OutSystems: ‘App development industry is ready for mass disruption’.

Many IT departments are confronted with various disruptive movements when it comes to digital transformation and application development. This is evident from the sixth annual research report on the state of application development by low code specialist OutSystems.

The survey was conducted among 3,300 IT professionals in all industries around the world. This shows that speed and agility are more important than ever, says CMO Steve Rotter of OutSystems. “The threat of digital disruption and the demand for digital transformation has been a driving force behind IT strategy for years. Add that to the current uncertain global economic outlook, and it becomes clear why business leaders are now so worried about agility.”

Agile practices, however, are still not mature, according to the study. Although 60 percent of organizations invested in agile tools and services in the past year, the average maturity score is only 2.7 out of 5. This means that most organizations are still in the process of defining agile processes.

Backlogs

In the meantime, backlogs also remain present. 64 percent of IT professionals say they have a backlog in application development. Only 39 percent say that this backlog has improved over the past year. And according to 46 percent, the average time to deliver a web or mobile application is five months or more, which means that you have to work pretty hard.

However, this requires the presence of people, which is not always easy. According to respondents, the number of requests for app developers to appear in 2019 has grown by 60 percent. 38 percent also plan to deliver 25 or more apps this year. 75 percent further state that talent is scarce and only 36 percent of organizations have a larger developer team than a year ago.

Low code

In the meantime, low code is no longer just for early adopters. Of the respondents, 41 percent indicated that their organisation already uses a low code application platform. Ten percent also say they’re about to use one.

Low code also appears to have positive characteristics, according to the report. According to the OutSystems study, organizations that use low code are 26 percent more likely to describe their company as satisfied or reasonably satisfied with the speed of application development.

In addition, they are 11 percent more likely to deliver web apps in four months or less, and are 15 percent more likely to do the same for mobile applications. Their agile maturity is also growing: there is a 20 percent higher chance that that maturity will get a score of level 3, 4 or 5. Finally, it is 12 percent more likely that their backlog has improved since last year.