Why IT Still Controls Low‑Code Projects: Insights from a 1,000‑Executive Survey

Low‑code and no‑code tools are exploding in the technology market, and IT professionals and managers must closely monitor how users employ these platforms.

Although these tools are marketed as allowing business users to build applications without IT involvement, in more than 90% of cases the IT department still needs to be tightly engaged.

The conclusion comes from a survey of 1,000 IT executives, where 60% identified a lack of experience as the primary barrier to adoption.

Sponsored by Creatio, the study positions low‑code/no‑code as a key driver of digital transformation, yet users remain blocked by insufficient solution experience.

Only 6% of low‑code development is performed entirely by business users without any IT participation. While citizen developers adopt no‑code tools more frequently, low‑code still requires foundational knowledge of underlying technologies and IT practices.

Developers themselves are also consumers of low‑code/no‑code platforms.

Creatio notes a trend toward blurring the line between no‑code tools for ordinary developers and low‑code tools for IT‑savvy developers, with low‑code moving toward powerful no‑code platforms that enable complex enterprise applications without coding skills or specialized training.

The main benefits of low‑code tools are faster time‑to‑market (38% of respondents) and reduced application development costs (34%).

Key business areas that benefit most include sales & marketing services, human resources, and finance systems.

Regarding development speed, only 5% say low‑code is as slow as traditional IT‑centric development, while 32% report it is more than 50% faster.

Data also show that only 10% of business processes are fully automated, with another 30% still not automated.

Given the complex legacy workflows in industries such as financial services, manufacturing, and professional services, a fully automated future requires smarter solutions that extend automation responsibilities to both front‑office and back‑office teams.

In organizations that have achieved automation, most rely on out‑of‑the‑box features of existing applications (e.g., CRM), followed by some custom development.