A survey of hundreds of developers across 26 countries suggests that software developers are more productive working remotely Credit: GCShutter / Getty Images Developers forced to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic have proved to be so productive they may never return to the office, according to a study by analyst firm Accelerated Strategies released this week. The study was commissioned by CloudBees, a provider of CI/CD software and cloud services. The forced shift to remote work has required organizations to act quickly, doing business through online meetings, cloud applications, and digital collaboration tools, the report notes. Infrastructure and services have had to be put in place to support workers at home. Many organizations now anticipate that much of their workforce will stick to their new work paradigm. The study found that 64.4 percent of remote workers anticipate working remotely three or more days per week or permanently once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said their software teams were significantly more productive than they were pre-pandemic. Only 12.4 percent saw a decrease in productivity. A smaller percentage of developers and development teams, though, have been working remotely with success for years. Released September 22, the study, titled “The Future of Remote Work and Software Development,” collected responses from 347 participants from organizations of varying sizes from 23 countries and regions, representing 20 industry verticals. The data was collected from August 24 to September 4 of this year. Among the findings: 87.6 percent of developers worked remotely prior to the COVID-19 pandemic for some portion of their work. 42.6 percent of respondents reported that it has become somewhat easier to complete work tasks in a timely fashion since the pandemic. 61.37 percent of respondents found it easier for their software teams to work across time zones since COVID-19 took hold. 39.7 percent of respondents said it has become somewhat easier or much easier to manage unproductive distractions during the pandemic while 36.36 percent said it had become harder. Software teams generally have been working more closely with product and project management, operations, and security teams during the pandemic. 51.75 percent said COVID-19 has prompted an increased focus on devops while 52.25 percent stepped up their migration to cloud services. CloudBees is offering access to the report via a signup. Software Development