Insight: Addressing the Developer Shortage

What can you expect to learn from this article?

1

In this article, we address the developer shortage and what measures can be taken to overcome this challenge.
2

We discuss no-code development platforms (NCDP), what they entail and what they require in order to be a success. Furthermore, we highlight the benefits of these pllatforms, once implemented succesfully.

Due to the shortage of developers and the increasing pace of digital transformation, companies turn to these platforms more and more confidently. No in-depth knowledge of programming is necessary to use low-code and no-code platforms, which can be operated by properly trained staff, provided there is professional oversight. Is this a sign of a deeper change on the IT market?

The pandemic has clearly accelerated the pace of digitization and automation. KPMG predicts that large companies’ digitization goals planned for 2030 shall be achieved by 2025. As business needs rapidly grow, there has been an increased demand for developer work.

Interest in professional training for developers has been growing for years, but demand will continue to surpass supply for a long time. For this reason, there is growing interest in using low-code and no-code platforms in organizations. Specialists will always be in demand, but nowadays, more and more problems involve tasks that can be solved by non-developers.

Companies are under pressure. Not only is the number of problems to be solved growing, but so is the expectation to speed up project delivery.

Paweł Górecki

Product Owner at 7N

Zero code, but done

Non-developers who can use no-code development platforms (NCDP) lessen the burden on experienced developers. These are cloud-based SaaS tools which utilize an intuitive graphical interface. Using them does not require writing complex code. It’s enough to use basic functions and ready-made templates and modules by dragging and dropping components, the way you build a flowchart. Combined elements are processed in the cloud and the generated application is ready for use.

According to Gartner, even before the pandemic, the demand for applications was five times greater than the supply capability of the IT industry.

NCDP platforms can be used by companies without an in-house IT team willing to efficiently create forms, manage their workflow, modify and build applications, add functionality in an online store or create simple integrations with other systems such as ERP. These platforms scale, perform, and easily expand with defined functionality. They radically reduce the time from an idea to execution.

The platform simplicity translates, among others, into the inability to edit the software’s code, which by definition makes it impossible to build complex solutions and integrations.

NDCP platforms have emerged on the market due to the Citizen Development movement, which encourages employees to develop business applications based on software platform. Such solutions have been known to developers for many years. Even Excel is a tool that allows you to build simple solutions according to the no-code spirit.

The growing availability of platforms increases the operational independence of employees and, simultaneously, offers flexibility to operate in the agile spirit and optimize work

This approach not only unburdens IT departments, but also encourages team members to learn, experiment, test ideas, and be open to innovation. Employees gain a sense of initiative and can quickly respond to changing circumstances

From the perspective of low-code platforms, programming becomes a faster and more accessible process, enabling testing ideas and creating functional design prototypes, known as MVPs. Forrester claims that 80% of IT specialists believe that ability to complete tasks within the budget is the greatest benefit of low-code software development.