Why go low-code for your cloud data warehouse?

To code or not to code – that is the question

The iconic synth-pop dance title ‚Blue Monday‘ by New Order is probably one of the most recognizable songs of the past three decades. You just need to hear the first ten seconds and immediately know the tune. But little known fact, this super successful opus almost never saw the light of day.

Back in 1983 when the song was produced, drum machines had to be programmed using binary code. According to interviews with the band, at the end of a long day of programming in the recording study, the drum machine was accidentally unplugged and their entire work was lost. Luckily, they were able to painstakingly reproduce most of the song from memory in the coming days.

Fast forward to today, and this scenario would have never happened. There is no more time sucking binary code programming in music studios. Our current state of hard- & software allows you to visually compose your tune in the comfort of your local coffee shop. Musicians are able to crank out new work in less time and apply their full creativity to their compositions.

Programming and the cloud data warehouse

What does this episode from music history have to do with the modern cloud data warehouse? Actually, quite a bit. It is not uncommon for organizations of any size to rely on a fairly large portion of manual coding when it comes to building and operating their data warehouse. Strong Python skills are required to build data pipelines, to automate workflows or to simply conduct some type of ETL work. Likewise, deep SQL coding experience   is a prerequisite to actually understand and work with your data warehouse. And things can get pretty complicated. It is not unusual for SQL scripts to encompass hundreds of lines of code. Needless to say, we can probably all agree that any kind of manual labor is not only time-intensive but also error prone. And let’s face it: every coder has a different style. What works for me might not work for somebody else. Reading bad code sometimes feels like reading the fortune in your coffee cup. That’s where low-code approaches come into play.

Go low code for high value

Modern data platforms like Agile Data Engine offer a low code approach to building and operating your cloud data warehouse. Instead of programming, you can simply focus your time on making sound design decisions. Here are six reasons why you should consider to go low code to achieve high value for your development efforts:

1. Agile development: Low-code allows you to work in a largely visual environment with pre-built components. This significantly accelerates the development process. You can quickly click yourself to a prototype in minutes rather than having to write/ fix code for hours on end.

2. Quick learning curve: It is a lot easier to learn a visual platform like Agile Data Engine compared to coding languages. We are talking days not months. This pays off when you work in a dynamic environment with varying skill levels. Also, different data warehouse platforms have different SQL dialects. Low code often does not require you to know these nuances. And let’s face it – data engineers and analysts are highly sought-after in the market and tend to have a high turn-over rate.
3. Focus on solid design & business logic: Low code platforms abstract away many of the underlying technical complexities, allowing your team to focus on defining and implementing the right business logic. You simply have more time to do the things that are important.
4. Cross-functional collaboration: Leveraging low code, you can bring business & IT together. It’s easy to communicate in the same language due to the abstraction level and to jointly focus on designing the right things. This is simply not possible if you have to jointly hover over 100 lines of Python code.
5. Easier maintenance: Data warehouses are not built & operated by a handful of people. It’s no unusual for organizations to employ 50+ data engineers. Maintaining your assets will become a lot easier in a low code environment as it is quicker & easier to understand problems. You can drive a coherent way of doing things. People have different coding styles. What works for you might not be easily understood by somebody else.
6. Cost savings: Last but not least, coding is expensive. Let’s face it. Why develop something in 8-16 hrs if you could do it in 1-2 hrs instead. Low code provides you with the opportunity to significantly reduce the time and effort required to build solid functionality.

No more coding?

Can we get away from coding entirely? I would say no. There is a time & place when you should tap into your expertise. When it comes to standard situations low code is most likely superior. But certain problems such as customer filters or complex transformations might just be better served by custom code. To stick with our music story from the beginning, you won’t use the fancy strobes & fog machines for the entire song but only in the right moments.

Say good-bye to Blue Mondays

Had New Order had the ability to compose low code, would they have produced even more iconic earworms? History indicates that they might just have done that. And by the way – what does Blue Monday mean anyway? It’s a colloquial term for that dreaded return to work on Monday after a weekend of partying and hangovers. Headaches & squeezy stomachs included.

I think we can all agree that building and operating your cloud data warehouse should not feel like a Blue Monday. Go low code and it might just feel like the exciting project that you are passionate to drive forward together with your extended team from business & IT. If you want to see this passion in action, take a look at the recording of our Fireside Chat of our 2023 ADE Summit.