A new report published by Mendix Technology BV has found that low-code adoption is surging as the benefits of adopting a visual development approach is being embraced by more enterprises.

Based on a survey of 2,205 individuals, including information technology professionals and software developers in six countries, the report found that 77% of enterprises have already adopted low-code and 72% of IT leaders said it’s a trend they can’t afford to miss. Mendix, which itself provides low-code tools, was acquired by Siemens AG in a deal valued at about $700 million in August 2018.

In the age of COVID-19, with its related digital disruption, the report found that although pressures such as the shift to remote work could have worried IT professionals about the acceleration of change, this actually wasn’t the case. Some 58% of those surveyed said that they are actually excited by the acceleration and 45% said it has brought an urgency for faster and more collaborative development.

The report notes that organizations across industries realize that business-as-usual software development cannot meet the growing demand. Some 57% of those surveyed said the number of staff needed for software development is increasing, while 76% said the demand for developers had reached a fever pitch. At the same time, 61% said the cost of software development was rising and two-thirds said software projects are being delivered behind schedule.

As such, the report suggests that the pandemic has shifted low-code into high gear. 64% of organizations have relied on non-technical staff to relieve pressure on the IT department during COVID-19 with low-code central to this.

Nearly two-thirds of IT professionals agreed that low-code is their go-to workaround development solution and as many as 59% of projects using low-code are a collaboration between business and IT groups.

“Low-code technology is accelerating the pace of digital transformation by democratizing software development,” Derek Roos, co-founder and chief executive officer of Mendix, said in a statement. “Low-code also has the potential to bring major software projects back on track while keeping costs down, using the hidden technical talent already in an organization.”

Image: Pixabay