AI Powers Kissflow’s Low-Code Evolution

In an insightful conversation, Dinesh Varadharajan, CPO at Kissflow, highlights how AI is transforming the low-code/no-code (LCNC) landscape. According to Varadharajan, Gen AI is the next big step for low-code platforms, evolving them into app-generation platforms. With AI-driven tools, Kissflow is making citizen development a reality by enabling users to build applications using intuitive, natural language-based interactions.

How does AI amplify the low-code development process? Is AI a game changer for Kissflow?
Low-code platforms are an incremental evolution of the traditional programming paradigm. Gen AI is the next evolution of low-code development platforms into app-generation platforms. This aligns well with Kissflow’s understanding of this paradigm, and we are well-placed to exploit the advantages of Gen AI within this framework.

What are the possibilities of LCNC+AI development? How do the platforms balance this transformation?
LCNC+AI will finally make citizen development a reality. While LCNC platforms have reduced the learning curve and cognitive load, business users still need to undergo a significant transformational journey to solve their own problems using these platforms. However, the addition of AI eliminates this barrier by enabling intuitive, natural language-based interactions, empowering users to build solutions with minimal effort and expertise.

Has the adoption of low-code/no-code platforms increased over the years? What trends or patterns have you observed?
The adoption of low-code/no-code (LCNC) platforms has significantly increased in recent years. Analysts at Gartner project that by 2025, 70% of new applications developed by organizations will utilize LCNC technologies, a substantial rise from less than 25% in 2020.

Non-technical employees are increasingly empowered to create applications using LCNC platforms. Gartner forecasts that by 2026, 80% of users of low-code development tools will be outside traditional IT departments.

For a long time, low-code/no-code (LCNC) platforms were considered just one option among many in an organization’s tech stack. However, they are now evolving into a primary choice for new enterprise implementations.

Which industries are actively using LCNC? Can you offer a few use cases?
LCNC is widely used across various industries, with significant adoption in IT, BFSI, retail, and e-commerce. Many business challenges remain unsolved because they lack the ROI to justify using traditional tech stacks or off-the-shelf products. However, these challenges are still critical for businesses, driving the need for faster and more efficient ways to deploy tailored solutions.

Discuss the future of citizen development, sharing your thoughts on how it will impact the industry for good in the upcoming years.
Thanks to GenAI, citizen development is set to explode. GenAI democratizes application development, empowering non-technical users to build complex solutions and reducing dependency on IT teams. This shift will drive faster innovation, cost efficiency, and broader adoption of digital transformation across industries.

Can you share any region-specific insight into the challenges, opportunities, and learnings from this year?
Citizen development is gaining strong acceptance in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia due to advanced digital literacy, supportive organizational cultures, and a focus on innovation. However, adoption in the MEA (Middle East and Africa) region lags due to a preference for traditional development methods and a shortage of citizen developer ecosystems.

Interestingly, the low-code market thrives globally, including in MEA, as enterprises recognize its ability to drive efficiency and bridge IT gaps. The challenge lies in educating organizations in lagging regions about the broader potential of citizen development. Learnings from more mature geographies suggest that aligning training, creating governance frameworks, and demonstrating clear ROI can accelerate adoption.

Looking ahead, what are the growth opportunities for LCNC platforms?
LCNC platforms are rapidly becoming the go-to choice for business operations applications due to their faster time-to-value compared to traditional methods. Growth opportunities include expanding industry-specific solutions and integrating emerging technologies like Gen AI. Additionally, LCNC adoption among SMEs and enterprise-wide implementations with governance frameworks are driving large-scale digital transformation.

How is Kissflow laying out its business strategy given these factors?
With the emergence of GenAI, we are at a transformative point, focusing on leveraging AI as a foundational element of our platform, not just an add-on. This shift aims to redefine application development and consumption by embedding intelligence into every aspect of the product. Our efforts will centre on enhancing user experience through natural language interactions, enabling adaptive and predictive solutions, and fundamentally reimagining workflows to harness the full potential of AI-driven innovation.

How is the next year going to shape up? Reflect on 2024 and share insights for 2025.
2024 marks a transformative year for the software industry due to GenAI, which is invalidating longstanding challenges and rapidly evolving the product landscape. Incumbent players face growing pressure to reinvent themselves to stay relevant, while new-age product companies are leveraging GenAI to disrupt the market with innovative ways of solving problems.

Looking ahead to 2025, we anticipate the acceleration of GenAI adoption across all business layers, driving a shift towards intuitive, adaptive, and highly personalized solutions. Organizations will prioritize speed, agility, and value creation, compelling product companies to embrace innovation and align with these changing dynamics to thrive in this competitive era.

Finally, what are a few trends you’ve spotted in product development and how IT is addressing them?

Traditional forms and interfaces are steadily giving way to conversational chat systems powered by natural language interactions. With the integration of GenAI-driven chat interfaces, users can now enjoy a more seamless and intuitive experience, engaging with technology in a way that feels natural and effortless.

Beyond text-based interactions, we’re also seeing a shift towards multi-modal user engagement. Audio, video, and image inputs are becoming mainstream, supported by advancements like voice recognition, video analysis, and computer vision. These capabilities make interactions more intuitive and accessible, broadening the ways users can communicate with applications.

At the same time, personalization is taking centre stage with composable UI components. By adopting modular design systems and micro frontends, applications can dynamically adapt to individual user preferences and contexts, creating deeply tailored experiences that feel uniquely designed for each user. This evolution in technology is reshaping how we interact with and benefit from digital solutions.