Solutions Architecture Lead, Alex Karet, breaks down a common misconception around democratising pro-code beyond professional software developers.
In my last post, I explained the differences between no-code, low-code, and pro-code platforms.
Each has a role to play, but I want to address a common misconception:
That pro-code platforms are only useful for professional software developers.
The reality is often the opposite.
Pro-code tools are designed for technically minded business users. People who know the problem deeply but aren’t full-time engineers. These platforms let users write real code, but within an environment that handles infrastructure, enforces good practices, and supports faster development.
Here’s why pro-code can be the right approach, even for non-developers.
1. Pro-code simplifies the hard parts of building and deploying software
Traditional development involves managing infrastructure, security, deployment pipelines, and tooling just to get a basic application running. For full-time engineers, this is manageable and sometimes even preferable. For business users, it’s an unnecessary barrier.
Pro-code platforms take care of these layers so users can focus on building logic, not worrying about where the code runs or how to deploy it. In hx Renew, for example, a model can move from idea to production without ever needing to manage a server or write a CI/CD pipeline, instead users focus solely on translating their business logic into code. This reduces the time it takes from ideation to testing and then to production, enabling you to have the best most up to date tool always deployed.
2. Some coding knowledge helps - but you don’t need to be an engineer
Pro-code does involve code. But the environment lowers the bar significantly.
Unlike a general-purpose development environment, a good pro-code platform gives users structure, guardrails, and support. Built-in validation, testing, approval workflows, and access control make it easier for users to write safe, reliable models without needing deep expertise in software engineering.
While no-code tools might feel faster at the beginning, that reverses quickly as complexity increases. With pro-code, you aren’t working around tool limitations. You’re building with the flexibility to adapt and scale. From my experience, often when business users start with any tool (no-code, low-code, or pro-code) they will keep it simple, utilising the most basic building blocks to produce their initial desired outcomes. However, as they see the value in the tool this is where they start to push further, with pro-code tooling this is easy, with a world of existing programming features and libraries available for them to discover. However, no-code and low-code tools often start to struggle here, with limitations to how much they can flex.
3. It’s where AI can be used most effectively
AI is changing how people build software, but it still needs structure to be useful.
In a pro-code platform, AI can safely assist with writing, reviewing, or optimising code because the environment provides the right constraints. The AI tooling has been built with the platform in mind. With the ability to A/B test different models, and build the rest of their infrastructure with AI in mind. The platform is responsible for staying up to date with the latest enhancements in AI, enabling business users to focus on what it is they want to build, rather than how it is being built, or which is the current best AI model for their use-case.
In hx Renew, our approach to AI is collaborative. The tools are designed to support, not replace, the user. They provide suggestions, help explore new approaches, and accelerate development, while maintaining visibility and control.
This balance helps business users adopt AI more confidently and use it to extend their capabilities, not just automate tasks.
4. Many actuaries are already “coding” - just in Excel
Excel formulas, VBA macros, structured logic applied to data? This is programming, even if it doesn’t look like it.
Actuaries and analysts have always worked with tools that let them express logic in a structured way. Moving from Excel to Python or similar isn’t a leap, it’s a natural progression.
As Jamie Wilson wrote in his article:
"Almost every actuary I’ve met is drawn to logic, patterns, and problem-solving. Just as Excel and other early frontier Actuarial software made modelling, analysis and tool development accessible to a generation of actuaries - programming, AI and pro-code platforms have unlocked a similar leap forward for today’s top actuarial talent. Importantly, because actuaries have the full business context, when they code, magic happens: fewer mistranslations, tighter feedback loops, and better products.”
Jamie Wilson, VP Growth at hyperexponential
With hx Renew, actuaries can build and deploy models that are versioned, testable, and integrated with peer review and approval processes. They maintain control over logic, while gaining audit trails, transparency, and operational efficiency.
This isn’t just about writing better models. It’s about managing them properly, tracking what changed, who made the change, and why. That kind of traceability matters for governance, especially in regulated environments.
At hyperexponential, I work with customers every day to help business users build and maintain high-quality pricing models. hx Renew gives them the autonomy to experiment, test, and ship without relying on IT, but within guardrails that make sure the process is still structured and safe.
Pro-code isn’t about turning actuaries into software developers. It’s about giving the people closest to the risk the tools to build the right solution.
If anything, it brings software closer to the business, not further away.
It gives users more control over what they build. And when used well, it can be the fastest way to get from problem to working solution.
