No-code and low-code platforms that enable code-free application development are expected to support next-generation hyperautomation. Solution companies are rushing to offer various no-code solutions and low-code services, empowering not only IT professionals but also non-technical business technology leaders to strengthen their digital capabilities.

According to Gartner, the global low-code development technology market is projected to reach $26.9 billion in 2023, a 19.6% increase from 2022. The growing number of business technology professionals and the rise of hyperautomation and composable business initiatives across the enterprise are expected to be key drivers accelerating the adoption of low-code technologies through 2026.

In particular, low-code application platforms (LCAPs) are expected to grow by 25% in 2023, reaching a market size of approximately $10 billion. This is expected to become the largest component of the low-code development technology market.

“As demand for rapid application delivery and highly customized automated workflows grows, more and more enterprises are turning to low-code development technologies to meet this demand,” said Varsha Mehta, senior market research specialist at Gartner. “Both professional IT developers and non-IT business technology professionals can now use a variety of low-code tools to achieve the digital capabilities and delivery velocity required in modern agile environments.”

When segmenting the market, the largest segment is low-code application platforms (LCAPs), but citizen automated development platforms (CADPs) are projected to be the fastest-growing segment, growing 30.2% in 2023.

Common use cases for CADP include workflow automation, building web-based forms, connecting data and content across multiple software-as-a-service applications, and generating reports and visualizing data.

“The high cost of technical talent and the rise of hybrid or borderless workforces will drive the adoption of low-code technologies,” said Jason Wong, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. “Empowered by the intuitive capabilities of low-code development tools, business and citizen technology professionals are developing lightweight solutions, often working as integrated teams, to meet their needs for increased productivity, efficiency and agility.”

Gartner predicts that by 2026, at least 80% of the low-code development tool user base will be part of a formal IT department.It is expected that “these will be external developers, not affiliated with the company,” which is an increase from 60% in 2021.

Hyperautomation and composability, which drive low-code adoption, have been driving continued interest due to: increasing demand for operational optimization; widening skills gaps; and increasing economic pressures.

Gartner predicts that spending on software technologies enabling hyperautomation will reach $720 billion by 2023. A portion of this spending will go to low-code development technologies such as LCAP, iPaaS, RPA, CADDP, and MXDP to support process automation, integration, decision analytics, and intelligence use cases.

Investments in low-code technologies that support innovation and composable integration are also expected to increase as organizations embrace the composable enterprise. Composable enterprises need to more efficiently reuse existing packaged business capabilities (PBCs) to build agile application development and customized user experiences for new workflows and processes.

“Low-code development technologies are supporting composable enterprises by enabling the development of more agile and resilient software solutions,” Wong said. “These technologies enable organizations to compose and reconfigure modular components and PBCs to create adaptive, custom applications that meet evolving business needs.”