Host: Welcome to A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge. I’m your host, Anna Ivy Summers.
Host: Today, we're diving into a fascinating study titled, "Fueling Digital Transformation with Citizen Developers and Low-Code Development."
Host: In essence, it explores how companies can use so-called 'citizen developers'—that is, non-technical employees—to build software and accelerate innovation using simple, low-code platforms.
Host: To help us unpack this, we have our expert analyst, Alex Ian Sutherland. Welcome, Alex.
Expert: Great to be here, Anna.
Host: Alex, let's start with the big picture. What’s the core business problem this study is trying to solve?
Expert: The problem is one that nearly every business leader will recognize: the IT bottleneck.
Expert: Companies need to innovate digitally to stay competitive, but there's a huge shortage of professional software developers. They're expensive and in high demand.
Host: So this creates a long queue for the IT department, and business projects get delayed.
Expert: Exactly. This study highlights that the software development bottleneck slows down everything, from responding to customer needs to achieving major digital transformation goals. Businesses are realizing they can't just rely on their central IT department to build every single application they need.
Host: It’s a resource gap. So, how did the researchers investigate this? What was their approach?
Expert: They took a very practical, real-world approach. They conducted in-depth case studies on two companies that were early adopters of low-code: Hortilux, a provider of lighting solutions for greenhouses, and the Volvo Group.
Expert: They also interviewed executives from seven other firms across different industries to understand the strategies, challenges, and what actually works in practice.
Host: So, by looking at these pioneers, what key findings or recommendations emerged?
Expert: One of the most critical findings was the need for a clear strategy. The successful companies didn't try to boil the ocean.
Host: What does that mean in this context?
Expert: It means they started small. They strategically selected simple, low-complexity tasks for their first low-code projects, like automating internal processes. This builds momentum and demonstrates value without high risk.
Host: That makes sense. And what about the people side of things? This idea of a 'citizen developer' is central here.
Expert: Absolutely. A key recommendation is to actively identify tech-savvy employees within business departments—people in HR, finance, or marketing who are good with technology but aren't coders.
Expert: The Volvo Group case is a perfect example. They began by upskilling employees in their HR department. These employees, who understood the HR processes inside and out, were trained to build their own simple applications to automate their work.
Host: But you can't just hand them the tools and walk away, I assume.
Expert: No, and that's the third major finding. You need to establish a dedicated low-code support team. Volvo created a central team within IT that was exclusively focused on supporting these citizen developers across the entire company. They provide training, set guidelines for security and privacy, and act as a center of excellence.
Host: This sounds like a powerful way to democratize development. So, Alex, for the business leaders listening, why does this really matter? What are the key takeaways for them?
Expert: I think there are three big takeaways. First, it’s about speed and agility. By empowering business units to build their own solutions for smaller problems, you break that IT bottleneck we talked about. The business can react faster to its own needs.
Host: It frees up the professional developers to work on the more complex, mission-critical systems.
Expert: Precisely. The second takeaway is about innovation. The people closest to a business problem are often the best equipped to solve it. Low-code gives them the tools to do so. This unlocks a huge potential for ground-up innovation that would otherwise be stuck in an IT request queue.
Expert: And finally, it's a powerful tool for talent development. The study showed how employees at Volvo who started as citizen developers in HR created entirely new career paths for themselves, some even becoming professional low-code developers. It’s a way to upskill and retain your best people in an increasingly digital world.
Host: Fantastic. So, to summarize: start with a clear, focused strategy on small-scale projects, identify and empower your own employees to become citizen developers, and crucially, back them up with a dedicated support structure.
Host: The result isn't just faster application development, but a more innovative and agile organization. Alex, thank you so much for breaking that down for us.
Expert: It was my pleasure, Anna.
Host: And a big thank you to our listeners for tuning into A.I.S. Insights. Join us next time as we continue to explore more research from the world of Living Knowledge.