21 Sep 2023
by William Corfield

Low code AI in steering the future of productivity 

Guest blog from Will Corfield, Low Code Solutions at Microsoft. Part of the #SuperchargeUKTech Week 2023.

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Developers are the DNA of digital organisations, driving innovation at scale and modernising business operations. Like many other professionals, they are facing unique, evolving challenges in their workflows. As workloads increase, developers have had to navigate how to complete work more efficiently to keep up with the shifting landscapes of demands on their time and skills.  

At an organisational level, businesses are actively seeking innovative technological solutions to address these challenges. The demand for low-code solutions is skyrocketing with more than 87% of organisations having already adopted or planning to adopt these tools¹. This strong adoption rate highlights the growing recognition of low code’s significance in enabling innovation. In fact, global low-code development revenue is projected to increase 20% in 2023², underlying the increasing utility and necessity of these tools for driving continuous innovation.  

Within this landscape, AI-assisted development has become a paramount tool, helping developers streamline the development process, enhance productivity, and unlock new levels of innovation. AI-assisted development refers to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies into the development workflow to augment and support developers’ tasks.  

1.6x  More likely to engage non-technical employees in creating AI applications⁴ 

AI high performing organisations are 1.6 times more likely to engage non-technical employees in creating AI applications using emerging low-code or no-code programs, which speeds up the creation of AI applications⁴. Organisations are witnessing increased business efficiency and value through these tools, enabling them to drive digital transformation and stay ahead in today’s competitive landscape. Harnessing the power of AI, businesses can deliver solutions faster and thrive in an era of rapid technological advancement. 

Leadership in implementing AI solutions 

Business decision-makers can empower their organisations’ digital transformation with AI capabilities. These capabilities help developers automate repetitive tasks, spend more time focusing on creative problem solving, and streamline the development process, providing an advantage over traditional development cycles. 

Accelerating development  

With faster development cycles, you can bring innovative solutions to market at an unprecedented speed, gaining a competitive advantage and capturing new opportunities swiftly. In a Microsoft survey of more than 4,000 employees and business decision makers, 89% of those who had access to automation and AI-powered tools said they felt more fulfilled because they could spend time on work that really matters.⁵ Using GitHub Copilot, 96% of professional developers report increased speed on what they would otherwise categorize as repetitive tasks.⁶ 

Creating satisfying work & productivity  

In addition to increasing speed, next-generation AI can unlock new levels of productivity. In a survey, GitHub research found 88% of developers were not only able to get tasks done more quickly using AI-powered GitHub Copilot, but also 74% said it enabled them to focus on more satisfying work,⁶ leading to enhanced productivity.  

Optimising costs 

Traditional development cycles often come with significant resource investments, leading to higher costs. However, embracing AI-assisted development processes can drive substantial cost optimisation. These tools effectively automate manual tasks, reduce debugging efforts, and optimise resource allocation, resulting in significant cost savings. Developers who leverage GitHub Copilot, for instance, report achieving tasks in 55% less time compared to those who don’t, directly translating into reduced development costs. By incorporating cost-effective measures through AI-assisted tools, you can achieve optimal cost efficiency while enhancing your development practices. 

“The app I built in Power Apps isn’t complex, but it definitely solved a complex business problem.” 

Darina Nolan - Process Improvement Lead in the finance business unit at Vodafone

Darina’s app was used to reduce customer payments managed by her team by 40%⁷. Not bad for someone with no previous development training or experience. Through leveraging low-code AI capabilities, organisations can innovate and save valuable time and effort and stay ahead in a fast-paced, digital landscape. 

Microsoft Power Platform  

Microsoft is already reporting that the Microsoft Power Platform has delivered exceptional results for companies that develop digital solutions using these tools. With an impressive 140% ROI and 45% cost reduction in app development, businesses utilizing Power Platform have experienced tangible benefits³.  

45%  cost reduction with Microsoft Power Platform in app development³ for organisations that develop digital solutions using these tools. 

AI and Copilots: a whole new way of working 

Power Platform’s low-code AI features empower all developers, regardless of how much code-first experience they have, to actively contribute to application development. This democratization of development enhances your organisation’s agility and flexibility. With the ability to use natural language to create digital solutions and develop in new ways, business users can quickly build applications without extensive coding expertise and respond rapidly to changing business requirements. They can use Copilot in Power Platform to explain what type of app they want to create while also leveraging developer feedback through natural language to refine the app. 

By harnessing the power of AI, Power Platform’s tools enable your organisation to accelerate the development process. These tools automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, minimizing the effort required to create applications and features. With Copilot in Power Apps, for example, users can build model-driven apps from scratch in under five minutes using conversational, natural language interactions, a process that would otherwise take hours. 

For more information, or to get in touch, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft/ai 


Refences 

1.Forrester’s Developer Survey, 2022; Base: 476 C-Level Developers 

2.Gartner forecasts worldwide low-code development technologies market to grow 20% in 2023. Gartner. December 13, 2022.  

https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-12-13-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-low-code-development-technologies-market-to-grow-20-percent-in-2023 

3.The Total Economic Impact™ of Microsoft Power Platform Premium Capabilities. Forrester. August 2022. https://info.microsoft.com/ww-landing-forrester-tei-of-power-platform-premium-capabilities.html 

4.The state of AI in 2022--and a half decade in review. McKinsey & Company. December 6, 2022.https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai-in-2022-and-a-half-decade-in-review 

5.AI: A Whole New Way of Working. WorkLab Forecast. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/ai-a-whole-new-way-of-working 

6.Research: Quantifying GitHub CoPilot’s impact on developer productivity and happiness. GitHub Blog. September 7, 2022.https://github.blog/2022-09-07-research-quantifying-github-copilots-impact-on-developer-productivity-and-happiness/ 

7.Vodafone employees achieve big productivity gains with Power Platform while maintaining high governance standards. Microsoft Customer Stories. April 2022. https://customers.microsoft.com/en-us/story/1490432735410264190-vodafone-telecommunications 

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Authors

William Corfield

Low Code Solutions, Microsoft