The trend of making technology available to all puts more power in the hands of those who touch it. And there are clear benefits to this process. If more people can be involved with development work, collaboration can increase, making it easier to bring new, innovative ideas to life. Because citizen developers are, by their very nature, working in operations teams, marketing teams and even in audit teams, they know their business and what it needs exceptionally well.
But while rich opportunities exist, these are still emerging trends for businesses. As these industry buzzwords have been gaining traction in the media, the desire to fully embrace this way of working has been a slower burn here in UK. Many companies see the potential of low-code platforms, but they are often confused about how to make meaningful investments in them. And they question what returns they will see from allowing a few people to “have a go” at building applications.
People need to know more about the art of the possible using this technology. They hear about citizen developers, but it’s hard to be excited about them — or even be fearful of their potential— without fully knowing what this new, emerging combination of people and technology can deliver. Software vendors and partners, amongst others, definitely have work to do in order to show managers what is possible.
Some companies, for example, are beginning to lament their decisions to automate control processes because they haven’t been able to provide enough transparency to their auditors. They would rather have a few people doing the same job, but this doesn’t take advantage of the possibilities afforded by technology. As part of the “edges of excellence” concept, we need to make sure team members are working in a defensible, collaborative and tech-enabled way — across the entire business.
