall short due to the myriad activities involved. These include keeping the tech stack up-to-date, integrating the latest features, resolving issues for teams using this framework, and diligently documenting these changes. The eventual consequence is the abandonment of the dedicated team, leaving enterprises with the unexpected burden of maintaining and, in some cases, rewriting applications built on the now-neglected framework.
Enterprises often hesitate to explore no-code/low-code approaches, even though these solutions offer potential relief from the above-mentioned challenges. The primary reason for this hesitancy is the desire of development teams to have the option to extend and customize with real code, coupled with a flexible deployment model. The answer is unequivocally positive once they encounter the right set of tools that enable them to offload mundane tasks such as maintaining the tech stack and writing repetitive boilerplate code.
Moreover, they can swiftly construct tailored solutions without the need to invest substantial time in research or building common features such as security, RTL support, and ADA support, among others. Traditionally, development teams spend considerable time researching optimal libraries and implementation methods for these features. Any upgrades to these libraries or the emergence of superior alternatives require their attention and oversight. However, with the platform, these features are provided out of the box driven by configurations. Subsequent migrations and upgrades are seamlessly handled by the platform.
By adopting such a development platform, enterprises elevate the value they deliver to their business swiftly and with uncompromised quality. For ISVs, building products on this foundation enables seamless implementation and rapid entry into the market.
