Top Software Development Trends are powerful business growth drivers. Some development buzzwords of 2019-2020, like microservices and cloud migration, have already become a common reality in the software industry and proved their value to a number of businesses. In our custom software development services, they are already a must-have adoption for many of our partners.
In our article, we will analyze the 4 latest technologies that will influence the Top Software Development Trends industry in 2021 and beyond.
AI-first software
According to Gartner, organizations that have had at least 4 AI projects developed will raise their number to 35 projects by 2022. The latest trend is not as much about integrating AI in existing software as about engineering AI-first software when AI becomes the starting point of software design. Empowered by such technologies as deep learning, speech recognition, or machine vision, it can benefit businesses in many ways:
- Assistance in critical decision-making. In the healthcare industry, AI can analyze records, genetic data, and lab results to foresee diseases or identify more promising treatments.
- Enhanced level of service. From virtual assistants, for example, in healthcare to schedule doctor appointments, to software that recognizes faces and identifies emotions to improve sales and marketing efforts – AI helps create a truly client-oriented service.
- Quality control and risk aversion. In manufacturing, IoT devices send data to AI-based programs that increase production efficiency and predict machinery failures. And, for example, in agriculture, AI helps to analyze plants and detect weeds.
Top Software Development Trends Blockchain
Blockchain allows transferring money and information without an intermediary and keeping related records unchangeable and transparent. The mechanism behind it is this: data is encrypted, ‘chained’ with other data entries chronologically.
Due to the innovative way blockchain works, many industries are adopting this beyond the financial sector where it first appeared: distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, public sector. By the end of 2024, the blockchain market is expected to grow to $20 billion in annual revenues. Let’s see which advantages attract investments in this technology:
- Data safety. Decentralized data storage helps prevent fraud and security attacks for businesses handling sensitive information (credit histories, medical records, records from industrial IoT) as it encrypts and copies to each computer in the system.
- Smart contracts. After satisfying all the terms, blockchain allows to create contracts automatically. For example, the goods are shipped after the payment is verified through blockchain. As such, it’s impossible to tamper with contract execution.
- Transparency. Businesses can replace paper-based processes with blockchain’s distributed ledger to provide ultimate transparency into transactions and increase the accountability of all parties involved.
Low-code Software
Low-code development implies building applications through visual interfaces without coding. Developers drag and drop prebuilt components, while code creats automatically. You can modify this code as required.
Initially, low-code development used on platforms-as-a-service specializing in a certain kind of software (e.g., CRM). But now, there’re low-code platforms that allow building almost any-purpose low-code applications. They gain popularity because of major improvements in functionality – microservices support, vast integration possibilities and AI/ML implementation.
Gartner forecasts that low-code platforms will be used in more than 65% of Top Software Development Trends projects by 2024. This can be explained by the opportunities low-code development opens for startups, small businesses, and enterprises:
- Faster deployment. Low-code applications take significantly less time to build compared to hand-coded applications, which allows adhering to tight timelines imposed by the competitive market environment.
- Validating business ideas with fewer risks. Low-code platforms help cut down on costs compared to custom software development. This is especially useful for developing a cheaper MVP to see if a business idea is worth further investing in.
- Covering the lack of UX resources. Low-code platforms offer integrated UI frameworks with ready-made blocks and widgets that one can use without a profound UX background to create a user-friendly application.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
PWAs are web apps that function like mobile apps without downloading. 93% of Gartner’s survey respondents wanted to have PWAs either deployed or in Top Software Development Trends by the end of 2020, and adoption of this trend will continue in 2021. PWAs’ increasing popularity is due to two considerable benefits:
- Smooth user experience. PWA works 2-3 times faster than responsive and mobile web pages display content even offline and is resilient against crashes during intense server load.
- Reduction of development cost and time. PWA is an alternative to native apps; it adapts to all screen sizes and mobile platforms. It’s also rather cost-effective as you can have both a website and an app for the cost of a website.
Businesses that see impressive results from PWAs are E-commerce, hospitality, news sources.
