Original Broadcast Date: 02/08/2026

Presented by EY

Federal agencies are under constant pressure to modernize legacy systems while delivering results faster and with fewer resources. In his conversation on Fed Gov Today, EY’s George Kaczmarskyj explains why low-code application platforms are becoming an increasingly important tool for meeting that challenge across government operations.

Low-code application platforms, often referred to as LCAPs, change how organizations approach application development. Rather than relying solely on custom-coded solutions or large commercial platforms, low-code offers an alternative that emphasizes speed, flexibility, and accessibility. Kaczmarskyj notes that these platforms gained early traction in the commercial sector, particularly in financial services, where organizations needed to rapidly rationalize systems following mergers and acquisitions.

In those environments, leaders faced a familiar decision: build custom software, buy an existing enterprise platform, or adopt low-code tools. What stood out about low-code, Kaczmarskyj explains, was how quickly teams could move from requirements to production. That speed becomes a defining advantage, especially in mission-driven environments where delays directly affect outcomes. In government, he emphasizes, “minutes to mission matter.”

Another major factor driving adoption is workforce availability. Finding highly skilled full-stack developers is increasingly difficult and expensive. These professionals are in high demand across Silicon Valley and the private innovation sector, making it challenging for both industry and government to attract and retain them. Low-code platforms lower the barrier to entry for developers, enabling agencies to build capable teams more quickly and deliver business applications without relying exclusively on scarce, specialized talent.

Beyond speed and staffing, Kaczmarskyj highlights the importance of consistency—particularly in user experience. Traditional custom development gives engineers wide latitude in design, which can lead to uneven interfaces and usability challenges. Low-code platforms, by contrast, are built with standardized design frameworks that create consistent user interfaces across applications.

That consistency improves adoption and engagement, but it also changes how applications are built. Kaczmarskyj describes how low-code enables real-time collaboration with stakeholders. Developers can prototype features during meetings, allowing users to see and respond to requirements immediately. This approach reduces misunderstandings, aligns expectations early, and results in applications that better reflect actual user needs.

Integration is another area where low-code platforms deliver value. Federal agencies operate thousands of systems, and modernizing even one requires connecting it to many others. Each integration introduces complexity, cost, and risk. Kaczmarskyj explains that some low-code platforms include pre-built integrations for widely used systems such as HR, financial, manufacturing, and customer relationship management tools.

Using pre-built integrations reduces the need to recreate connections from scratch, which is where errors often occur. Since integrations govern how data and business rules move between systems, mistakes can be costly. Leveraging integrations that are already built, tested, and proven helps agencies reduce risk while speeding up modernization efforts.

Kaczmarskyj also addresses the idea of reuse across government. While the aspiration is for agencies to leverage applications built elsewhere, he cautions that low-code does not automatically guarantee quality. Poorly designed applications can still be created on low-code platforms. To enable reuse, applications must be designed with that goal in mind from the beginning. Within agencies—and across portfolios serving similar functions—this creates significant opportunities to scale solutions efficiently.

Artificial intelligence is the final and increasingly unavoidable topic in the discussion. Kaczmarskyj describes AI’s role in application development as becoming more pragmatic and immediately useful. Productivity gains are already emerging, and low-code platforms are integrating AI capabilities across the entire software development lifecycle.

These tools support requirements gathering, coding, testing, and even production operations. Developers can load user requirement documents, screens, and data into the platform, allowing the system to generate an initial application that teams can refine and advance. Tasks that once took extensive time and effort can now be completed much faster.

Looking ahead, Kaczmarskyj points to emerging capabilities that allow agencies to ingest applications built on one low-code platform and migrate them to another. While still developing, this approach could significantly reduce long-term vendor lock-in and give agencies more flexibility in how they manage technology investments over time.

Throughout the conversation, Kaczmarskyj makes clear that low-code platforms are not a silver bullet. Instead, they are a powerful option in a broader modernization toolkit—one that aligns speed, consistency, and efficiency with the realities of today’s federal mission. When applied thoughtfully, low-code helps agencies modernize faster, reduce risk, and deliver results where they matter most.