92% of IT leaders comfortable with business users using low-code tools

A survey of 100 U.S. information technology (IT) leaders with application development responsibilities, sponsored by Salesforce, revealed trends in application and process development trends in the past 12 months, pain points for developers as demand for services increased, interest in low-code development tools and shifting responsibilities for development to business users. There survey also highlighted the perceived benefits of the use of low-code tools by business users.  Process automationand greater demand for business application development will continue to serve as a necessary capability to accelerate digital business transformation.

Here are some of the key findings of the IT leadership 2021 survey:

88% of IT leaders say workloads have increased in the past 12 months. 60% of IT leaders who said their workload increased have noted an increase of more than half. I believe the pandemic served as a 5-10 year accelerant for digital business transformation. The adoption of e-commerce is an example of 10 years of acceleration. The demand for IT to accelerate innovation is greater now than perhaps ever before. The CIO’s 2025 technology roadmap suddenly became a priority in 2020 and the present day. The only viable method of scaling application development and process reinvention is by the adoption of more frictionless processes and tools. The need for IT innovation takes on new urgency in the post-pandemic world. The pandemic created a tipping point for IT. Business demands on IT increased as remote work replaced office norms, and the majority of IT teams failed to deliver on all project commitments. Today, IT is under tremendous pressure to transform in order to move faster. Just 37% of organizations say IT completed all the projects asked of them last year.

92% of IT leaders say their work increasingly impacts the business. Another 96% of IT leaders say there is increased demand from the business for new apps and processes. 70% of IT leaders are concerned that increased workloads will curb their ability to innovate. Most customers expect companies to accelerate digital initiatives due to COVID-19. Digital-first behavior is here to stay as customers develop new habits that will last for the long term. As digital engagement grows, customers expect companies to digitize their operations for multichannel, high-touch interactions. This relies in no small part on the use of personal information, and customers are calling for enhanced transparency and stewardship. According to recent 2021 research, 88% of customers expect companies to accelerate digital initiatives due to COVID-19. Customers expect companies to accelerate their digital transformation. An important 2020 lesson: every company must become a digital company.