Top Software Development Trends 2021: A Brief Introduction
Sep 9, 2021 · 8 min read
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The global pandemic has posed several serious challenges but has also opened other opportunities for businesses. Standing still is not an option in this defining moment, particularly when the world and the tech landscape are moving at record speed.
If businesses can keep evolving and utilize the right cutting-edge solutions for their operation, they can stay ahead of their competitors and satisfy the expectations of their customers.
Below are the top software development trends 2021 that can enhance your organization's efficiency, improve your customers' experience, and drive your operations forward.
Top 8 Software Development Trends 2021
Cloud Computing
In the past few years, cloud computing has been embraced by not just tech companies and startups but also governmental institutions and traditional businesses like hospitals and retailers.
There are no signs this cloud migration in the software industry will stop in 2021 or the near future. According to a Gartner forecast, the spending of the end-user on global public cloud services will reach $482 billion in 2022.
Many companies are evaluating the migration of their infrastructure into “clouds” due to various reasons
By offloading the time-consuming tasks like hosting and managing to professional cloud providers, your organization can enjoy a more reliable system at a flexible cost. You only pay for what you use and can scale your system at any time without having to deal with hardware planning and procurement.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI has become a household term in modern software development that even end-users unfamiliar with technical aspects are also aware of its popularity. Advancements in AI research and its integration can be felt across multiple industries, from online stores and smartphones to cars and learning.
Effective integration of AI into your business's operation can be a massive competitive differentiator. It could enhance the experience of your customers, improve the decision-making process, or ensure that your analytics are more accurate.
The adoption of AI is likely to continue at a fast pace into the 2020s, according to many software development industry reports. A report from The AI Journal states that the vast majority of business leaders have favorable feelings about artificial intelligence and how it can make their digital transformation more efficient.
Hybrid Development
Rapid cross-platform solution development and deployment have proved a major advantage for many businesses. With elements of both web and native app development, hybrid apps make this approach a breeze to adopt.
This rapid application development allows organizations to implement their software solutions on multiple hardware, devices, and operating systems within a short period of time. Your business can get your products on the market faster and serve a wider range of customers than your competitors.
Before cross-platform and hybrid development gained traction, software developers and companies faced several barriers: resources, costs, time, and maintenance, among other difficulties.
Now, the hybrid approach has become a solid consideration for many circumstances, thanks to the widespread availability of hybrid frames based on open and future-proof technologies.
Blockchain
Blockchain technology no longer limits itself in cryptocurrencies - the role that most people inside and outside the software development industry know about in the first place.
It has grown beyond this scope and become a viable solution for businesses seeking to improve user data security, trust, transparency, and reduce overhead costs. Those aspects are common concerns many organizations have to face. And in many situations, there are no easy traditional solutions for them.
According to Deloitte’s 2021 Global Blockchain Survey, most respondents see blockchain as a critical competitive advantage they would lose if their organizations didn’t adopt it.
No-Code/Low-Code Development
No-code and low-code (NC/LC) platforms are among the latest hypes, promising a development process as easy as using office tools like Microsoft Excel or Word. A forecast from Gartner predicts that by 2024, 65% of application development will be made with these software development trends.
The biggest appeal of no-code platforms is that even non-developer staff in your organization can use these tools to build applications with customized functionality and workflows, reducing delivery time and the cost of a software developer team.
And while low-code platforms still require little conventional coding, the development is still accelerated with pre-written components.
TensorFlow In AI Development
TensorFlow is a free and open-source machine learning framework originally developed by a team of Google software developers and researchers.
If your organization is gearing towards integrating machine learning, it can ease the tasks of data acquisition, model training, making predictions, and result refinement. Instead of dealing with all the nitty-gritty details, your software engineers can focus on the problem on a more abstract level.
Despite the existence of many similar frameworks and tools, TensorFlow is still a popular tool for AI-minded enterprises. From e-commerce to IT industry and healthcare, TensorFlow can help businesses from a wide range of industries solve increasingly complex projects involving natural language processing, augmented analytics, or deep learning, for example.
Outsourcing Development
Outsourcing may not be new, but this software development trend has never stopped being a hot topic either. In fact, due to new challenges and circumstances, outsourcing has picked up another momentum in the software industry.
Cost reduction has again become a key goal for many organizations, given the pandemic-induced economic recession. Data protection, risk, security, and regulatory compliance requirements also make supply chain management more complex than ever.
To stay ahead, businesses must be more agile with flexible and rapid integration, making outsourcing development, not just a temporary trend but an effective solution in the long term.
Instant Applications
In a fast-moving world and increasingly crowded market, a wider reach is key to any success, particularly when it comes to mobile development.
Based on web development technologies and programming languages, instant applications allow businesses to approach a wider variety of users conveniently than regular mobile apps. They can try out the complete functionality of your solution without having to download or install anything.
“The Future of Mobile Commerce” report from Corra shows that instant application solutions like Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) will have rapid growth in the future.
