# Low-Code as Enabler of Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Industry
## 4 Conclusions  
Given the scant references found in the literature related to low-code, it can be stated that low-code is still a young emerging technology. Forrester Research forecasts [29] total spending on low-code issues of $21.2 billion by 2022. If the forecast is accurate, it seems that low-code development platforms will be regularly accepted as a common mean to build apps. During the development of this analysis, aspects such as improved agility, cost reduction, faster apps building and delivery, among others have been highlighted as key factors in the automation of software development tools. To this end, CASE technology emerged in the late 1980s, however its poor adoption has currently led to search for alternative technologies such as the low-code development platforms. However, it is worth mentioning that the use of low-code development platforms also presents some barriers. Humans are by nature reluctant to change and the universal adoption of low-code may be diminished due to the resistance to change by companies. Otherwise, the impatience in its adoption can also lead to'shadow \(\Pi\Gamma\)' since the \(\Pi\Gamma\) department of a company does not test and approve the technology that the company is using. This can also lead to risks with compliance and security. The future of low-code paradigm is still uncertain. So, to provide some certainty in this domain, and after analysing the literature, it can be concluded that the low-code technology as an automation software development tools is under-researched. As the results from the literature are scant, the main features that a low-code development platforms should have and offer (open source, developers' hub, messaging and Pub/Su) have been identified. Then, benchmarking among existing low-code development platforms has been performed against vf-OS. This has resulted in a set of findings that highlight the lack of transversal platforms developed on open standards to create ecosystems for building and deploying, in an automated manner, apps. All this indicates that the issues addressed in the research question RQ1 have been answered. Based on these findings, vf-OS platform emerges to facilitate the app-building process and to not be dependent on off-the-shelf and third-party software. Based on the RQ2, one of the key challenge is to address the issues of real-time data processing these applications require [6]. In light of this, the fundamental aspect for further study is the linkage between low-code development platforms and IoT devices to consolidate Industry 4.0. Doing so requires new further attempts focused on low-code research for the apps development that facilitates the communication and optimisation of intelligent, interconnected equipment and products along the entire value chain. To this end, vf-OS was born. vf-OS is an open multi-sided framework able to manage the overall network of a collaborative manufacturing and logistics environment that enables humans, applications, and devices (IoT) to seamlessly communicate and interoperate in the interconnected environment, promoting digital transformation. vf-OS may be considered as an example from where future research efforts should be directed, taking into account its multi-sided and transversal characteristics. In light of this, one of the main challenges of the current approach is the integration of the different development environments in a single IDE. To provide a satisfactory user experience for developers, it is necessary to deliver a high-level of integration between the different development tools, not only enabling access to the different tools in an integrated environment, but also implementing the same look and feel design and usability considerations across different tools to improve user experience. Also, the development of wizards that guide developers through the development steps across the different development tools can improve significantly the user experience when developing new applications.