Report highlights 83% adoption of Citizen Development programs among top tech leaders; AI and automation seen as critical drivers for innovation.
Kissflow, a leading platform that empowers process owners, a.k.a. Citizen developers and IT developers, to automate middle office processes and applications, released its highly anticipated Citizen Development Trends Report 2024, offering valuable insights into how organisations are leveraging Citizen Development (CD) to accelerate digital transformation.
The report, based on a survey conducted with Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from enterprises with over 5,000 employees, reveals significant strides in the adoption of citizen development, with 83% of respondents reporting active programs and many viewing it as a pivotal strategy for achieving business goals.
Citizen development is transforming how organisations approach digital transformation by empowering non-IT employees to design, build, and deploy departmental applications, processes and tasks using low-code/no-code platforms. This movement allows non-IT business users—known as “citizen developers”—to create solutions tailored to their specific needs without relying on IT departments. Citizen development is a progressive step towards democratizing technology use and embracing non-IT developers into the technology development process.
Key Findings:
- High Adoption and Strategic Importance: 83% of tech leaders have implemented a Citizen Development program, with 92% agreeing that it plays a vital role in achieving their digital transformation objectives. Among those surveyed, 56% have prioritised CD as a top initiative and allocated dedicated funding.
- Accelerating Innovation: 62% of respondents believe that Citizen Development significantly accelerates digital transformation by empowering employees outside of IT to build and deploy their own solutions. Operations and HR departments are cited as the leading adopters of CD.
- Tangible Business Benefits: Organisations are seeing faster responses to market changes, increased innovation, and reduced IT backlogs. 76% of tech leaders expect faster response times, and 75% anticipate increased solution customisation as a direct result of embracing citizen development in their organisation.
- Enhanced Productivity: 58% of respondents predict that implementing Citizen Development will lead to over a 10% increase in individual productivity by streamlining workflows and reducing inefficiencies.
In a previous Kissflow’s findings, 90% of tech leaders in Southeast Asia viewed improving app development as a key step towards successful digital transformation. However, it was found that 33% reported that app development still takes over 6 months due to inadequate platforms for support. This convergence of Southeast Asia and global data indicates the importance of citizen development in revolutionising digital strategies. By adopting low-code platforms and empowering citizen developers, organisations both in Southeast Asia and across the continents can tackle traditional development obstacles, boost innovation and achieve effective digital transformation.
“Citizen Development is no longer a concept for the future. It is already driving digital transformation in organisations around the world,” said Suresh Sambandam, CEO of Kissflow. “IDC estimates over 750 million digital apps will need to be developed by 2025, while developer shortage is expected to touch four million by 2025. With an increasing number of engineering talent entering the workforce across industries, the culture of business teams building simple apps is becoming common. Organisations that have been early adopters of this paradigm are seeing transformative results, across the enterprise. This report shows that by empowering non-IT professionals to contribute to application development, businesses can innovate faster, reduce backlogs, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market,” further added, Suresh.
Challenges and Concerns
While the report highlights the immense potential of Citizen Development, it also identifies key challenges.
- Data security remains the top concern for 44% of CIOs, followed by the need for seamless integration with existing IT infrastructures.
- Governance and the lack of training for citizen developers are also noted as significant challenges that organisations must address to unlock the full potential of CD.
About the Survey
The findings in the Citizen Development Trends Report 2024 are based on a comprehensive online survey conducted by a third party on behalf of Kissflow. The survey included CIOs from various industries all from organisations with over 5,000 employees.
