IT pros hold hope that low-code platforms will help resolve app backlog

Organisations are planning to ramp up application development projects, a new study from OutSystems reports.

The State of application development report, based on a survey of 3,300 IT professionals across six continents, found that digital innovation and differentiation initiatives are leading to ever-increasing demand for app development.

OutSystems found that 65% of organisations had 10 or more apps planned for delivery in 2019, while 38% had 25 or more apps planned for this year. In larger businesses with more than 10,000 staff, 42% of the IT professionals surveyed said they planned to develop 50 or more apps in 2019, but just 13% of those in companies with 500-5,000 employees said the same.

The study also showed that IT professionals found mobile app development took longer than web development. When OutSystems looked at the IT professionals who said their app development projects took five or more months to complete, it found that 45% of these projects involved mobile apps, while 35% were web apps.

Overall, 45% of the IT professionals surveyed said they had a backlog of between one and 10 web or mobile app development projects, and 19% said they had more than 10 projects backing up.

The survey found that legacy integration and a lack of suitable application programming interfaces were the biggest inhibitors to a project’s progress. While 33% of IT professionals thought delivery of software was somewhat faster than in 2018, only 30% thought that the business side of their organisation was satisfied with the speed of application releases.

The study also highlighted the use of low-code platforms as a way to improve app development times. Some 41% of the IT professionals surveyed said their organisation was already using a low-code application platform, and a further 10% said they were about to start using one.

“Our 2019 survey shows that many IT departments are facing a multitude of disruptive forces when it comes to digital transformation and application development,” said Steve Rotter, chief marketing officer at OutSystems. “The threat of digital disruption and the need for digital transformation has been a driver of IT strategy for years.”