Predictions for low-code development using RAD platforms!

It’s that time of the year!!  Predictions for Low-Code Development using RAD Platforms.
First of all wishing everyone a great new year and all the success for your products, services, customers, and partners! It is that time of the year, where many in the technology industry spend time penning down predictions on the future of technology and everything revolving around it.  In the past few days, I have read various predictions on technology, tech marketing, sales enablement, tech disruptions, Cyber Security, and the list goes on and on…
I thought to contribute one more prediction to the many, out there.
This blog is my personal take on what 2017 will look for the RAD (Rapid Application Development) and more specifically trends within Applications developed using such an approach. This is based on my experiences working with customers, partners, speaking to folks in this industry, and general analysis of the market trends.

Adoption

• More Enterprises will continue to invest heavily in searching, exploring, and concept proofing RAD for their own development needs.
• RAD will move from experimental discussion to a serious topic of discussion and consideration among architects, development leaders, and application influencers within enterprises as a way to increase productivity to develop Applications.
• While RAD and low-code development platforms came to being to democratize app development and continue to do so, we will see more professional application developers join the bandwagon of using RAD platforms as a way to develop sophisticated enterprise applications.

Scope of RAD Platforms

• RAD vendors will evolve from only development to full-fledged development, deployment, and application hosting platforms
•  As professional developers get deeply involved with RAD, they will want to bring in best practices in app development, deployment, and DevOps from their vast experiences into the application lifecycle. They will push the borders of RAD to increase its scope to include features around DevOps integration, code Branching, automated testing, cloud deployment, real-time integration, etc.
• IoT platform integration will emerge as a key use for applications.

Ease of Development
RAD platforms will be expected to provide drag and drop out-of-box packaged integrations to commonly used services (Payment Gateways, SaaS Platforms, Identity Services, Cloud Services, etc). As part of this, API-based integration will become a de facto way to develop applications and integrate with internal as well as external systems.        

Ecosystem Play
For enterprises to fully utilize the power of RAD platforms, they will start to coexist RAD with other complementary platforms in the overall App Ecosystem.

• RAD and API Management Platforms complement each other. These two platforms can feed off each other. RAD can help solve the last mile problem of easy app development for API management platforms. RAD can help create the APIs for App management platforms.
• With IoT gaining traction, RAD and IoT platforms will gain more traction in this year.
• SaaS Platforms will use RAD as an effective way to increase developer adoption and ecosystem creation.

Hope this prediction list has been interesting. Let's see how 2017 pans out for RAD / Low  Code Platforms. While I am not a fortune-teller and do not intend to be one, and guarantee the above predictions, there is one thing I can guarantee, that the ride will be exciting for  RAD platform vendors as well as enterprises that adopt it. So stay tuned and let's see how this unfolds itself.