The year 2020 has turned staying in business into a marathon. However, reserving your strength for that last burst of speed isn’t the way to get through it. Slow and steady does not win this race. To get ahead on ever-changing terrain, you need to be nimble and quick, able to change direction at the drop of a hat (or Jack’s candlestick). The results of our February–March 2020 survey of 2,200 IT professionals showed us that this is easier said than done. Here’s a sample of what we learned.

Change Is a Rocky Road

Our survey respondents indicated that their IT organizations are not currently prepared for anything earth-shattering. When asked if they coped well with change, 76% of the respondents could not state definitively that they did. Out-changing their competitors was even harder for them, with 79% saying that they couldn’t do it regularly. When it comes to planning for change, the numbers aren’t much better; just 32% said their organizations could.

Oh, and There’s a Hurdle: Demand for Apps

Meanwhile, back at the business, the appetite for new apps has never been greater. Social distancing and closed offices change digital transformation tunes from “we’ll get there eventually” to “we need to go 100% online right now.” Therefore, it’s no surprise that in organizations with more than 500 employees, the IT professionals surveyed said they were on the hook for 10–25 apps or more. And more than half of the respondents in companies with thousands of employees said they were expected to develop 50 or more apps. That’s a major hurdle to overcome on an already rocky road.

App Development: Out of Gas?

In a world where technology and business conditions change by the minute and demand for apps is at an all-time high, how soon you can deliver each app to market is critical. So, what did our respondents tell us about how fast they could deliver? The majority, roughly 61 percent, said it took between 3–6 months. That’s a lifetime in the COVID-19 era. Apps now need to be delivered in weeks, fully baked, and ready for use. There’s no going back.

Speed Up App Development and You’ll Lead the Pack

To lead the pack and cross the finish line, your IT organization needs to take a hard look at how to reduce development time to address how rapidly things are changing and how urgent key problems have become. Fortunately, there are organizations who have already forged that path and are coping well with change, out-changing their competition, and even plan for change.

This infographic has these leaders’ vital statistics and then shares what you can do to join them in the winner’s circle.

Get infographic button 

Want to Dive Deeper Into the Results of Our Survey?

Our report, The Speed of Change: How Fast Are You?, looks at key data shared by the survey respondents and offers pragmatic suggestions for ways to speed up app development in your organization.