AI & App Development Trends: Insights From the State of IT, Fourth Edition Report

AI is fueling innovation – and it’s not just transforming what businesses can do, it’s changing what people expect.

Nearly 40% of all new applications already include AI features, and project requests are climbing each year. Everyone wants smarter tools, faster answers, and better experiences, and IT is expected to make it all happen.

But while expectations are sky-high, many teams are stuck with legacy systems, siloed data, and tight resources – a recipe that has caused IT teams to miss nearly one in three project deadlines. And it’s not just IT being strained. Productivity across the business is nearing a breaking point:

• 41% of an office worker’s day disappears into low-value tasks
• Customer-service agents spend only 39% of their time actually helping customers
• Sales reps manage to devote just 30% of their day to selling

To flip that script, IT leaders are doubling down on AI to free employees from digital busywork.

Bottom line: When it comes to implementing AI, the message is clear – if your organization doesn’t yet have a clear, end-to-end AI strategy, the clock is ticking. Competitors are already moving, and the gap will widen quickly.

AI agents have moved from theory to production. They’re already automating workflows, surfacing insights, and powering live customer interactions in every corner of the business – from service and marketing to finance and HR. Developers are all-in:

• 83% believe agents will sit at the center of business and IT operations
• 85% see them as the key to digital transformation
• 81% say agents will soon be as vital to app dev as any traditional tool
• 78% warn that companies without agents will quickly lose their edge

Leadership is on board too: 82% of IT leaders say they’re using – or plan to use – agents within two years. Yet fewer than half of developers feel fully confident in their knowledge of how AI agents work. What does this mean for you? AI agents are becoming non-negotiable, but success hinges on the right foundation:

1. Gauge readiness by department: Start with functions that already have clean data pipelines and clear pain points – they’ll deliver quick wins without over-stretching unprepared teams.
2. Invest in your builders: Upskilling developers (and giving them the right tooling) turns “pilot projects” into production-grade solutions.

Bottom line: Treat AI agents as a business imperative, but roll them out where the impact is highest and your people are most prepared.

Everyone knows: AI runs as far as its data can carry it. But only 53% of IT leaders say they fully trust their organization’s data accuracy. Fragmented systems, weak governance, and integration issues are slowing down even the most advanced teams.

And it’s not just data that’s under the microscope. Most enterprise infrastructure was never designed for AI workloads, and 68% of dev teams say they lack the resources to build and deploy AI agents at scale. From modern architectures to user-friendly deployment platforms, organizations are realizing they need to rethink how their tech stacks support AI systems.

With AI, customer trust is on the line. When your teams are building new solutions, they can’t just bolt on security and privacy at the end,  which is why 85% of IT teams have embraced DevSecOps — embedding trust into every stage of development.

Bottom line: Forward-thinking organizations are shoring up the basics first — deep integrations, ongoing data cleansing, and continuous quality management. Without that groundwork, AI won’t be able to deliver on its full potential.

AI is changing the day-to-day work of developers. In fact, nearly one-third of devs already use AI for code generation, and adoption is climbing fast.

As low-code and no-code tools gain traction, instead of hand-coding every feature, devs increasingly review, orchestrate, and safeguard AI-assisted builds.

This evolution requires new skills — not just technical, but strategic. Developers need to understand AI behavior, assess risk, and make sure outputs are in line with business goals. That shift is driving three big changes:

1. New hiring & training priorities: Roles in AI governance, ethics, and risk are on the rise, and AI literacy is now table stakes for every technologist
2. A redefined developer workflow: Low-code platforms and AI-generated code let devs focus less on writing every line and more on governing models, ensuring quality, and aligning outputs with business goals
3. A mandate for responsible AI: Speed alone isn’t enough; organizations need the right people, processes, and guardrails to build safely and ethically

Bottom line: AI agents are becoming non-negotiable, but turning promise into practice requires deliberate rollout, continuous up-skilling, and a culture that treats responsible AI as core infrastructure.

We unpacked these stats and read the story: the spotlight on IT teams has never been brighter, and with increased visibility comes endless project requests and mounting pressure. Chatting with Richard Hall , Certinia VP of Global Business Operations, we explored the challenges that IT teams are currently facing and dove into his guiding principles for teams navigating their AI journey.

Before anything is built, Hall emphasizes the need to have a clear direction and assess whether AI is truly the viable solution for specific painpoints. Once priorities are set, creating a strong foundation for AI initiatives is essential. It’s simply not enough to layer AI on top of bad processes and data. Instead, companies can refine their processes and elevate their data quality.

While it can be tempting to add AI everywhere, all at once, prioritization and level setting expectations can help make sure workloads are manageable and sustainable for IT teams. Starting out, it is totally fine (and even encouraged) to “start small and iterate,” rather than pursuing an all-at-once rollout. This gives organizations the opportunity to test, learn, and evolve as they go. And in turn, building momentum and expertise as they scale and take on more complex AI initiatives.

In the full interview, Hall dives into his takeaways from the report, how developers have embraced vibe coding, maintaining trust around AI apps and agents, and more. For the full story, watch the recording on the Headless 360 platform LinkedIn page .

The real competitive advantage? Humans + AI agents working together — and how we design systems that bring out the best in both. The new State of IT report drives that home: AI isn’t just another line item in the tech stack. It’s re-engineering how IT teams operate, collaborate, and lead.

Success now depends on a new kind of IT strategy — one that’s agile, data-driven, and purpose-built for human-AI partnerships. As AI reshapes the business landscape, download the report today to see how IT leaders are the ones writing the playbook for what comes next.