The ICT industry leaders recognize that professionals in the sector have acquired a greater voice in business decisions. However, their ability to act on business acceleration may be limited, according to new Appian research.
Almost nine out of ten Spanish developers (86%) perceive that their organization is stopping focusing on innovation projects to focus on cost reduction, which could slow down the momentum achieved after the rapid technological deployment during the pandemic. This could have detrimental implications for business growth and the technology transformation of companies at a time when agility and new ideas should be more encouraged.
Appian promoted a European study in which 1,500 software developers and engineers were surveyed in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom called From boom to bust: Why empowering developers is vital for business innovation. It reveals that almost 9 out of 10 respondents in Spain (88%) affirm that they are concerned that there has been a direct transition from the pandemic to a recession, because it is causing IT budgets and staff to freeze, which that will slow down technological development, digitization and modernization of companies.
This new context contrasts with the progress that occurred during the pandemic, when there was a great demand for innovative and fast business actions. 90% of those surveyed in Spain affirm that the circumstances of the last two years accelerated their company’s commitment to IT as the engine of business transformation. Furthermore, 85% of them say that they were included as a fundamental part of business decision-making. However, this trend is changing and IT professionals warn that companies that choose to undo this path and stop betting on the influence of technological profiles in business decisions run the risk of seeing their benefits diminish.
Regarding the possible consequences of freezing the budgets and staff of IT departments, the top four answers given by the Spanish developers were:
- The organization will be increasingly fragmented and divided into silos (50%).
- New platforms would take longer to integrate, which will reduce the return on investment (56%).
- It will complicate the ability to take advantage of growth opportunities that arise (48%).
- IT staff turnover will increase (46%).
On the other hand, the research also draws conclusions on the opinion of software developers and engineers regarding the ability of their organizations to innovate and make business decisions. based on their knowledge in the face of uncertainty.
Professionals in Spain identified three key factors to sustain growth in an uncertain economic context:
- The adaptation of the business strategy to economic changes (47%).
- The use of new Technologys and platforms (43%).
- Maintaining focus on the core business (42%)
In short, the data shows that developers are convinced the need to improve collaboration between business and IT to make the right business decisions based on technology.
Currently, a third of the Spanish professionals surveyed (32%) affirm that the excess of silos in their organization prevents a complete understanding of how to use IT. While more than half (54%) maintain that their business partners believe that it is faster to go directly to IT solution providers, instead of involving specialized teams within the company itself. To overcome these challenges, 90% of developers in Spain believe that the commitment to IT profiles with business skills should be increased, as well as business professionals with IT knowledge. This would be the best way to successfully manage growth and change in organizations.
IT managers also believe that technology can help companies to be more efficient at a time when they seek to do more with less. In fact, 85% of respondents believe that Technologys like low-code and artificial intelligence/machine learning can help address business challenges facing IT departments, while helping organizations adapt. to change and expedite work.
