Developers play a key role in digital transformation despite COVID

Developers are playing a key role in helping enterprises meet their digital transformation goals despite facing significant challenges from COVID-19 according to new research from Couchbase.

The survey of 450 European and US senior IT decision makers finds 92 percent of respondents believe that DevOps could have a revolutionary impact on their digital transformation efforts, while 63 percent say that the flexibility to change their goals when needed has been helpful in meeting their digital transformation goals.

However, this flexibility does come at some cost, 49 percent of respondents report their development teams saying they are being asked to do too much in too little time. In addition 40 percent of respondents say their development teams are behind schedule with their current projects.

"In a year when organizations have had to struggle to adapt to new decentralized ways of working and rapidly evolving markets, developers have come under severe pressure to help their organizations adapt," says Steve Yen, co-founder of Couchbase. "And, development teams need the right support; from clear project goals to the right tools and technologies that support agility and rapid adaptability in these changing times."

Challenges faced include setting clear, measurable goals for the development team (40 percent), ensuring development teams always have the right technology (40 percent), ensuring the development team clearly understands the organization’s strategic goals (31 percent), and identifying and solving the challenges facing development teams (31 percent).

"Even in the current crisis, organizations are investing in developers -- in fact, our survey revealed that development teams have grown by an average 20 percent in 2020," adds Yen. "To get the most out of this important investment, there needs to be investment in not just people, but also in the technology, management, and communication that will help individuals succeed. Ultimately, if businesses can help their developers become more agile and flexible, they will find it easier to ensure they are focused in the right direction. In an increasingly challenging world, developers have a vital role to play. Investing in them in the right way will help them play to win."

You can read more on the Couchbase blog.

Photo Credit: Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock