Spoiler alert; no.
Low code vs Traditional Dev
My colleague, friend and SogetiLabs Fellow Daniel Laskewitz and I frequently talk about this topic. His field of expertise as Microsoft MVP covers the Microsoft PowerPlatform including low code systems like Power Automate (formerly Flow).
All too often people see a division between low code and traditional development using languages like C#, Java, TypeScript and Go.
In the real world however, these systems work together perfectly.
Most of the times, you cannot solve a problem with only low code. Think about scenario’s where you should link to old legacy systems or complex API calls. In those cases low code without any enhancement cannot natively connect to those systems.
Behold custom connectors
In the Microsoft ecosystems, custom connectors allow you to bridge this gap. This way, the low code system can interact with any system you write a connector for. This may be common knowledge, but the fact is that most developers do not see how big this really is.
This means you can link any PowerApp, Microsoft Flow, or LogicApps to your custom connector, and reuse those within your entire organisation.
You could even publicly publish these if you have a service you want to expose. So if you are an ISV, this can help you get more traction on your product.
Bridging the gap
In the end it all comes down to developers of any system and language understanding the capabilities of the platforms they and their companies are using. For low code developers this means sometimes calling in the help of traditional developers. And more importantly, this also means traditional developers should learn that these low code systems can help you simplify (and thus speed up!) your development by using ready-to-roll systems and connectors available to you.
As there are over 325 connectors available, that should really speed making connections up!
Get started!
Want to explore custom connectors? Look at these resources or feel free to contact me or Daniel, we strongly believe bridging this gap between low code and traditional dev is key for succes in the future of development!