IT pros face challenges with AI in app development by 2025

OutSystems has released its global 2025 State of Application Development report, highlighting key challenges IT professionals face in deploying AI-powered applications.

The report surveyed nearly 1,700 global IT professionals, with 88% exploring building applications powered by generative AI (GenAI). However, 62% expressed concerns about security and governance issues, while complexities with integrating AI into existing workflows are noted by half of the respondents.

The demand for new applications is high, with 74% of organisations planning to build ten or more apps in the next 12 months, and 45% projecting to create over 25 in the same period. Additionally, 74% of these organisations aim to develop external, customer-facing applications, which highlights the considerable pressures developers face.

Paulo Rosado, CEO & Founder of OutSystems, remarked, "As enterprises are increasingly opting to build software rather than buy it, today's developers are under immense pressure to deliver mission-critical, customer-facing apps at unprecedented speed. While GenAI is a powerful tool to increase productivity and develop code faster, AI-written code can lead to considerable security and governance issues if left unchecked, so IT leaders must consider ways to incorporate guardrails without stalling the speed of innovation."

The study indicates that GenAI is increasingly being used to assist traditional coding tasks, with 81% of professionals currently implementing it for this purpose. Despite its advantages, only 40% of respondents have a high level of trust in GenAI's ability to write code autonomously.

Rosado added, "In the Generative Software Cycle, we believe that GenAI and low-code in combination will redefine application development, increase productivity while ensuring governance throughout the entire software development lifecycle. Developer teams shouldn't have to choose between high-quality, fully functional apps and speed-to-market, and by abandoning antiquated development practices in favour of AI-powered low-code technology, they can reap the performance and agility benefits of these transformative technologies."

The report identified low-code development as a favourable strategy, perceived as predictable, productive, and cost-effective. Key benefits cited by respondents with mature low-code implementations included increased developer productivity (36%), quicker time to market (34%), and ease of updating apps (32%). Moreover, 62% of organisations using low-code reported better budget predictability versus 52% for those using traditional coding methods.

As part of its ongoing efforts, OutSystems introduced OutSystems Mentor, a digital worker that aids the development and oversight of applications using low-code, GenAI, and other AI-powered guidance. This new tool aims to enhance the speed and efficiency of app development while maintaining effective control and governance.

The survey behind the report was conducted with a diverse group of IT professionals in September 2024, including those in management positions across various organisations with revenues ranging from under USD $10 million to over USD $2.5 billion, representing businesses aged between one to over 20 years.