3 min Devops

Low-code is everywhere and almost every company is using it

It's often imposed from the top down as a cost-saving measure

Low-code is everywhere and almost every company is using it

Low-code is here to stay for enterprise organisations, playing an important role in developing software for all kinds of business units. The introduction of low-code is a top-down affair, as many C-level executives say they have driven the adoption of low-code within their companies.

That’s according to a global survey among 2,000 IT decision-makers and C-level executives by Mendix, the low-code outfit that’s part of Siemens. The main reason for choosing low-code is cost-related, as 49 percent of the respondents say saving money was a deciding factor.

Increasing productivity

Yet there are more advantages to adopting low-code. For example, 80 percent of those surveyed believe it increases IT team productivity, and an almost equal percentage (79 percent) say it lowers operational costs. Moreover, 73 percent also claim it speeds up time-to-market.

Almost all companies (98 percent) now use low-code platforms, tools, or components for their software development. In fact, 69 percent of all companies have more than one in their toolbox. Furthermore, 85 percent believe combining low-code with AI applications helps their organisation innovate faster. More than half of those surveyed (53 percent) see ‘digital transformation’ as their most important use case for low-code.

‘Low-code is the future’

Although that term is a bit overused, we understand it as the process in which organisations fundamentally rethink their business models, processes and customer interactions by implementing digital technologies.

“We have always believed that low-code had the potential to be much more than a tool to automate manual processes,” said Raymond Kok, CEO of Mendix. “This research shows that the market agrees. If you deploy low-code smartly, you can rethink entire business processes from the ground up.”

According to the report, a whopping 75 percent of the C-suite sees low-code as the only option for the future of software development. COOs and CEOs are heavily involved in this decision-making process. In addition to cost savings, the desire to build applications faster leads to executives’ adoption of low-code.

So, it’s safe to say low code is a favourite among non-technical decision-makers. One drawback, according to 41 percent of those surveyed, is that this group often lacks the know-how to understand its full potential. In addition, 39 percent suspect that their non-technical C-level colleagues want to implement low-code to save on labour costs.

Further training is needed

In addition, 80 percent are concerned about the governance surrounding low-code software development. The survey results further indicate that IT leaders are generally quite willing to invest in low-code and AI. Still, its implementation requires training for both developers and non-technical users, says 85 percent.

Some decision-makers dig in their heels: nearly one-third of respondents say their management does not want to invest in training the IT team in using low-code platforms. The survey does not reveal whether that is because they do not think it is important or because it would be too expensive.

Read more: Low-code: what is it and which type should you consider?