Sixty-eight percent of information workers who built an app on their own said they completed the work in less than a week.
When it comes to creating
new applications or software to solve business problems, a growing number of
employees are going it on their own, a survey from Intuit QuickBase reveals.
The survey found that nearly one in five information workers has built or
customized a Web application or software for work purposes without support from
IT. The survey also found that 50 percent of information workers now turn to
online databases and Web-based productivity applications, instant messaging
platforms, video chat services and social networks to solve their own business
problems.
"There's a fast-growing
population of do-it-yourself app creators in every organization," said
Allison Mnookin, vice president and general manager of Intuit QuickBase.
"These motivated employees are taking advantage of easy-to-use Web-based
platforms to respond to the accelerating pace and increasing complexity of
business demands. With intimate knowledge of customer and work group needs and
easy-to-use cloud tools, information workers solve their own problems faster
than IT can accommodate them. IT departments that embrace and empower
these employees can drive competitiveness for their businesses."
Sixty-eight percent of
information workers who built or customized an application on their own said
they completed the work in less than a week. In contrast, 72 percent of those
using an internal development team to build a solution reported it took more
than a month to complete. Survey results indicated that not only are they
creating their solutions faster, the solutions are sticking: 82 percent
reported that their do-it-yourself solution is still being used within their
organization or team.
A total of 17 percent of
information workers said they select tools and software to meet their needs
without IT approval or support. "These 'rogue' employees can be extremely
beneficial in their motivation to solve business needs, but their energies are
best harnessed if management supports them by providing the resources they need
to succeed," Mnookin said. "Otherwise, if they leave the company, IT
will not necessarily know how to replicate or maintain the success."
Mnookin warned that businesses
that don't enable employees to act independently run the risk of losing their
talent. Fifty percent of "rogues" responding said they'd consider
switching jobs to have a more technologically free work environment. Among
people that feel empowered, that percentage open to switching jobs drops to 26
percent.
Nathan Eddy is Associate Editor, Midmarket, at eWEEK.com. Before joining eWEEK.com, Nate was a writer with ChannelWeb and he served as an editor at FierceMarkets. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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