Developers Have Potential to Revolutionize Digital Transformation Efforts During COVID-19 Despite Challenges, Couchbase Research Finds

SANTA CLARA, Calif., — February 4, 2021 – As the impact of COVID-19 on organizations continues to bite, developers are playing a key role in helping organizations meet their digital transformation goals despite facing significant challenges, according to the second of three pieces of research from Couchbase. In the survey of 450 European and U.S. senior IT decision makers^*, 92 percent of respondents believed that DevOps could have a revolutionary impact on their digital transformation efforts, while 63 percent said that the flexibility to change their goals when needed has been significantly helpful or indispensable in meeting their digital transformation goals. However, this flexibility has come at a cost: 49 percent of respondents reported their development teams have indicated they are being asked to do too much in too little time. 

“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,” said 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.” 

There are challenges for both organizations and developers; 86 percent of respondents experienced challenges with their development teams, including:

• 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)

• Identifying and solving the challenges facing development teams (31 percent)

While developers’ contributions are undeniable, these challenges may still be preventing them from reaching their full potential. 40 percent of respondents said their development teams were behind schedule with their current projects.

“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,” continued 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.” 

Couchbase performed its research to understand the challenges of digital transformation for developers, digital architects, and the CIO themselves. In its next update, it will examine the stresses and technical challenges facing the architecture team. 

^*Survey of 450 senior IT decision makers in the US (150), UK (100), France (100) and Germany (100) performed in September & October 2020 by Vanson Bourne