Here’s how citizen developers will transform businesses in 2017
By Ann Monroe, vice president of worldwide marketing, FileMaker, Inc.
More and more businesses are adopting mobile devices and are building custom apps to improve their operations and boost productivity. In-house development of no-code/low-code custom apps has allowed teams to eliminate inefficient processes and bring together scattered information. It has enabled team leaders to optimize how their team works by having apps that are custom to their needs.
People who do not have extensive development experience or IT skills are creating custom apps. To get a deeper look into who these so-called citizen developers are and how they are improving businesses, we’ve compiled the 2017 State of the Custom App report based on surveys of customers across North America, Japan and Europe.
What did we find out? Read on.
Who is a Citizen Developer?
Citizen developers are proactive problem solvers who make things better with customs apps but do not typically have a technical background. More than 30 percent have a management or supervisory role. These are individuals who understand how the company functions and what needs improvement. The majority of survey respondents are advanced computer users having no background in computer science or software engineering, with only 12 percent of survey respondents indicating they have a background in computer science.
As for personal characteristics, citizen developers self-identify as being problem solvers (49 percent), hard-working (26 percent) and organized (23 percent). They are also proactive and motivated. They see a need and are willing to learn something new that will make their jobs and the jobs of their coworkers better. 83 percent of respondents reported that this was why they learned how to create a custom app. 63 percent wanted to be more productive, and 42 percent wanted to help others at their workplace.
As a result of improved processes and greater productivity, almost half of citizen developers (48 percent) feel increased satisfaction at work, and 42 percent feel increased confidence in their ability to work with technology.
Why Do Businesses Need Custom Apps?
Organizations are turning to custom apps because their needs are simply not being met by packaged apps or inefficient processes involving spreadsheets, paper forms and email. Small businesses and teams want affordable, tailor-made custom apps to improve their workflow and increase productivity. Their wish was granted, as 82 percent saw a reduction in inefficient tasks and 71 percent saw an increase in team productivity.
These benefits are realized in a surprisingly short time span. The majority of citizen developers (71 percent) had their first custom app up and running in less than three months. 46 percent built and deployed their first custom app in less than a month. 66 percent of citizen developers spend 10 hours or less per week on their custom apps. 42 percent reported spending less than five hours per week. This means that the vast majority of their time is spent on their primary job — something any boss will appreciate.
Custom Apps for all Business Types
Citizen developers are working in organizations of all sizes and implementing custom apps. This includes small and medium-sized businesses as well as smaller teams insider larger, enterprise-size entities.
According to our findings, when it comes to businesses creating and using custom apps more than half — 52 percent — are small businesses with between 5 and 99 employees. The other half is almost equally divided between medium and large businesses.
For these organizations, custom apps have become critical for success, combining tasks such as managing customers, inventory and projects in a centralized system. This is particularly important to small organizations that would not ordinarily be able to streamline their processes.
Here are a few examples of how custom apps are being used:
· Reporting and analysis — 46 percent
· Managing inventory and assets — 33 percent
· Managing contact information for customers, clients, and members — 33 percent
· Integrating data from multiple sources — 32 percent
· Managing documents, images, videos or other files — 31 percent
Transforming Your Business
Citizen developers are uniquely positioned to create custom apps that solve real problems for a very important reason — they’re in the trenches every day and have intimate understanding of what their company and team need.
And with today’s ever-changing technological and economical landscape, there’s never been a better time to transform the workflow. People who commit to improving business processes with the help of a custom app platform can successfully create business value quicker and much easier than they may have previously believed.
Learn more about citizen developers and download the full State of the Custom App Report
