When the boardroom asks for proof that no-code investments deliver results, vague promises about digital transformation will not cut it. CIOs and IT leaders need concrete numbers: adoption rates, cost savings, time reductions, and productivity metrics that justify budget allocations and strategic pivots. The good news? The data is now robust enough to answer skeptics definitively.
The no-code and low-code market has moved from experimental technology to enterprise mainstream. Gartner forecasted the low-code development technologies market to exceed $30 billion in 2024, positioning it among the fastest-growing segments in enterprise software. This is not speculative growth but a documented shift in how organizations build and deploy business applications.
The numbers tell a compelling story of explosive growth. The global low-code development platform market was valued at $24.83 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.5 percent through 2030. Some analysts project even more aggressive growth, with projections suggesting the market could approach $50 billion by 2028 according to Forrester research.
What is driving this trajectory? A combination of factors that resonate with every enterprise leader: chronic developer shortages, accelerating digital transformation demands, and the simple reality that business moves faster than IT can code. Organizations can no longer afford the luxury of 12-month development cycles when market conditions shift quarterly.
The adoption curve has shifted from early adopters to mainstream enterprise. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 70 percent of new applications developed by enterprises will use low-code or no-code technologies, a dramatic increase from less than 25 percent in 2020. This is not gradual adoption but a fundamental shift in enterprise software development strategy.
Large enterprises are leading this charge. According to Gartner, 75 percent of large enterprises will be using at least four low-code development tools by the end of 2024, for both IT application development and citizen development initiatives. The multi-platform strategy reflects specialized platform adoption for different use cases, from simple workflow automation to complex enterprise applications.
Even more telling: 84 percent of enterprises have adopted low-code or no-code platforms specifically to reduce IT backlogs and accelerate application delivery. The technology has proven itself as a practical solution to a persistent operational challenge.
Speed is the headline metric that gets executive attention, and the benchmarks are striking. Organizations report that low-code platforms can speed up software development 10 times faster than traditional methods. That is not a marginal improvement but a fundamentally different velocity of delivery.
When measured more conservatively, low-code platforms consistently deliver 50 percent to 90 percent reduction in development time compared to traditional coding. In practical terms, applications that previously required months of development can now be built and deployed in weeks or even days.
The speed advantages extend to deployment as well. Companies using low-code platforms often achieve apps built and deployed in under three months, compared to the six to twelve month timelines typical of traditional development projects. For organizations pursuing agile transformation, this velocity is transformative.
While speed captures attention, cost savings justify budgets. Organizations adopting no-code solutions report average annual savings of $187,000 per organization with typical payback periods of six to twelve months. These are not theoretical projections but documented outcomes from enterprises already using these platforms.
Organizations adopting low-code report 50 to 70 percent faster development cycles and significant cost reductions compared to traditional development methods. The cost benefits compound over time as organizations build institutional knowledge and reusable components.
Perhaps the most significant benchmark shift involves who builds applications. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80 percent of low-code users will come from non-IT departments, a dramatic shift from 60 percent in 2021. Business users who understand operational needs are increasingly building their own solutions.
This is not shadow IT but strategic empowerment. Research shows that 41 percent of businesses have active citizen development initiatives, with another 20 percent evaluating or planning to start programs. A McKinsey study found that organizations empowering citizen developers score 33 percent higher on innovation measures than those that do not.
The productivity gains are substantial. Research indicates that 71 percent of organizations achieve 50 percent faster app development with citizen development programs, with 29 percent seeing improvements of 2x or greater. This acceleration happens without proportional increases in IT headcount.
For professional developers, low-code does not replace coding skills but amplifies them. Reports indicate that professional developers using low-code platforms achieve 50 percent faster deployment compared to traditional methods. The efficiency gains come from reduced boilerplate code, pre-built integrations, and visual interfaces that accelerate common development tasks.
The productivity boost directly addresses a critical constraint: developer availability. With the global developer shortage expected to reach 85.2 million workers by 2030 and potentially $8.5 trillion in unrealized revenue, organizations need every efficiency lever available. Low-code platforms make scarce developer resources more productive.
A less-discussed but critical benefit: technical debt management. Industry research indicates that technical debt consumes 20 to 40 percent of technology estate value in many organizations. Low-code platforms help address this by standardizing development patterns, maintaining automatic updates, and reducing the custom code that creates maintenance burden.
Organizations report 40 to 50 percent faster remediation of technical debt issues through no-code adoption. The standardized platforms reduce the variability that creates maintenance nightmares in traditional development environments.
Adoption patterns vary by sector, with some industries leading the charge. Banking, financial services, and insurance companies have embraced low-code for regulatory compliance and customer experience applications. Healthcare organizations use these platforms for patient workflow automation. Manufacturing companies apply them to quality control and supply chain processes. Retail operations leverage no-code for inventory management and store operations.
What these industries share is a combination of high demand for digital solutions and constrained IT resources. Low-code platforms address both constraints simultaneously, accelerating delivery while reducing dependence on scarce technical talent.
The trajectory is clear. Gartner forecasts that by 2026, 75 percent of all new enterprise applications will be built using low-code technologies. The market is projected to exceed $26 billion by 2027, driven by rapid adoption across banking, manufacturing, retail, and healthcare sectors.
For enterprise leaders evaluating no-code investments, the benchmarks are increasingly definitive. The technology has proven its ability to accelerate development, reduce costs, empower business users, and address the chronic developer shortage. The remaining question is not whether to adopt but how quickly organizations can capture these demonstrated benefits.
Kissflow's low-code platform delivers the benchmarks that matter to enterprise leaders. With visual workflow builders, drag-and-drop application development, and seamless enterprise integrations, Kissflow enables both IT teams and business users to build and deploy applications at the speed the market demands. Organizations using Kissflow consistently achieve faster time-to-deployment, reduced development costs, and improved IT productivity, turning the industry benchmarks into operational reality.