A new report by low-code specialist OutSystems has suggested organisations are at risk of suffering an “app crunch” as demand for apps meets a developer skills shortage.
https://www.governmentcomputing.com/applications/news/organisations-facing-app-crunch-skills-shortage-bites-says-outsystems-report
The “The State of Application Development Report” examines the challenges faced, development priorities and acceleration strategies of IT teams worldwide, putting the spotlight on critical issues.
The report, which was based on a survey conducted in March of more than 3500 IT professionals in over 116 countries, claims there is a “significant problem” with backlogs. 61% of UK organisations report a backlog in app development with 17% having more than 10 apps behind schedule.
In general, the report says, demand for apps in the UK is booming, and is higher than the global average. 45% of UK IT professionals state they will develop more than 10 apps in 2018 (compared with 42% globally) and 14% are aiming to deliver more than 100 apps this year (compared with 10% globally).
The report also discusses skills shortages, saying the shortage is more acute in the UK. 67% of UK respondents had hired web or mobile developers in the past year with 87% of those surveyed reporting difficulties in hiring the right talent, compared with an average of 80% reporting difficulties globally.
The report highlights the adoption of new approaches by organisations including citizen development and low-code application development platforms, to cope with rising app dev demand and the difficulty of hiring development skills that are in short supply.
Lack of investment in customer-facing tools is also a concern, the report says. While UK businesses are prioritising the development of customer-facing applications over internal business apps, they are less than half as likely as their global counterparts to have invested in customer-centric tools such as customer journey mapping, design thinking and ‘lean UX’. This will also limit their ability to deliver compelling, customer-focused apps.
The report also asked what the top challenges are that complicate or delay delivery of web and mobile applications. The top three answers were integration with legacy systems (60%), fuzzy and changing requirements (59%), and the time necessary for testing and QA (44%).
Despite the report pointing to 34% of respondents saying their organisation was
already using a low-code platform, with a further 9% saying they are about to start using one, OutSystems describes the UK as being “behind the curve in low-code adoption.” It says only 24% of organisations are using rapid application development systems/platforms, compared with the 34% global figure.
Worldwide, the survey found evidence that low code adoption has “crossed the chasm” and is becoming a mainstream approach to meeting the challenges of swift, agile and controlled app development among the “early majority”.
Organisations that are already using low-code were 21% more likely to describe their organisation as being happy or somewhat happy with the speed of app development and three times more likely to report having no app development backlog.
Nick Pike, Vice-President UK & Ireland for OutSystems said, “Demand for apps in the UK is clearly booming, but our survey indicates that the availability of developer talent and investment in customer-centric tools are not keeping pace.
“As demand outstrips supply the app development crunch will bite. This means backlogs are likely to increase resulting in frustration among UK businesses as they face delays in digital transformation programmes. They need to think strategically about investing in the tools that can accelerate app development, boost the productivity of developers and help them develop the kinds of customer-facing apps that they want to build.
With such demand comes alternative measures and solutions such as companies looking further afield and considering Non-EU talent which requires visa sponsorship.
For more information regarding Visa Sponsorship and IT talent working on projects/contracts on a Tier 2 General do get in touch at consult@mavisas.co.uk.
Thanks for reading
Mason