SAP to launch low-code governance features on Build

SAP will soon add a new governance feature for applications built on its low-code and no-code Build platform, a move that analysts say is late in the game for SAP as there are well-established governance tools on the market. .

The governance feature within Build will be intended to give IT teams control over applications built on its low-code platform, as many other users in the business will access them, said Bharat Sandhu, senior vice president of AI and development. Of applications. platform in SAP.

“…when applications are going to reach a lot of people, then you have a governance layer to make sure IT teams can monitor users, performance, among other things,” Sandhu said, citing the importance of working with data. critics. , usually stored in the SAP cloud, but without giving an exact timeline on the release date of the feature.

SAP Build currently offers a data control plane for IT teams that enables them to manage the exposure of critical SAP data to API endpoints, including read, write, or access to both, as companies don’t want anyone accessing and changing critical data, according to Sandhu.

Create to focus only on SAP customers

SAP is not currently targeting new customers and Build’s growth strategy will focus only on existing SAP customers, Sandhu said. “Since we launched Build in mid-November of last year, it has had phenomenal adoption, both with our customers using it and learning about it.”

More than 72,000 daily active users were training on Build through SAP’s learning portal, the company said, without divulging specific adoption numbers.

However, SAP’s low-code platform lags behind its rivals, including Appian, Google Appsheet, Mendix, Pegasystems and Outsystems, in terms of governance and control features, according to experts.

“In the list of enterprise-class products for low-code platforms, SAP lags a bit behind these when it comes to data plane control or governance functions in general. This is a critical capability for broad adoption and use of low-code across an enterprise while keeping critical business data secure and accessible only to those authorized,” said Dion Hinchcliffe, Principal Analyst at Constellation Research.

“Adoption of Build for the SAP market could be high, probably in the low to mid double digits,” Hinchcliffe said, adding that Build could gain market share outside of the SAP market in due time due to SAP’s popularity. , but it is still an unknown. now.

Also, SAP Build’s market share in the low-code market is quite small given that it is in the early days of SAP’s low-code strategy, according to John Bratincevic, principal analyst at Forrester.

India is the fastest adopter of SAP Build

In terms of SAP Build adoption and demand, India along with the US, Germany and China are experiencing strong growth, according to Sandhu.

India is likely to see growth in low-code platform adoption as some of the big SIs claim to see low-code as key to boosting their own developer pipeline as they can train non-developers. developers to use these platforms. Bratincevic said.

“We have also seen situations where the developer population in India that supports large system integrators will sign up for the free tier of low-code platforms. a lot to learn the platform and earn platform certifications. That could be a factor in SAP’s claim, especially if SAP’s SI partners are preparing to back Build,” Bratincevic said.

Overall, the low-code and no-code platform market is expected to continue its growth momentum, expert analysis showed.

The low-code and no-code platform market is expected to reach $21 billion by 2026, according to an IDC analysis.

“The market for no-code and low-code and smart development technologies is being driven by the global shortage of full-time developers,” said Michele Rosen, IDC research manager.

“This is expected to continue throughout this decade, creating a strong market for technologies that increase developer productivity or broaden the potential pool of developers,” Rosen said, citing cloud-native development as one of the major drivers of low-code demand. platforms

To some extent, SAP’s Sandhu agreed with Rosen’s analysis, saying professional developers were also using low-code and no-code platforms due to their delay in application development cycles.