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This article focuses on "how to look at the nature of low code from the perspective of SaaS". Interested friends may wish to take a look at it. The method introduced in this paper is simple, fast and practical. Let's let the editor take you to learn "how to look down on the nature of code from the perspective of SaaS".

Low code has always been the efficiency goal and evolution direction of software development. Traditional software and SaaS giants have already entered the low code development platform, such as SAP, Oracle, Kingdee, Yuyou, Salesforce, ServiceNow and so on. Domestic SaaS companies, such as Mingdaoyun, Dianxuan and easy sales, are also entering the industry and business from APaaS.

This low-code concept, which has been nothing new for 20 years, has suddenly become popular recently.

In June 2018, OutSystems announced that it had received $360 million in investment from KKR and Goldman Sachs, valuing it at over $1 billion and becoming the new unicorn. In August of the same year, the low-code development platform Mendix was acquired by Siemens for $700 million, which pushed the low-code platform into a small and exciting part. Internet and cloud service giants also add to low-code platforms, such as Google, AWS and Microsoft abroad, as well as Aliyun, Tencent Cloud and Huawei Cloud in China, as well as a number of cloud hitchhikers.

Is the era of low code coming, or is it another round of conceptual hype?

01 Commercial evolution of low code platform

As the name implies, the so-called low code is a rapid software development tool, which is mainly used to develop enterprise software systems. With the help of low code or zero code, users can complete the development, maintenance and expansion of enterprise systems without complex coding.

Since the birth of software, low code has been the direction of efforts to improve software productivity. With the comprehensive arrival of the information age, the supply and demand of IT services and software productivity are low, which has become the main contradiction restricting the development of the industry. Under this background, low code also began to rise.

Many low-code platform companies believe that according to this evolution path, domestic low-code development platforms will soon become the mainstream mode of production in the field of software and SaaS. Although this view is in the right direction, it also ignores the law of the development of the low-code market, that is, it is a continuous process from an advanced production mode to a complete industrial closed loop. In fact, this is not the case. The following picture illustrates a new technology model that needs to bridge several market gaps before it can become the mainstream of the mass market.

In other words, because the process is discontinuous, not all low-code platforms can reach the commercial end point, and some may fall into the market trap caused by discontinuity.

If a low-code platform is to become mainstream in the industry, it must go through four market stages:

(1) geek groups

That is, a small circle of low-code technical enthusiasts or followers, such as the current domestic SaaS circle. Although there is no need to promote in the circle, mutual recognition is high, but this can not be called a market.

(2) early adopters

The first step in the success of low code is to gain access to the few users in the market who are looking for innovation and change. Although they are small in number and do not generate sufficient revenue for low-code platform companies, they play an important role in verifying the commercial effectiveness of low-code products.

(3) early mass market

Owning an early mass market is one of the most important signs of low code commercialization. There are already a considerable number of mature users in this market, and successful low-code platform companies can get sufficient commercial returns.

(4) late mass market

In the later stage, the mass market is a mature and popular market of low code; if the public recognizes and fully accepts the low code platform, the market leaders will get monopoly benefits.

02 Development of low Code platform in China

From the perspective of commercial evolution, it is obvious that the foreign low-code market has already passed the early adopter stage and entered the early mass market, or even the later mass market. In the domestic low-code market, a few companies have entered the early adopter stage, while most of them are still in the geek group stage.

The technical nature of low code does not lie in the amount of coding, but in the low code platform. PaaS, which supports the rapid establishment of applications, is called APaaS (Application PaaS) in order to distinguish it from the general concept of PaaS.

If it is subdivided in the technical direction, the low-code development platform can be divided into two main technology paths, which are form-driven and model-driven. Among them, the form driver uses form data to define the business, through the establishment of multiple forms, the use of processes to concatenate forms, and define the way of report output. Model-driven defines business logic through modeling, so it can deal with more complex business logic.

The business support capabilities of the two technology routes are actually very different, even if the difference is not obvious in the geek group and early adopters market; but for a low-code platform to enter the mass market, a model-driven low-code platform is indispensable.

The origin of domestic low-code platforms mainly comes from two ways: one is the development direction that purely aims at low-code platforms, such as Mingdaoyun, and the other is its own business development platform, which opens its business development capabilities to the outside world and becomes a low-code development platform for a certain business area (such as CRM).

Different origins create different capabilities, that is, professional business capabilities and general development capabilities. In fact, in order to achieve the balance of these two capabilities, these low-code platforms can not be completely model-driven; but on the basis of form-driven, they all add some business modeling capabilities, for example, you can customize business objects. This ability has helped them leapfrog the early adopter stage and enter the early mass market.

Because the APaaS derived from the business platform is limited to specific business areas, such as CRM's APaaS is usually limited to the CRM domain, the market pays more attention to pure low-code platform vendors.

03 business model of low code platform

There is no doubt about the value of low-code platform to improve software production efficiency, but how to realize its value is an urgent problem for domestic low-code platform companies.

For business-oriented low-code platform vendors, their revenue mainly comes from business applications rather than platforms, so their users are mainly ISV and implementation partners, and low code makes it easier for partners to integrate and deliver. The original manufacturer's ultimate goal is to obtain income by providing product-based services; its business partners also obtain corresponding income, such as ISV products and services, implementation fees and so on. Although end-users can also develop and maintain their own business applications on APaaS, it does not bring much revenue to the original manufacturers.

For general-purpose low-code platform manufacturers, because there are no application products to sell, their revenue model is mainly around the ecological income of the platform. Many low-code platforms are trying to promote users'IT autonomy, that is, end users can develop their own business completely without the restrictions of manufacturers' standardized products. In fact, this is a big promotion misunderstanding. The technical feasibility and the realization of the business model are two different things. The business goal of low-code vendors is not to lower the technical threshold for customers, but to pursue the best profit model; otherwise, they will not be able to enter the early mass market.

Even from the customer's point of view, it's easy to figure this out. In a mass market, customers have only one purchase purpose, that is, to buy a system or service that meets their business goals, and they do not care how the system or service is produced. Won't customers develop their own business on a low-code platform? This is the case, but mainly in the early adopter market stage, so it can not be used as a business model.

The low-code platform, which is in the early adopter stage, provides systems or services to end users in a low-cost and efficient way, which is the core value of the domestic low-code platform. Experienced low-code platform manufacturers have accelerated the layout around this business core. Mingdaoyun, for example, has incubated more than 200 business partners, including ISV and implementation partners, in less than a year, of which more than 60 have obtained service qualifications and generated new signing and renewal income in line with expectations.

04 the essence of low code platform

If low code is discussed from a programmer's point of view, the low code platform is just an efficient development environment, which is not worth discussing. Low code is really suspected of hype.

Although low code can improve the efficiency of software development, it is not the commercial nature of low code. We know that the success of an enterprise software or SaaS does not depend on the efficiency of development, but on business solutions.

Therefore, the real essence of low code is the benefit of the solution.

It can be said that leading SaaS solutions require the production capacity of their own low code. First of all, without this capability, a SaaS cannot be delivered; because the implementation and delivery of SaaS must rely on a low-code / zero-code platform. Secondly, the customization and personalization of SaaS solutions also need to be implemented on an APaaS through business customization and configuration. From this point of view, it is not too much to say that low code / zero code is the antidote to SaaS.

On the contrary, the above logic is also true. That is, the benefits of low code can not be achieved by quickly accumulating some components together, but must rely on the solution, that is, the low code platform also needs its own business framework or methodology. This is why low-code platform companies such as Mingdaoyun pay special attention to consulting and programming capabilities when selecting and training business partners.

In fact, as a new mode of production and concept, low code is not limited to SaaS, but applies to all information fields. For example, the recently popular artificial intelligence company C3.ai is essentially a visual low-code platform in the field of AI; similarly, Snowflake, which we discussed earlier, is also a low-code platform in the field of data. Their value is not just a development environment, but the benefits of outputting solutions.

From a value point of view, the explosion of low-code platforms is not pure hype, but a significant evolutionary symbol in the field of information services.

At this point, I believe you have a deeper understanding of "how to look at the nature of low code from the perspective of SaaS". You might as well do it in practice. Here is the website, more related content can enter the relevant channels to inquire, follow us, continue to learn!

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