As the transition from traditional application development to low-code continues, it’s important to know what low-code is, why it matters, and how it can transform the way work gets done in your business.

These stats on low-code will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision when adopting the platform to support application development in your business.

After you scroll through the latest low-code stats, be sure to check out our facts about low-code as well. While stats are informative, the facts behind the movement explain why more and more businesses are choosing the low-code path.

Critical Stats on Low-Code

  1. The global market forecast for low-code is around 65 Billion U.S. by 2027. And it's expected to reach $187 Billion by 2030. That's a CAGR of 31.1% for 2020 - 2030.

This is up from $10.3 Billion in 2019 with COVID 19 driving the shift due to increased remote work environments, the need for businesses to be agile, and the drive for lean, more efficient business systems.

  1. By 2025, organizations will build 70% of their new applications using low-code or no-code platforms. (This is up from less than 25% in 2020.)

Low-Code Adoption in Businesses

  1. Most Enterprises (80%) will have policies in place for citizen developers by 2024, according to Gartner.

This will likely be an effort to reduce strain on IT departments while collectively improving workflows as businesses work in increasingly unpredictable markets.

  1. Currently, 72% of IT leaders state that their ticket backlog interferes with strategic projects. In fact, they spend much of their time maintaining legacy systems.

  2. 26% of executives believe low-code platforms are the most critical investment in automation (up from 10% since the pandemic).

  3. 82% of companies cannot attract and retain the software engineers/developers they need. And this number may increase in the wake of the Great Resignation.

Facts on Low-Code Use

  1. Prudent enterprises (as defined by Appian), value the flexibility (83%), speed (63%), and automation (67%) qualities that low-code provides. These qualities matter more as businesses look for ways to fast track their digital transformations while reducing cost, risk, and waste in their organizations.

  2. Gartner states that by 2023, there will be 4x more citizen developers than professional developers at large enterprises.

  3. Citizen integrator tools (low-code platforms) will reach mainstream use within 2 - 5 years.

  4. According to McKinsey, organizations with the best tools drive "Developer Velocity" and they're 65% more innovative than bottom-quartile companies. Additionally, retention rates are 47% higher for companies that can provide access to these tools during development.

Low-code was considered by these companies as a critical tool for supporting "Developer Velocity." And companies that embraced the citizen development movement scored 33% higher on innovation.

  1. In a 2017 report from 451 Research and Filemaker, Inc, 82% of firms stated that app development outside of IT was important. The piece noted that almost 60% of custom apps were made outside of IT.

According to Gartner, that number could reach 70% by 2024 thanks to low-code.

  1. Forrester estimated that by the end of 2021, 75% of all enterprise software would be made with low-code.

  2. By 2023, businesses will develop more than 500 million apps in the cloud (equivalent to the number of apps developed in the last 40 years). The majority of these will be to support digital transformations.

If this is the case, then Charles Lamanna, Corporate vice president of the citizen applications platform at Microsoft says that 450 million of these apps will be built using low-code because there isn't enough talent out there to meet demand without it.

  1. By 2024, 75% of enterprises will use at least four low-code platforms for citizen development initiatives and business application development.

  2. Spurred forward by the pandemic, over 50% of medium and large enterprises will use a low-code or no-code platform for application development.

  3. According to Gartner's survey on citizen development, 41% of respondents currently had citizen development initiatives in place. And 20% of those that don't have them in place are in the process of developing or evaluating initiatives.

Organizations will fill an increasing pull to adopt these systems as they become more widespread and their benefits become more well-known to developers and IT leaders.

  1. 47% of developers said they don't have access to the tools they need to build applications fast enough to meet deadlines. And 41% of developers want more than half the apps their organizations make to be built on low-code platforms.

Rather than replacing developers, low-code streamlines their workflows, helping them build better apps faster.

Stats on the Benefits of Low-Code

  1. 73% of CFOs state their businesses are already streamlining workflows and processes with automation and integrations.

  2. Businesses report a major skill gap within their IT department, second only to Data Analytics.

  3. The average salary for a software developer in the US for 2022 was $110,140 according to US News.

  4. 88% of IT leaders noted that their workload increased during the pandemic with 60% saying it increased by more than 50%. And only 37% of IT leaders saying they finished the projects assigned to them the previous year.

  5. IDC also found that low-code spread up the software development lifecycle by 62% for new applications and 72% for adding new features, achieved an additional $19.8 million in annual revenue and increased productivity by 123%.

  6. 84% of enterprise organizations have turned to low-code development to reduce strain on their IT departments as of 2018. They see low-code as an asset to further digital transformation faster.

  7. Low-code allows the average company to avoid hiring two IT developers, providing an additional $4.4 million in business value over three years plus labor reduction.

  8. Low-code can speed up application development by a factor of 10, meaning that developers can brainstorm, build, test, and deploy new apps in days or weeks instead of months.

  9. Low-code and no-code platforms can reduce the time needed to build custom applications between 50% -90% vs. traditional application development that relies on coding language.

  10. An IDC report found customers earned an ROI of 509% after five years using low-code and intelligent process automation. And 100% of low-code enterprises earn an ROI from from their platforms.

Stats on Low-Code Use Cases

  1. Statista released a report on worldwide low-code application usage for 2021 with 33% of respondents stating data modeling and visualization as their primary use. Data security, automating processes, and e-commerce apps were other use cases mentioned by responders.

  2. Main reasons businesses use low-code according to research from OutSystems:

    • Accelerate Digital Transformation and Innovation
    • Reduce IT Backlog & Increase IT Responsiveness
    • Reduce or Avoid Legacy Debt
    • Reduce Dependency on Hard-to-Hire Technical Skills
    • Protect Technology Against Churn
    • Empower Citizen Developers to Improve Processes

You can find more specific use cases of low-code here. Or, you can review our case studies here.

Stats on Challenges with Low-Code Adoption

  1. While 4 out of 5 businesses in the US currently use low-code, there are still 20% that do not. Worldwide, that number is 23%.

  2. According to Appian, 31% of enterprises currently using low-code haven't built or delivered any of their highest-value applications.

  3. The Outsystems's State of Applications Development Report from 2019 states several reasons businesses provided as to why they do not currently use or have a plan to use low-code:

    • Lack of knowledge about low-code: 43%
    • Concern about "lock-in" with a platform or vendor: 37%
    • Don't think low-code fulfills needs: 32%
    • Concerns about low-code app scalability: 28%
    • Concerns about low-code app security: 25%

  4. The workforce continues to change. Currently, millennials make up 35% of the US workforce. By 2025, millennials will make up 75% of the workforce. Gen Z made up 11.6% of the workforce in 2020 with that number expected to rise significantly.

This is a generation tied into technology with little patience for dated systems or clunky workflows. As both customers and employees, they expect processes to be streamlined and applications to be mobile. Low code can help businesses meet those expectations.

Low-Code Accessibility Statistics

  1. In a 2018 survey, Mendix discovered that:

    • 25% of their low-code developer community have no background experience in code.
    • Instead, 40% of users have a background in business.
    • 70% of the developers without any background experience in low-code learned how to build applications in one month. And 28% learned how to do it in under two weeks.
    • 72% of those who answered were deploying applications in 3 months with low-code vs. the six or months needed for traditional app development.

  2. In a 2019 survey from Appian, 79% of IT developers said that low-code can improve job satisfaction by reducing pressure, demands, and stress on departments.

Statistics on Low-Code Developer Salary Ranges

  1. Low-code developer salaries typically range between $108,491 - $122,388 depending on skills and experience.

Some estimates have base pay estimated at $77,236 with bonuses around $26,890. These bonuses can include things like profit sharing, commission, etc.

Whether you're an expert on one platform or can navigate multiple low-code platforms can also impact your salary.

5 Important Facts About Low-Code

While statistics are useful, the merits of low-code go beyond the numbers. Below you'll find several critical points that underscore the importance of low-code.

1. Low-Code Platforms Use Less Code

Forester coined the term “low-code” in 2014 and has since modified the definition, “Low-code platforms employ visual, declarative techniques instead of traditional lines of programming. Both developers and non-developers can use these products, and they require less training to start. Common features include reusable components, drag-and-drop tools, and process modeling. Individuals or small teams can experiment, prototype, and deliver apps in days or weeks."

2. Low-Code and No-Code Are NOT the Same

Low-code requires some basic coding knowledge. No-code platforms, on the other hand, rely completely on a visual user interface.

Both programs use code. However, they hide most of it from the end-user to make it easier to use. This way, you don't need to sort through stacks of code to create a program.

3. Citizen Developers Democratize Software Development

The concept of citizen developers dates all the way back to 1982, from a book written by James Martin called Application Development Without Programmers. It spawned a fourth-generation programming language using computer-assisted software engineering tools. Sadly, the movement fell short when it over-promised and under-delivered.

Still, as low-code and no-code platforms become increasingly accessible and collaboration becomes easier, entire teams can work together to develop solutions. As a result, teams can build the precise business applications their people need.

4. Drag-and-Drop Interfaces Make App Builds Easy

Low-code uses visual modeling with drag and drop interfaces to help citizen developers interact with a visual representation of the code easily. With a little training, employees can rapidly create and secure scalable software.

5. COVID Fuels Low-Code Adoption

The pandemic pushed the need for low-code apps. With more people working at home, more people need accessible tools and systems that streamline their work from their home office.

Businesses dealing with budget cuts also needed to find ways to continue to add features to meet growing expectations. As a result they turned to low-code.

15 Reasons Why Businesses Are Switching to Low-Code

There are several important factors driving businesses to either empower their IT team with low-code platforms or train non-developers on how to use these platforms. These points explain why and help you better see why your business should consider low-code.

1. CIOs Struggle to Fill Tech Positions

83% of CIOs struggle to hire staff to help meet increasing demands. The main gaps are in analytics, information management, and big data.

The tech demands of organizations are stronger than ever, but the pool of qualified applicants is small. This can force IT departments to overwork their staff.

2. There's an Unprecedented Demand for Programmers

Between 2020 and 2030, the BLS predicts that the economy will add 667,600 computer science jobs. That growth rate of 13% will be fueled by an increase in cloud computing, information security, and big data for businesses.

As more organizations look to streamline processes with integrations and automation, the need for people with a background in computer programming grows as well. This is due to the reality that businesses realize they need an effective digital strategy to stay ahead of competitors.

3. Salary for Software Developers Continues to Increase

The average salary for software developers is $110,140 as of May 2022. And, there are more than 189,200 software developer job openings in the US with companies struggling to fill these positions.

Fueled by supply and demand, the massive pull of talent has pushed salary premiums up, giving businesses with larger IT budgets the power to collect more talent.

4. Technical Debt Accounts Wastes IT Budget

Technical debt is the cost companies pay to maintain and fix code in applications. On average, a company spends $3.61 per line of code. With the average-size application at 300,000 lines of code (LOC), that comes to $1,083,000 per application.

What's worse, 33% of engineer's time goes to dealing with technical debt. This huge hindrance prevents software engineers from focusing on building the tools businesses need to scale their business and better serve customers.

5. Major Industries Are At Risk

Increasingly, large businesses will struggle to maintain customer relationships. Five major retail banking businesses (consumer finance, mortgages, SME lending, retail payments, and wealth management) will be at risk by 2025.

The reason?

Attackers will drive prices lower due to margin compression. These leaner businesses will be able to offer more features and stronger relationships at a lower cost.

6. Low-Code Is Affordable

Low-code cost varies and usually runs as a subscription service. The more applications a business runs, the greater the cost. Estimates can be as low as $25 per month to over $5,000 for enterprise-level software.

Cost scales with use. As a result, small businesses only pay for what they use, freeing up resources for other initiatives.

7. Low-Code Has a Range of Use Cases

While low-code platforms can be used to develop simple automation and integrations, they can also be used to build complex, enterprise-level applications.

You can build everything from a custom ERP to a custom CRM. And businesses often work with support partners or vendors to automate procurement, HR, and other complex workflows.

8. Low-Code Is Extremely Customizable and Scaleable

Low-code works similarly to how building blocks work. You can quickly build and customize the applications you need using prefabricated sets of code or integrations (Workato refers to these as recipes).

This allows you to rapidly build custom solutions. Tweak them after to meet changing demands. And scale them to match the needs of your growing business.

9. Low-Code Is Secure

Many organizations have a hodge-podge collection of applications that they move data between with spreadsheets. And they share this data via email.

This puts them at unnecessary risk. All it takes is for an email or password to compromise your customer data.

With low-code, you get the cyber-security of an enterprise-level, cloud-based platform. And you have teams regularly updating those security measures to ensure all their customers stay compliant.

10. Low-Code Is Low-Risk and High Reward

Outsystems has helped businesses like Schneider Electric launch 60 apps in 20 months, with most delivered in just 10 weeks. And Ricoh replaced their legacy systems, resulting in a 253% ROI in 7 months.

Process improvement and optimization are often the key focus areas for low-code development. Automation and integration tend to yield rapid ROIs, making low-code an enticing platform for small and large businesses alike.

11. Legacy Systems Are Too Expensive to Maintain

Legacy systems tend to be more trouble (and cost) than they're worth. Over 75% of the federal government’s $80 billion IT budget goes to maintaining legacy systems and many are over 25 years old.

Legacy systems hold businesses back by absorbing most of their IT budget, chaining them to dated platforms that underdeliver and limit organizational responsiveness.

12. Employees Can Learn Low-Code Quickly

Low-code is designed to be simple and accessible. Employees only need brief training. From there, they can rapidly create the systems needed to improve businesses.

For example, the 402nd Software Maintenance Group learned and deployed an enterprise-class HRT application in two weeks.

13. Low-Code Reduces Steps in the Development Process

Building software with low-code reduces the steps in the software development process from 16 to only seven.

With less code, you'll avoid steps like planning systems architecture, setting up backend frameworks, hard coding, and endless rounds of testing.

14. App Development with Low-Code Is Faster

Companies can rapidly produce applications within a shorter time span and at a fraction of the cost with low code. There is a lot less code to deal with, after all. And less code means fewer issues.

As a result, the time to market for most apps is drastically faster. For example, Schneider Electronics launched 60 apps (they created most of those in just 10 weeks.)

This is very important considering that in 2015, Gartner predicted that IT departments see the demand for app development grow 5x faster than their ability to deliver. With faster development in low-code apps, IT departments can catch up.

15. Low-Code Balances the Playing Field

Low-code provides a clear alternative to custom application development. It levels the playing field between enterprise companies and growing SMEs by making building business applications more affordable. And it rapidly speeds up the time it takes for apps to go from idea to deployment.

Top Low-Code Platforms

There are a lot of high-quality low-code platforms out there offering a range of packages to support your business. These platforms have the ability to lean on prefabricated builds to push your business apps live faster or create new apps directly on the platform.

These are the top 12 low-code platforms out there right now:

  1. Zoho Creator
  2. Appian
  3. PowerApps
  4. Mendix
  5. Outsystems
  6. AppMaker
  7. Quickbase
  8. Track Via
  9. Salesforce App Cloud
  10. Kissflow
  11. Workato
  12. Pipefy

However, there are more than 220 low-code platforms on the market and several that use machine learning.

How to Use Low-Code in Your Organization

Low-code has very few barriers to entry. Because it's essentially a SaaS platform, you simply need to reach out to the sales team at the leading providers and ask them for a demo. You can easily compare platforms, their features, support, and pricing.

Once you decide on a platform, you pay a setup license fee and a recurring monthly payment based on use. Price scales with cost, so it's often more affordable than enterprise-level solutions.

The challenge comes from knowing what types of automations, integrations, and applications to build. Knowing how to map out workflows, identify the root cause of your inefficiencies, and build solutions while onboarding your team to the new processes and workflows can be challenging.

Some of the above platforms offer support services. However, depending on the complexity of your needs, it's often better to work with a low-code vendor.

Quandary Consulting Group partners is a low-code vendor that has helped multiple businesses build the custom solutions they need.

See how we've helped our clients improve their businesses and get insane ROIs by checking out our case studies below.