(Commonwealth Union)_Global IT spending was down 5.4% in 2020, owing primarily to the pandemic’s volatility. However, the industry began to recover last year, with $3.8 trillion in total expected spending. This year, software innovations have been used to benefit society with everything from designing apps with no IT skills to monitoring patients in hospitals to detecting social alienation at work.
Businesses are embracing low-code and no-code development. Problems and setbacks are common in software development. Approximately 20% of all software initiatives fail, while the remaining 52% are “difficult”. Of course, the process is also prohibitively expensive. These considerations have prompted some in the software development industry to advocate for a more streamlined approach to software development: low-code/no-code development. As the name implies, this method of producing software does not require sophisticated IT expertise or coding skills. Low-code and no-code development can lead to simpler and faster development. Users of no-code platforms can drag and drop pre-made code pieces in a visual interface.
Low-code platforms are more technically complex, but they enable shortcuts that allow developers to work more quickly. According to KPMG, 100% of firms that have used a low-code platform have reported a favourable ROI. They also claim that since the epidemic began, the number of business executives who name this type of development as their most critical automation investment has nearly tripled. According to Forrester, these platforms will be used in 75% of all app development by 2021. This represents a 31% increase over 2019.
Gartner predicts that by 2023, more than half of all medium to large organisations will have used a low-code application platform. Bubble is one example of a visual development tool that has been used to create everything from budgeting software to project management software to virtual learning apps. The start-up raised $6.25 million in its first round of venture capital funding. Adalo is another well-known no-code platform. The start-up has raised $8 million in a Series A round.
Cloud Computing is becoming more popular as a result of remote work. As much as COVID-19 was a setback for many businesses, it accelerated the adoption of cloud computing. During the pandemic, most firms expanded remote work capabilities and saw a significant shift in IT requirements. The cloud was the ideal tool for assisting businesses that needed to shift and respond to the rising demand of this “new normal”. According to one survey, more than 90% of respondents claimed that cloud usage had increased as a result of the epidemic.
However, the epidemic shown how valuable the cloud can be for firms that need to downsize. For example, the tourism industry has hit rock bottom, and those who use cloud services no longer need to maintain costly data centres when they don’t need them. Despite a drop in worldwide IT spending in 2020, cloud spending increased by more than 6% to a total revenue of $258 billion. According to experts, the market will increase in the next several years.
