2023 AI Trend Forecast. The era where anyone can be a creator with No-Code AI.

1. What is No-Code?

1-1. What No-Code Means

The term "No Code" first appeared in a blog post published in 2019. Titled "The Rise of "No Code", this article uses the term "No Code" as a general term for the method and services of developing applications without writing code, using only screen operations. Until now, it was necessary to learn coding and programming to develop applications. However, by utilizing No Code tools, a wide range of people, not just IT professionals, can participate in application development.

The Rise of "No Code" (English)

1-2. What is Low-Code?

Along with no-code, another term that is often seen is low-code. While no-code involves not writing any code at all, low-code refers to a method of developing applications with as little code as possible.

1-3. Surprisingly Long History of No-Code

The term "no-code/low-code" has recently emerged, but looking back at the history of computers, there have been ongoing efforts towards no-code and low-code development. Many engineers and programmers have been experimenting with ways to develop applications without having to do much programming. As a result of this evolution, lightweight programming has been achieved and now there are software and services that allow users to operate computers through simple screen operations. Microsoft Excel is also a product of these efforts.

1-4. Responding to Diversity in Society with No Code

In recent years, people's interests and ways of working have become more diverse, leading to increasingly complex and individualized customer needs. As a result, all companies are constantly required to take on new initiatives. In order to adapt to the diversity of society and sustain their business, it is necessary to focus on smaller investments and faster growth of services and products, rather than relying on large capital investments and slow returns. This approach is highly compatible with no-code development. With no-code, it is possible to explore new fields while keeping operational costs low. The speed of development to release, a characteristic of no-code, also leads to not missing out on business opportunities.

2. 2023 No-Code/Low-Code Market Forecast

2-1. Upward Trend in No-Code/Low-Code Development Market

Let's take a look at the development scale trend from 2019 to 2025 in the domestic no-code/low-code development market.

Source: ITR "ITR Market View: Low-Code/No-Code Development Market 2022" created by the author
*Targeting vendor sales scale for the March quarter. Forecast values ​​from 2021 onwards.

 

It is predicted that the market will expand at a growth rate of over 20% annually and reach a scale of 100 billion yen in fiscal year 2023. It can be said that the advantages of no-code/low-code, such as ease of maintenance and the benefits of in-house development, are beginning to be recognized by many companies.

3. Addressing the Shortage of AI Talent with No-Code

One of the reasons why no-code, which should have been a common methodology, is now gaining attention is due to a shortage of talent. There is a shortage of IT professionals with specialized skills such as programming.

3-1. 80% of companies face a shortage of IT talent

Let's take a look at the data from a survey conducted in 2020 targeting domestic IT companies, regarding the shortage or excess of IT personnel.

Source: Author's creation from "IT Human Resources White Paper" April 22, 2021, based on the "Survey on Skill Transformation in the Digital Age" by IPA.

 

"More than 80% of companies feel a shortage of IT personnel when combining "severely lacking" and "slightly lacking". This survey targets IT companies, but nowadays, in any industry, in order to realize new ideas in business, IT knowledge is necessary. IT personnel can be considered essential personnel. However, the current situation is that the quantity is not keeping up with the demand. Even if existing personnel acquire specialized knowledge and become IT personnel, it takes time and cost to do so."

3-2. Increasing Demand for AI Talent

The layer known as AI personnel, who embody AI, are also IT personnel at the same time. Due to the AI boom, IT personnel, who were already in short supply, are now also responsible for developing AI, leading to an increasingly overheated situation of labor shortage. There are two main roles for typical AI personnel:

 

・Data Scientist
A data scientist is someone who analyzes data based on statistics and algorithms to create value and solve problems. In AI development, the challenge is to perform analysis and classification on vast amounts of data to improve the accuracy of AI and identify the role that data plays in achieving this goal.

 

・AI Engineer
Also known as ML (Machine Learning) Engineer. Responsible for performing essential machine learning in the development of AI and building systems for AI to function.

 

These AI talents are required to have knowledge in mathematics and statistics, as well as programming skills to implement AI according to the field environment. It seems that many companies are facing difficulties in finding these talents quickly and even if they are found, they may not be able to reach an agreement on compensation.

3-3. No-Code as a Countermeasure for Labor Shortage

No-code is gaining attention as a way to improve this situation.

 

No-code tools can be used with general IT knowledge. In the past, regardless of the scale or difficulty of the system to be built, it was necessary to always secure IT personnel. However, by utilizing no-code tools, it is possible to handle small-scale ideas or simple systems with existing personnel alone.
No-code is a great help in situations such as creating prototypes or digitizing for business improvement.

3-4. Concerns about No-Code

As a general rule, with no-code tools, you can only use the functions provided within the given range. It may not be practical to create your own system as it is not suitable for customization. Additionally, while programming skills are not required, general IT knowledge will be necessary.

4. Introduction to No-Code AI Platform

4-1. What is a No-Code AI Platform?

No-code AI is a method of building AI by combining pre-made parts without programming. It is common to use a no-code AI platform service to introduce no-code AI. Here are some real-life examples.

4-2. Learning Center

Our service offers a user-friendly Japanese UI with intuitive operation, allowing anyone to easily develop high-precision AI models without the need for AI or programming expertise. With simple input and clicks, you can manage data, automatically generate AI, and deliver it without any specialized knowledge.

>>"Learning Center" now available for high-precision AI model development with AI inside and no-code

4-3. No-Code AI Development Tool Node-AI

As the name suggests, the no-code AI development tool allows you to intuitively connect modules from your browser to create a pipeline for preprocessing time series data, training and evaluating AI models.

Introduction to Node-AI, a no-code AI development tool

4-4. MatrixFlow

MatrixFlow is a machine learning platform that allows you to perform data analysis, image recognition, and numerical prediction using AI, even without knowledge of programming languages such as Python. With MatrixFlow, you can create AI that can be utilized in your company's operations without the need for specialized knowledge.

>>What is MatrixFlow? A thorough explanation of how to use MatrixFlow for free and its usage.

5. Consult with Human Science for AI utilization

5-1. 48 million records of teacher data creation

"I don't know where to start when it comes to implementing AI."
"I don't know what to ask for when outsourcing."
If you are in such a situation, please consult with Human Science. At Human Science, we participate in AI development projects in various industries such as natural language processing, medical support, automobiles, IT, manufacturing, and construction. Through direct transactions with many companies including GAFAM, we have provided over 48 million high-quality training data. We can handle various annotation projects regardless of industry, from small-scale projects to large-scale projects with 150 annotators.
>>Human Science's Annotation Service

5-2. Resource Management without Using Crowdsourcing

At Human Science, we do not use crowdsourcing and instead directly contract with workers to manage projects. We carefully assess each member's practical experience and evaluations from previous projects to form a team that can perform to the best of their abilities.

5-3. Utilizing the Latest Data Annotation Tools

One of the annotation tools introduced by Human Science, AnnoFab, allows customers to check progress and provide feedback on the cloud even during project execution. By not allowing work data to be saved on local machines, we also consider security.

5-4. Equipped with a security room within the company

At Human Science, we have a security room that meets the ISMS standards in our Shinjuku office. We can handle highly confidential projects on-site. We consider ensuring confidentiality to be extremely important for all projects. We continuously provide security education to our staff and pay close attention to handling information and data, even for remote projects.