Custom Apps: Obstacle or Answer? New Study Reveals Just How Important Citizen Developers Have Become for Digital Transformation

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --More than 80 percent of organizations say citizen developers are becoming increasingly important to their business, according to a new report from 451 Research and FileMaker, Inc. The report, released today, examines how creating and deploying custom apps is driving digital transformation and improving employee engagement.

Download "Custom Apps: The Engine for Digital Transformation."

Respondents from more than 500 companies in North America reported that not only is custom app strategy propelling business outcomes, but that this activity is better conducted outside of IT, by business departments rather than technical experts.

Significant takeaways from the report include:

• Decentralization is needed for digitization: Organizations are experiencing a shift from centralized development that caters to distributed teams' needs to a decentralized app creation model. This empowers the workforce with the tools to create, modify and manage processes as near as possible to where business issues occur. This agility is providing organizations an easier, faster way to move things ahead.
• Nearly 60 percent of all custom apps are being created outside the IT department:
• Of those, 30 percent are being built by employees with either limited or no technical development skills.
• In small companies, 47 percent of business owners are leading app development strategy
• 82 percent of all businesses report that citizen developers are going to become more important over the next two years.
• Custom app creation enhances employee engagement: Engagement is driven by greater autonomy and a higher potential to influence business process design and impact, with recognition for those contributions becoming the hallmark of a new employee culture.

(Source: 451 Research)

Ann Monroe, vice president, worldwide marketing and customer success, FileMaker, Inc., said: "Digitization is prompting organizations across industries to look for new ways to meet challenges and drive business outcomes. With today's custom app platforms and an increased focus on speed and agility, it's time to empower those close to the business questions with the tools to create the digital answers."

About FileMaker, Inc.
FileMaker, Inc., an Apple subsidiary, delivers a unified platform for easily creating custom apps that work seamlessly across iPad, iPhone, Windows, Mac, and the web. Business teams use the FileMaker Platform to streamline their operational processes, boosting overall productivity. www.filemaker.com

© 2017 FileMaker, Inc. All rights reserved. FileMaker, FileMaker Go and the file folder logo are registered trademarks of FileMaker, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.  FileMaker WebDirect and FileMaker Cloud are trademarks of FileMaker, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Prices are listed in U.S. Dollars and subject to change without notice. 

SOURCE FileMaker, Inc.

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