Remember when your team needed custom software that wasn't available off-the-shelf? Back then, you'd turn to IT specialists or outsource programmers. Those days are over.
Today, software development is accessible to nearly every department in your organization—no longer reserved for elite IT experts. Advances in cloud computing, open source software, the API economy, and low-code platforms enable faster, more affordable software development with minimal specialized training.
As a result, development is expanding from IT to the entire enterprise, from professional developers to 'citizen developers,' and from business units to nimble startups.
Software creation is becoming ubiquitous. Gartner predicts that by 2024, 80% of technology products and services will be built by non-technical experts. A growing segment of customers outside traditional IT is capturing a larger share of the market.
Forward-thinking companies are empowering employees to build their own applications, fostering agility and rapid response. Those who manage risks wisely thrive, while legacy software vendors grapple with disruption: in a world of DIY apps, what's their role?
Gartner also forecasts $30 billion in revenue by 2023 from pandemic-era innovations that didn't exist before.
Technologies are converging to simplify, accelerate, and reduce the cost of software development.
Deloitte research highlights how these forces are reshaping enterprise software norms.
Beyond innovative startups, tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft provide tools that boost developer productivity, enabling 'non-traditional' developers across functions to participate.
Statista forecasts strong growth in low-code development platform global sales from 2018-2025.
Entrepreneurs leverage third-party resources strategically, amplifying capabilities without building from scratch.
"CEOs see digital business as a team sport, not just IT's domain," says Rajesh Kandaswamy, Gartner's distinguished vice president of research.
High-powered data, AI, and low-code tools are democratizing tech. Key enablers include:
Organizations increasingly adopt open source to cut costs and timelines. Its inspectable, modifiable source code slashes expenses versus proprietary or in-house options, while community innovation accelerates progress. Open source now rivals proprietary software across business apps.
Gartner found over half of organizations integrated open source into IT strategies by 2011, with a third of 2012 code being open source. A recent survey shows 65% of companies use it to speed app development. Venture funding hit $7 billion in 2015 for open source startups.
APIs—standard interfaces enabling software interoperability—let teams reuse proven code, accelerating development.
Companies like Uber integrate Google Maps for navigation, Braintree for payments, and Twilio for messaging. CB Insights notes venture investments in API-focused startups tripled to $1.3 billion in 2016.
Forrester projects U.S. enterprises spending $660 million on API management in 2020, up from $140 million in 2014. About 67% use open-standard APIs.
Cloud providers enhance PaaS offerings with databases, authentication, ML, and more, enabling cheaper, faster app builds and deployments.
Global PaaS reached $4.6 billion in 2016 with 21% growth. Firms allocate ~19% of cloud budgets to PaaS, alongside SaaS (45%) and IaaS (30%).
Low-code platforms relieve overburdened IT teams, using model-driven development. Users drag-and-drop graphical models and pre-built components to create complex apps without deep coding expertise.
Analysts project a 55% CAGR, growing the market beyond $15 billion by 2020.
Leaders must redefine 'tech-fluent' talent: future employees will shape and build tech. Invest in tools, training, and non-IT dev capabilities. These shifts impact operations and strategy, distinguishing digital leaders from laggards amid transformation.
