How Low-Code Platforms are Revolutionising Enterprise IT: The OutSystems Advantage

The rapid pace of technological advancement is forcing enterprises to rethink how they approach IT. Traditional development models, while reliable in the past, are increasingly becoming a hindrance in today’s fast-moving business environment. Companies are seeking more agile, scalable, and efficient ways to develop and deploy applications, integrate complex systems, and drive innovation.

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Low-code platforms like OutSystems are playing a critical role in this transformation, providing enterprises with the tools they need to build applications quickly, reduce technical debt, and modernise IT infrastructure without the complexity of traditional coding methods. In this article, we’ll explore how low-code platforms are revolutionising enterprise IT and how OutSystems is leading the charge in empowering businesses to innovate faster, reduce costs, and stay competitive.

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Data Insights: The Shift to Low-Code in Enterprise IT

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1. Market Growth?

According to Gartner, low-code application platforms will account for more than 65% of all application development activity by 2024. The global low-code market is projected to reach ￡37 billion by 2025, driven by the need for faster, more agile development and reduced reliance on traditional IT resources.

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2. Increased Developer Productivity ?

A survey by Forrester found that low-code platforms increased developer productivity by an average of 56%, allowing teams to accomplish more with fewer resources and reducing the need for extensive coding expertise.

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3. Faster Time-to-Market?

Enterprises using low-code platforms like OutSystems report a 60-70% reduction in development time, allowing businesses to bring new products, services, and features to market faster than ever before.

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Key Challenges in Enterprise IT and How Low-Code Platforms Solve Them

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1. Slow and Expensive Development Cycles

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Challenge:

Traditional development models require extensive coding, testing, and debugging, which often lead to slow development cycles and high costs. These long development timelines can result in missed market opportunities and slow adaptation to changing business needs.

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How OutSystems Solves It:?

OutSystems dramatically reduces development time by offering a visual development interface that allows both IT professionals and business users to create applications without the need for extensive coding. With built-in automation, testing, and deployment tools, OutSystems helps enterprises quickly build, iterate, and deploy applications at a fraction of the cost.

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Expert Insight: ?

David James, CIO at Digital Innovators Inc.

“Before adopting OutSystems, our development cycles took months. With OutSystems, we can now prototype, build, and deploy in weeks, and our development costs have decreased by 40%. It’s been a game-changer for our IT team.”

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Best Practice:?

Identify high-priority applications that require rapid development, such as customer-facing apps or internal tools that enhance operational efficiency. Use OutSystems to quickly build, test, and deploy these applications, ensuring your business stays agile in a fast-moving market.

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2. Integration with Legacy Systems

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Challenge:?

Many enterprises are still burdened by legacy systems that are costly to maintain and difficult to integrate with modern technologies. These systems create significant roadblocks for innovation, preventing businesses from fully realising the benefits of digital transformation.

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How OutSystems Solves It:?

OutSystems provides seamless integration capabilities, allowing businesses to connect new applications with legacy systems without needing a complete overhaul. This approach allows organisations to modernise their IT infrastructure incrementally, without disrupting core operations.

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Data Point:?

According to IDC, enterprises that modernised their legacy systems using OutSystems saw a 30-50% reduction in operational costs while improving system performance and scalability.

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Best Practice:

Use OutSystems to create new applications that integrate with your existing legacy systems. Start by building applications that address key pain points, such as customer portals, internal dashboards, or supply chain management tools, and gradually phase out legacy systems as newer solutions are adopted.

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3. Lack of IT Resources and Talent Shortages

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Challenge:?

Enterprises are facing increasing shortages of skilled IT professionals, particularly developers. Traditional development requires highly specialised skills, making it difficult for organisations to scale their IT operations or meet the growing demand for digital solutions.

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How OutSystems Solves It:

OutSystems democratises application development by enabling citizen developers (non-technical users) to build applications using the platform’s visual interface. This reduces the burden on IT teams, allowing businesses to scale their development efforts without needing large teams of specialised developers.

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Expert Insight:

Samantha Williams, VP of IT at FinServ Solutions ?

“OutSystems allowed us to empower our business teams to create their own applications, significantly reducing the workload on our IT department. This has enabled us to meet growing demand for digital solutions without increasing our headcount.”

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Best Practice: ?

Encourage cross-functional collaboration between IT and business teams by adopting OutSystems for citizen development. Train non-technical users to build applications that address their specific needs, while IT retains control over security, governance, and integration.

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4. High Technical Debt and Maintenance Costs

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Challenge:

Over time, many enterprises accumulate technical debt—the backlog of development work needed to fix issues, update legacy systems, or refactor poorly written code. This increases maintenance costs and slows down innovation, as IT teams are constantly focused on maintaining existing systems rather than building new ones.

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How OutSystems Solves It: ?

OutSystems significantly reduces technical debt by providing a platform that emphasizes clean, reusable components and modern development practices. With OutSystems, businesses can incrementally modernise their existing applications, reducing the need for frequent maintenance and enabling IT teams to focus on innovation.

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Data Point:

Companies using OutSystems report a 40-60% reduction in technical debt, enabling them to free up resources and focus on building new digital solutions.

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Best Practice:

Use OutSystems to refactor or rebuild legacy applications incrementally. Focus on high-maintenance areas that are causing performance issues or frequent downtimes, and leverage OutSystems to modernise these systems while reducing technical debt.

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The Business Impact of Low-Code Platforms on Enterprise IT

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1. Increased Agility and Flexibility

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Low-code platforms like OutSystems provide businesses with the agility they need to respond quickly to market changes. By reducing development cycles and enabling real-time iteration, enterprises can adapt to new opportunities and challenges faster than ever before.

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2. Improved Collaboration Between IT and Business

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OutSystems bridges the gap between IT and business teams by enabling collaboration through a shared development platform. Business users can participate in the development process, ensuring that applications meet both technical requirements and business goals.

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3. Reduced Operational Costs

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By automating manual processes, reducing development time, and eliminating technical debt, OutSystems helps businesses cut operational costs. According to Deloitte, enterprises using low-code platforms can save up to 40% on IT-related expenses, allowing them to reinvest in innovation and growth.

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4. Faster Time-to-Value

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Enterprises using OutSystems report significantly faster time-to-value for new digital initiatives. By building and deploying applications quickly, businesses can launch new products and services faster, improving customer satisfaction and gaining a competitive edge.

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Actionable Advice: How to Maximise the Impact of OutSystems in Your Enterprise IT Strategy

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1. Start Small and Scale Fast: ?

Begin by using OutSystems to build high-impact, high-priority applications, such as customer portals, mobile apps, or internal tools. Once you see success in these areas, scale the use of OutSystems across other parts of your business.

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2. Focus on Integration:?

Ensure that your OutSystems applications integrate seamlessly with your existing technology stack, including legacy systems and third-party applications. This will allow you to modernise incrementally without disrupting business operations.

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3. Leverage Citizen Developers: ?

Empower non-technical users to build applications that solve specific business problems. By enabling citizen developers to use OutSystems, you’ll reduce the burden on IT teams and accelerate innovation across the organisation.

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4. Adopt Agile Methodologies:

Use OutSystems to implement agile development practices, allowing your team to continuously iterate, test, and improve applications. This approach ensures that your digital solutions stay flexible and responsive to changing business needs.

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Conclusion: OutSystems is Revolutionising Enterprise IT

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The rise of low-code platforms like OutSystems is fundamentally changing the way enterprises approach IT. By reducing development times, minimising technical debt, and enabling greater collaboration between IT and business teams, OutSystems is empowering businesses to innovate faster, scale more efficiently, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

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For enterprises looking to modernise their IT infrastructure, build scalable applications, and reduce operational costs, adopting a low-code platform like OutSystems is not just a strategic advantage—it’s a necessity.

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Is your enterprise ready to embrace the low-code revolution??We’d love to hear your experiences and challenges with modernising IT and driving innovation.?Share your thoughts in the comments or reach out to learn more about how OutSystems can transform your enterprise IT strategy.