The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a paradigm shift in the way people work and interact with technology. As businesses grapple with economic uncertainty, tight budgets and a shortage of skilled developers, one trend that emerged as a game-changer was the rise of low-code and citizen development.

The benefits of low-code and citizen development are manifold. These platforms accelerate time-to-market for applications, allowing businesses to innovate and respond swiftly to market demands. The democratization of software development also brings diverse perspectives and domain expertise to the table, as employees from different backgrounds contribute their unique insights.

There is no doubt that these platforms have become the go-to solution for companies looking to build applications swiftly and efficiently. To back that statement, a WEBCON study revealed that a majority of CIOs surveyed said low-code applications were either very important or mission-critical for their organizations, and 84% expect importance of low-code to increase over the next 12-24 months.

“Low-code platforms speed development and lower costs for professionals and non-professionals alike, so it’s not surprising that cash-strapped and resource-conscious companies are embracing low-code,” said Mike Fitzmaurice, Vice President, North America, WEBCON. “What is surprising, however, was the extent to which low-code is no longer considered optional or experimental; companies are no longer considering whether to use it, but where and how to best deploy the technology, instead.”

WEBCON is a Europe-based software provider that delivers an enterprise-grade low-code business process automation and management platform that helps companies around the world work more efficiently and leverage the potential of digital transformation.

While the study does reveal that delivering low-code apps is less costly and faster than custom-code, it also points to potential challenges and considerations companies need to consider when adopting low-code and citizen development:

• Most companies have two or more low-code platforms in use that are primarily used by professional developers followed by citizen developers.
• Only half of companies using citizen development today believe it’s working well.
• More than three-quarters of CIOs feel that the current pace of app development is behind and needs to improve.
• Business requirements are imprecise.
• There is also an increasing risk of managing many applications and inability to scale.

So, what does this mean exactly?

Larger organizations tend to struggle with these challenges, which are also likely driving another main hurdle:

Excessive cost.

The surveyed CIOs also note application delivery is a complex and time-consuming process that includes requirements analysis, implementation, coding, system configuration and end-user training, with each stage taking months to complete.

CIOs are counting on a platform approach in adopting low-code to minimize the time to complete these stages, as well as the various tools and applications required.

“Given the trend of companies limiting the number of platforms in use, it is crucial to choose a low-code platform that not only accelerates app development but also facilitates requirements gathering, supports flexible change management, and enables continuous process improvement,” said Fitzmaurice.