I’m a self-confessed control freak — at least when it comes to code. I like knowing what’s going on under the hood. I want to see the loops, trace the logic, and follow the stack trace like a breadcrumb trail when things break (because they will break). So, you can imagine the dread I felt when I was first introduced to low-code platforms.

Drag-and-drop interfaces? Configuration over code? A designer view where I couldn’t even peek behind the scenes to see what magic (or madness) was being spun? It felt like trading in my IDE for a paint-by-numbers canvas. And initially, I resisted — hard.

But then came Azure Logic Apps.

At first, I looked at it with the same skepticism I’d reserve for a WYSIWYG web editor. Logic Apps seemed like one of those tools made for “non-developers” — the type of platform where you cross your fingers and hope the output behaves. I didn’t trust it. I didn’t want to use it.

Then I was asked to use it.

The task was straightforward: build an integration between a backend system and several third-party APIs. Normally, I would’ve spun up a .NET API, thrown in some durable functions, queued messages, handled retries manually, wrapped it all in logging and diagnostics, and maybe shipped a celebratory GIF to Slack. But time wasn’t on our side. And the integration was too middleware-heavy to justify a full-blown API build.

So I held my nose and opened Logic Apps.

The Shift in Thinking

To my surprise, it wasn’t terrible. In fact, it was... efficient.

I started with a simple HTTP trigger, connected to a blob storage action, and routed the payload to a SQL Database. The entire flow took me about 15 minutes. No compilation. No deployment pipelines. Just a few clicks, some expressions, and done.

Still, the control freak in me wasn't satisfied. So I dug deeper. I explored the code view — yes, there is one — and found that every Logic App workflow is represented as a JSON definition. This was my way in. It wasn’t the elegance of a C# class with interfaces and strong typing, but it was readable, modifiable, and — most importantly — predictable.

Over time, I learned how to:

• Build reusable workflows across environments (Dev, QA, Prod).
• Inject configuration using parameter files.
• Handle retries, timeouts, and exceptions gracefully using built-in controls.
• Integrate authentication (OAuth, API keys, certificates) without custom plumbing.
• Trigger logic apps from webhooks, queues, schedules, or other Azure services.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just using Logic Apps — I was orchestrating integrations faster than ever before. Tasks that would’ve taken hours or days in .NET took minutes. And I didn’t have to give up control — I just had to give up some ego.

Why Logic Apps Changed My Mind

Low-code doesn’t mean low-skill. In fact, the more I used Logic Apps, the more I realized that its real power shines in the hands of experienced developers who understand when and how to use it properly.

Here’s what won me over:

• Speed: I can build and deploy complex workflows faster than traditional coding.
• Maintenance: Changes to connectors, auth settings, or branching logic don’t require rebuilds — just edits and saves.
• Visibility: The built-in run history, diagnostics, and logging give me instant visibility into what each action did and when.
• Focus: I can offload repetitive backend and integration tasks to Logic Apps, freeing up my time to focus on front-end logic and customer experience.
• Hybrid Approach: I didn’t have to give up traditional development. My front-end remains ASP.NET MVC, my business logic still lives in APIs when needed, and I use Logic Apps where it makes sense — middleware, file processing, notification flows, and approvals.

Becoming an Advocate

Somewhere along the way, I stopped fighting Logic Apps and started advocating for them.

I now look at development as a layered ecosystem. Not everything needs to be hand-coded. Not every task needs a full stack developer to write custom logic from scratch. Sometimes, the smart move is to drag, drop, configure, and move on.

And here’s the truth: being a developer today isn’t just about writing great code — it’s about delivering value quickly, reliably, and at scale. Logic Apps help me do that. They’re not replacing my code — they’re augmenting it.

I still like to “see the code.” I still want to know what’s going on behind the scenes. But now, I’ve learned that there’s more than one way to be in control. And sometimes, control doesn’t mean owning every line — it means owning the outcome.

Final Thoughts

To every developer who rolls their eyes at low code: I get you. I was you.

But don’t let your desire for control stop you from exploring better tools. Start with one workflow. Read the JSON. Experiment with connectors. Use version control. Integrate it with your CI/CD pipeline. Keep your front-end custom, but let Logic Apps carry the load on the backend.

You might just find that letting go — just a little — gives you more power than you expected.