Hieu Nguyen
April 28, 2025
•
15 mins read
The landscape of application development is undergoing a significant transformation, with low-code development platforms rapidly gaining traction as viable alternatives to traditional development methodologies. This shift is particularly pronounced in the e-business sector, where speed to market and agility are critical competitive factors. Low-code platforms like Retool are at the forefront of this evolution, changing how businesses approach digital transformation projects.
The low-code application development market is experiencing explosive growth, reflecting a fundamental shift in how businesses approach software creation. In 2021, the low-code platform market was valued at $7.61 billion, with projections indicating it will reach an impressive $36.43 billion by 2027 (Globe Newswire). This remarkable growth trajectory is not merely speculative-it's backed by changing patterns in application development across industries.
By 2025, an estimated 70% of new business applications will utilize low-code or no-code technologies (Gartner). This adoption rate signifies more than just a passing trend; it represents a fundamental paradigm shift in development methodologies. The coronavirus pandemic has further accelerated this transition, as companies with low-code platforms adapted significantly faster to remote operations than those relying solely on traditional development approaches.
According to a KPMG study, 26% of company executives identify low-code and no-code platforms as their most significant automation investment. This executive-level commitment underscores the strategic importance these platforms have assumed in corporate digital strategies, moving them from experimental technologies to core business enablers.
The benefits of low-code platforms, like faster development times and broader team accessibility, are fueling this change. The primary driver behind this shift is efficiency. Low-code platforms can reduce application development time by up to 90% compared to traditional methods (Redhat). This dramatic reduction in development cycles enables businesses to respond more quickly to market changes and customer needs.
Additionally, low-code democratizes the development process. By 2024, it's estimated that 80% of non-IT professionals will develop IT products and services, with over 65% using low-code/no-code tools (McKinsey). This democratization addresses the persistent talent shortage in the technology sector, allowing companies to build software systems without requiring large teams of specialized developers.
This comparison highlights why low-code vs traditional development is a hot topic in e-business today. Traditional development and low-code approaches represent fundamentally different philosophies toward application creation, each with distinct advantages and limitations in the e-business context.
Traditional development typically involves lengthy coding cycles, rigorous testing phases, and complex deployment processes. In contrast, low-code platforms streamline these stages by offering pre-built components, visual development interfaces, and automated testing capabilities. This streamlined approach enables organizations to launch applications significantly faster, responding to market demands with unprecedented agility.
No-code and low-code solutions consume approximately 70% fewer resources compared to conventional application-building platforms (Forrester). This efficiency extends beyond just development time-it encompasses human resources, infrastructure costs, and ongoing maintenance requirements.
Traditional development offers unparalleled flexibility for creating highly specialized, custom solutions. It remains the preferred approach for business requirements demanding high levels of specialized interactivity (Icreon). However, this flexibility comes at the cost of longer development cycles and higher resource requirements.
Low-code platforms, while offering less customization depth, make development accessible to a broader range of contributors. This accessibility allows non-programmers to create applications with minimal technical expertise, accelerating time to market with smaller budgets. Additionally, as these platforms typically operate in the cloud, they include all upgrades, security patches, and maintenance without requiring dedicated IT resources (Icreon).
Retool’s low-code platform offers powerful tools for accelerating e-business transformation.. It simplifies the creation of business software by enabling teams to build customized applications with minimal coding requirements (Akveo).
Retool offers a comprehensive suite of features that make it particularly well-suited for e-business applications (Akveo):
Across various industries, businesses are leveraging Retool to transform their operations:
In the e-commerce sector, Afloat, a gifting marketplace, implemented Retool-based dashboards to streamline order management, delivery tracking, and reporting while integrating with Shopify and external APIs. The solution included a Retail Partner Dashboard embedded into Shopify for managing orders and store performance, and an Admin Dashboard for handling deliveries and partner data.
In the beverage industry, a leading European wine seller developed an internal mobile application for private client managers and administrators using Retool. The development was completed in just 1.5 months, resulting in increased productivity for the sales team and improved customer satisfaction.
A tour operator successfully implemented a Retool-based solution to centralize and manage data from third-party APIs and automate the travel itinerary creation process. The development took only 40 hours, and the resulting tool featured a flexible interface with user authentication and access management capabilities.
Despite its strengths, Retool isn't without limitations. The learning curve can be steep for non-technical users, potentially limiting the democratization benefits typically associated with low-code platforms. Additionally, Retool can be relatively expensive for small teams, though the pricing structure remains reasonable for larger enterprises requiring advanced functionality.
Competitors like UI Bakery offer similar features at potentially lower price points, with some advantages in areas like workflow automation, Git integration, and AI assistance for development. This competitive landscape ensures ongoing innovation but requires businesses to carefully evaluate their specific needs when selecting a platform.
Digital transformation has evolved from a strategic advantage to a fundamental business necessity. Low-code platforms play a central role in this transformation process by addressing several key challenges.
In today's rapidly changing business environment, agility is paramount. Low-code/no-code platforms enable organizations to develop and deploy applications swiftly, responding to evolving customer needs and industry trends. With shorter development cycles, companies can continuously innovate without the long lead times associated with traditional development methods.
Organizations equipped with the best tools demonstrate 65% greater innovation capability (AdtMag), highlighting how technology choice directly impacts business outcomes.
Legacy system modernization represents one of the most significant challenges in digital transformation initiatives. Low-code platforms simplify this process by allowing businesses to build modern applications that integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure. This approach reduces disruption and minimizes costs while enabling organizations to leverage their existing technology investments.
A financial services firm, for example, used OutSystems (another low-code platform) to replace its legacy loan processing system, cutting approval times in half while maintaining compliance.
Low-code empowers non-technical users-including business analysts and operations teams-to participate in the development process. This democratization reduces reliance on often-overburdened IT departments and accelerates project timelines. By 2024, 80% of non-IT professionals will be involved in developing IT products and services (Gartner).
This shift is particularly valuable for e-businesses, where domain experts often possess the deepest understanding of customer needs and market requirements. By enabling these experts to directly contribute to application development, organizations can create more relevant and effective solutions.
As we look toward 2025 and beyond, several trends suggest that low-code platforms will continue to transform e-business development. The future of low-code platforms looks even brighter as AI and machine learning integration become standard features.
Low-code platforms are rapidly evolving beyond simple application development to encompass more sophisticated capabilities. Integration with AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics will further enhance the value proposition of these platforms. Retool and similar tools will likely continue expanding their component libraries and integration capabilities to address increasingly complex business requirements.
Low-code is transcending its initial positioning as a tool for simple applications. Many organizations are now investing in low-code development platforms to build mission-critical enterprise applications, business unit tools, and customer-facing systems. This shift indicates growing confidence in the reliability and scalability of low-code solutions for core business functions.
By 2018, 84% of enterprise businesses had already adopted low-code solutions to reduce the burden on IT teams, with many viewing low-code as a promising investment to accelerate digital transformation (Forrester). This trend has only accelerated in subsequent years.
The future of low-code will likely involve continued refinement of the balance between customization capabilities and user accessibility. Platforms that successfully navigate this balance-providing sufficient technical depth for developers while remaining accessible to citizen developers-will likely dominate the market.
Retool's approach of offering both drag-and-drop simplicity and deeper customization options represents one model for addressing this balance. However, competitors are rapidly evolving their own approaches, driving innovation across the sector.
The shift from traditional development to low-code platforms represents a fundamental evolution in how e-businesses approach application development and digital transformation. Platforms like Retool are at the forefront of this change, offering significant advantages in development speed, resource efficiency, and business agility. Companies that embrace low-code development and tools like Retool will lead the next wave of digital transformation.
While traditional development maintains relevance for highly specialized applications requiring extensive customization, low-code solutions have clearly established their value for a wide range of e-business use cases. The projected growth-with 70% of new business applications expected to use low-code/no-code technologies by 2025-underscores the sustainability of this approach (Gartner).
For e-businesses navigating digital transformation initiatives, low-code platforms offer a compelling combination of speed, efficiency, and accessibility. However, careful evaluation of specific business requirements and platform capabilities remains essential to selecting the right tool for each organization's unique needs. As the competitive landscape continues to evolve, businesses that successfully leverage low-code platforms will gain significant advantages in their ability to rapidly respond to changing market conditions and customer expectations.
At Retoolers, we help businesses create custom dashboards, admin panels, client portals, and full workflow automation solutions using Retool. From idea to execution, we’ve got the skills to make it happen.
Let’s build something great together — contact Retoolers today.
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