{"id":4414,"date":"2024-01-16T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/blog\/no-code-vs-low-code-and-near-no-code-security-automation"},"modified":"2025-06-17T10:46:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T18:46:35","slug":"no-code-vs-low-code-and-near-no-code-security-automation","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/blog\/no-code-vs-low-code-and-near-no-code-security-automation","title":{"rendered":"No-code vs. low-code and near-no-code security automation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"e-stn e-stn-0d652506f82b000a392973813b918ee25d5b4211 e-stn--glossary-inner-content e-stn--table-of-content\"><div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-b3rg-row e-row row\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-b3rg-column e-col e-col-1f7b3997080fc292474d26ff00c905d99d3520fa e-col--content-wrapper  col-sm-12 col-lg-12 col-xl-12\">\n<div class=\"e-div e-div-a1b32f66e1749758df41d5aea14f647cd10e362c e-div--card-btn-link\"><div class=\"e-img \">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1400\" height=\"400\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-no-code-vs-low-code-header-1.png\" alt=\"Blog no code vs low code header\" class=\"wp-image-4413\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-93a676e286bdb8571992935b961f4052\">It seems that \u201cno-code\u201d is a term we hear more often in the security automation context these days. And this is especially true because automation has become one of the major talking points in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/glossary\/cyber-security\/\">cybersecurity<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c6d8fa0b76669484c6f22ab20de0550e\">How is no-code automation implemented in cybersecurity? How do no-code and<a href=\"https:\/\/sumo-logic.wistia.com\/medias\/ri3tho58j3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Sumo Logic automation<\/a> compare to each other? We\u2019ll discuss all these questions in the following sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d499d9825ad3483518b222c716ad4ca9\">While no-code is our focus, we will also examine low-code <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/brief\/best-practices-to-scale-automation\/\">security automation<\/a> and full-code automation. These concepts are closely related and will help you gain a better insight into automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-eigengrau-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fc52534bf34804da3dfe5ea9b4e963ae\" id=\"three_types_of_security_automation\">Three types of security automation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-09d46c499d9305789f66b89f58776cdf\">We define the main concepts in our discussion of security automation in the following way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>No-code automation<\/strong> means you can automate an entire workflow and add integrations as an indispensable part without using code and relying on developers altogether. Moreover, you can achieve this feat without any coding knowledge and skill.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Low-code or near-no-code automation<\/strong> means you can automate a workflow and integrate new tools easily using code and relying on developers. In this case, automation is extensively but not entirely code-independent.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Full-code automation<\/strong> is automation entirely dependent on code. In other words, you rely on coding and developers throughout the process to create automated workflows and add integrations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-eigengrau-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-97399de10e4be04524c3488a26786695\" id=\"the_current_state_of_affairs:_no-code_vs._full-code_vs._low-code_security_automation\">The current state of affairs: no-code vs. full-code vs. low-code security automation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-eigengrau-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a3cf53fcda725688d89682e91d3364ad\" id=\"no-code_automation\">No-code automation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d8a62ffc1754b59ad2064c5c7cebc767\">No-code automation solutions seem easy to use, but the ease of use has a trade-off: severely limited flexibility and customizability. They offer exclusively ready-made integrations and pre-built workflows with only a narrow application in the gazillion possible real-world scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ba1904e1a4ae38ae5e63106bca2c762c\">Customizability and flexibility are critical to building a scalable and robust security posture in a fluctuating cybersecurity landscape. Therefore, from a security operation center\u2019s standpoint, this trade-off can be a colossal drawback and a reason to look beyond no-code automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-94c2f768434b7dbe61024b7625bfdb49\">Besides, in cybersecurity, maximum accessibility sounds more like a to-do list item than a reality. It is hard to imagine anyone besides a security professional in charge of automation, no matter how high the level of technology abstraction is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-eigengrau-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e29ca75c40c964ee1132f60c76b59e2d\" id=\"full-code_automation\">Full-code automation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9206e4653c8b62edcc59df084e080e87\">Unlike no-code, full-code automation is highly customizable precisely because it is implemented through code. On the flip side, it is time-consuming, complex, and requires experts\u2019 help, which affects the user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b83f664d20e2b7d7f6c44114b51fa631\">Due to its complexity and suboptimal user experience, full-code automation is hardly acceptable in today\u2019s excessively complex and fast-moving cyber environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-eigengrau-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-768eabb4f51638f260e3f03d6ea75699\" id=\"low-code_\/_near_no-code_automation\">Low-code \/ near no-code automation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e7c8aaefe2e7929767f52075f4ca63c3\">Low-code is somewhere in between no-code and full-code automation. It is highly flexible\u2014as low-code development has proved elsewhere\u2014and helps you avoid both pitfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7760da3142c5bae1282381d7f4603e65\">Near-no-code solutions allow you to use as much custom code as necessary to adjust workflow automation and extend integration options. But they also include a visual editor where you can edit pre-built playbooks or create brand-new workflows, which makes them user-friendly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-591573245685ed873bdfb3ee1114ce0f\">Unlike no-code automation tools, low-code solutions have richer integration libraries. More importantly, they provide on-demand integrations through simple code. In addition, they include advanced reporting still missing in no-code solutions. Almost the same applies to case management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a33b5a9e90be8487ca295775d8a91210\">Compared to full code automation, the visual interface makes them far more user-friendly, easier to use and appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-eigengrau-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4fdeed1fd570dc0b3749a6f12ac56aab\" id=\"why_no-code_security_automation_isn\u2019t_practical\">Why no-code security automation isn\u2019t practical<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6d46f9561918c36732aa562975e2426f\">No-code security automation can\u2019t realistically exist for the long term simply because cybersecurity processes and vendor <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/glossary\/api\/\">API<\/a>s continually evolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a7795c030bc6ef63139825e72c16153c\">Flexibility in building integrations is vital for security automation. But it is hard to imagine how you can have flexibility without the possibility of using code. Users often ask for actions that work differently or require different logic than what might be more common. A generic \u201cone size fits all\u201d approach simply doesn\u2019t work well in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9ecfde08a6f4b09c178f3263cbca6fac\">Concerning the integration of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/glossary\/cyber-security\/\">cybersecurity<\/a> tools, APIs change, and businesses evolve, and so do the processes that protect those businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-bcceb1ca1f23cc062f30242f757b6f08\">For example, security professionals may want to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Extend integrations\u2019 action functionalities and go beyond standard actions<\/li>\n<li>Modify action parameters by changing the name or order of inputs, adding personalized hints and default values, creating new fields and more<\/li>\n<li>Personalize action results \u2014 for instance, removing any fields they don\u2019t need<\/li>\n<li>Create custom table views by filtering and grouping the available data in an organized way, allowing them to see only the most relevant information<\/li>\n<li>Refactoring, in case integrated technologies evolve\u2014for example, if APIs or endpoints change<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-eigengrau-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-705cce36c55edba73da5218c2c94a940\" id=\"going_above_and_beyond:_security_automation_without_developers\">Going above and beyond: security automation without developers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-990cf6cba1519544cd6d8d47d3993cbd\">To help security teams minimize tool and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/blog\/reducing-alert-fatigue-grouping-customization\/\" target=\"_blank\"> alert fatigue<\/a>, Sumo Logic\u2019s security information and event management solution, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/guides\/siem\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cloud <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/solutions\/cloud-siem\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/solutions\/cloud-siem\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SIEM<\/a>, and security orchestration, automation and response solution, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/solutions\/cloud-soar\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cloud SOAR<\/a>, provide <a href=\"https:\/\/help.sumologic.com\/docs\/platform-services\/automation-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">automation capabilities<\/a> that allow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/blog\/security-analyst-faq-career-cybersecurity\/\" target=\"_blank\">security analysts<\/a> to fully automate playbooks with actions like enrichments and notifications to address potential security threats faster and more accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-74a0c09e8e2e8989403564ee1a0f8e1d\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sumo-logic.wistia.com\/medias\/eqs067e6vw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more<\/a> about these automation capabilities and note that using the Automation Service with Cloud SIEM differs from Cloud SOAR in the following ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>In Cloud SIEM, the Automation Service only supports automated enrichment, notification, and custom action types.<\/li>\n<li>Using the Automation Service with Cloud SIEM does not include the incident and case management features from Cloud SOAR.<\/li>\n<li>Cloud SOAR provides full or enhanced playbooks, integrations, and actions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b945974286caf1a02f01200465580e6f\">Sumo Logic\u2019s Cloud <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/solutions\/cloud-soar\/\">SOAR solution<\/a> goes beyond a near-no-code or low-code platform. It allows users to employ code for automation and integration purposes without them necessarily being the ones who develop the code. That means you don\u2019t have to hire a data scientist or engineer just to make it work. And if you don\u2019t already have developers on your team, Sumo Logic experts can add or modify any necessary actions as needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2cc2a1ba26f3e7e05629bcdc69340c70\">Our <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/blog\/supervised-active-intelligence-the-next-level-of-security-automation\/\">Supervised Active Intelligence engine<\/a> recommends the right playbooks for your team and uses its machine-learning algorithm to find the most suitable response to an incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e19e3ff0222d7b75d39bf3e6f3aa3b68\">You can also choose from hundreds of out-of-the-box actions and playbooks or ask the Sumo Logic professional services team to develop your necessary API connectors. Sumo Logic Cloud SOAR offers hundreds of pre-built integrations with leading third-party <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/blog\/threat-intelligence\/\">threat intelligence<\/a> vendors, which help secure operations and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/request-cloud-soar-demo\/\">automate incident response<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-eigengrau-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9740a2277da1cfeeb82d873089442829\" id=\"open_integration_framework\">Open Integration Framework<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-40677d1be263a5df4bfd51340668018d\">If your security team has experience with code, you can leverage Cloud SOAR\u2019s<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/glossary\/open-integration-framework-oif\/#:~:text=Open%20Integration%20Framework%20(OIF)%20is,more%20seamless%20security%20remediation%20workflow.\"> Open Integration Framework (OIF)<\/a>. The OIF is a graphical environment that includes a full-fledged IDE and supports multiple languages: Python, Perl, PowerShell, Bash scripting and YAML.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d3fc23197351dda6f2d2e98c795b90e8\">The OIF is where you change existing code, add new code and define custom actions. Anyone can access it and effortlessly develop a wealth of new connectors. The Sumo Logic Cloud SOAR team can provide the necessary training and support for in-house developers to get the most out of the OIF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-00a01728f3b02733c4ad55eb6059b82e\">Modifying code is critical to an efficient <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/blog\/build-cloud-native-soc\/\">security operations center<\/a> (SOC) because it leads to flexibility and customizability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-062e0a825b38370f9bf82cba47388b20\">No-code has its merits for non-technical users. However, once a user\u2019s needs become more complex and sophisticated, it is hard to imagine how a no-code security solution catches up with an organization\u2019s needs. Sumo Logic is a global leader in security automation with hundreds of out-of-the-box integrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-delft-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a523066e9189f6e1ae0e17b7da1773a8\">Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/blog\/why-proactive-threat-hunting-is-a-necessity\/\" target=\"_blank\">why proactive threat hunting is a necessity<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":25721,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"show_custom_date":false,"custom_date":"","featured":false,"featured_image":0,"learn_more_label":"","image_alt_text":"","learn_more_type":"","show_popup":false,"learn_more_link_file":0,"event_date":false,"event_start_date":"","event_end_date":"","place_holder_image_url":"","post_reading_time":"4","notification_enabled":false,"notification_text":"","notification_logo":"","notification_expiration_time":0,"is_enable_transparent_header":false,"selected_taxonomy_terms":{"blog-category":[133,127],"blog-tag":[]},"selected_primary_terms":[],"learn_more_link":[],"featured_page_list":[],"notification_enabled_post_list":[],"_gspb_post_css":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"4668,71369,71176","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"blog-category":[133,127],"blog-tag":[],"class_list":["post-4414","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog-category-cloud-soar","blog-category-secops-security"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/4414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/4414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26894,"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/4414\/revisions\/26894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-category?post=4414"},{"taxonomy":"blog-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sumologic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-tag?post=4414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}