Innovation and constant advancement are at the core of software development. It is always evolving and shifting. Staying abreast of software development news, trends, and challenges—which are shaped by shifting global and social demands, technological advancements, and other factors—is vital for individuals.
The top software development trends for 2024 will be covered in this article. Maintaining a competitive edge and continuously delivering innovative solutions is made possible for developers and industry participants by keeping up with the newest developments.
The Evolving Landscape of Software Development
After several project delays, budget cuts, and layoffs, the IT sector saw a phenomenal global change in 2021 as it began to expand once again. Every big company realized how critical it was to embrace a digital culture after the pandemic. Businesses nowadays are wise enough not to cling to outdated practices in order to keep the lights on no matter what. This is because they were caught off guard when the world fell into lockdown.
87% of senior corporate leaders say digitalization is their top priority, and 91% of companies have started digital transformation initiatives, according to Gartner. In addition, a digital-first business strategy has been adopted by 89% of organizations. Sales of software development are expected to reach $738.96 billion by 2025, according to Statista. With an estimated market value of $312.80 billion, enterprise software is predicted to lead the market in 2025. Application development software, system infrastructure software, productivity software, and system infrastructure software are forecast to follow, with respective values of $193.30 billion, $151.20 billion, and $81.66 billion.
According to Statista, there will be 28.7 million software developers globally this year. In terms of working arrangements, despite the IT industry’s general emphasis on a return to office culture, 41% of developers have continued to work remotely.
What Are the Trends in the Software Development Industry in 2024?
Cloud computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are a few of the major themes in the software business for 2024. DevSecOps techniques and microservices architecture are two recent advances in software development. In general, historical shifts in the IT sector have an impact on current software development practices. As previously stated, the business has undergone tremendous change as a result of the shift to digital, including changes to the way software is developed, delivered, and maintained.
Additionally, agile development methodologies have become more and more popular, enabling hybrid and remote work together with faster development cycles. A lot of this would not have been feasible even ten years ago if departments and teams had not been able to collaborate more frequently due to modern technologies. Thus, a lot of these trends in software engineering are associated with the aim of enhancing existing processes, streamlining the shift to digital, and keeping up with the adoption and advancement of novel technologies in software development. Take a closer look at some of the most recent developments in software development.
1. Increased AI and ML integration
The most recent advancement in software development is the growing adoption and integration of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) across industries. Software development companies all around the world are currently using both technologies extensively to build predictive analytics algorithms and facilitate data-driven business decision-making. From small online marketplaces to IT giants, we’ve seen a growth in AI and ML integration across all business sizes. It is anticipated that in the upcoming years, this integration would rise gradually. More than half a trillion dollars are expected to be spent this year on AI in particular. Apart from machine learning, the following are some of the leading software breakthroughs in artificial intelligence:
Big, complex data sets will be effectively made simpler across industries by automated machine learning, or AutoML.
Films, images, and sounds can soon be produced using business-generated data thanks to generative artificial intelligence.
Natural Language Processing (NLP): NLP provides sophisticated natural language comprehension with the goal of enhancing communication between algorithms and users.
AI that is ethically built to strengthen cybersecurity measures and boost user confidence in automated systems, thereby bridging the trust gap that exists between people and technology.
Cloud-based platforms will be used by businesses to provide a range of AI services under the umbrella of AI as a service (AIaaS).
2. Applications of Blockchain Technology Beyond FinTech
Even though blockchain technology is not new, tech experts believe that in 2024 it will disrupt the software development industry and go beyond fintech. Companies across a range of sectors are starting to recognize the potential and value of the technology and are keen to put it into practice, especially since blockchain’s decentralization offers exceptional security.
It is anticipated that decentralized systems will continue to gain popularity in a variety of software development domains, including media, publishing, supply chain monitoring, and healthcare. This is because blockchain is transparent, almost unhackable, and impervious to corruption because of its decentralized structure. The blockchain market is expected to reach $20 billion by 2024 and grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 58.90% thanks to developers’ continuous exploration of new applications for blockchain technology in custom software development.
3. Increased investment in progressive web applications.
Similar to blockchain technology, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are not new; they were first released in 2015. Nonetheless, with a 31.9% CAGR and an anticipated market value of $10.44 billion by 2027, it is gaining acceptance and broad use. Additionally, it seems that the tech industry has caught up with PWA technology, especially in light of the recent decade-long exponential growth in mobile usage. By making their websites look more like apps, PWAs help website owners enhance their aesthetics and user experience.
More site owners are making PWA investments in the development sector. Pinterest made waves for their conversion because it was unusual for companies to make the switch to PWAs. After researching the areas that led to low site retention and performance, Pinterest completely redesigned the website using React and turned it into a Progressive Web App (PWA). As a result, the website witnessed a 44% rise in revenue and a 40% increase in time spent on the platform. That was back in 2017.
4. More companies are adopting low-code/no-code development.
Software development is a tedious and time-consuming endeavor, there is no denying that. Teams are able to deliver products more rapidly thanks to low-code and no-code development, which offers developers a more quicker and simpler way to create apps using less code. Businesses of all kinds will start implementing low-code development, according to Gartner, which estimated that by 2026, adoption rates will have surpassed 50%. Low-code and no-code development will become more popular quickly because of the following key factors, predict experts:
- The quantity of business technologists has increased.
- Elevated degrees of hyperautomation at the corporate level.
- Composable Business Initiatives.
According to Varsha Mehta, Senior Market Research Specialist at Gartner, “organizations are increasingly turning to low-code development technologies to meet growing demands for highly customized automation workflows and rapid application delivery.” These development techniques essentially allow teams to produce apps in significantly less time and on a limited budget. Low-code platforms function similarly to Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) designed with specific needs and problems in mind. Popular low-code systems include Appian, Mendix, and Visual LANSA. Here are some instances of use cases with low-code:
- Leveraging an existing SaaS infrastructure with customized functionality based on an organization’s needs.
- Using a cloud-based relational database instead of traditional spreadsheets
- Converting outdated apps to modern versions
5. The Development of FinOps and GreenOps
Among the newest software development trends, the FinOps and GreenOps movements are currently being ushered in by the cloud computing environment. More companies are recognizing the importance of streamlining their operations and processes in light of the recent changes in how things work. After the outbreak, nobody wants to be caught off guard and unable to adapt to the changing needs of consumers and marketplaces. In addition, companies are giving sustainability a higher priority than cost and productivity.
Briefly put, GreenOps is concerned with putting environmentally sustainable practices into practice that support long-term value growth, while FinOps seeks to increase efficiency across a variety of financial activities. Companies may improve their bottom line, adhere to rules, assist with sustainability initiatives, and strengthen their reputation by combining FinOps and GreenOps.
6. Server-less Computing
Function as a Service (FaaS), another name for serverless computing, allows developers to create apps and services without having to worry about maintaining infrastructure, which boosts productivity and lowers costs. Among the most well-liked providers are Google Cloud Functions, AWS Lambda, and Azure Functions. Netflix, for instance, has started utilizing AWS Lambda for some platform functions.
Lambda manages backend processing, video encoding, and user authentication. Because of this, Netflix can adjust its resources in response to demand without having to worry about maintaining servers, which lowers costs and improves user experience. Conversely, Spotify leverages Google Cloud Functions to carry out tasks like user authentication, handling user-generated content, and supporting functions for music recommendation algorithms.
7. Increased reliance on distributed computing
Another software development technology that is expected to gain traction in 2024 is distributed computing. Data distribution across a network of interconnected computer servers is known as distributed computing. Because of this, enormous volumes of data that would need too much work for a single server may be split among several computers and handled much more quickly. Programs can scale correctly thanks to distributed computing; additional servers can be added as needed.
All things considered, distributed computing increases performance at a low cost. The best part is that if one server experiences a system breakdown, it doesn’t affect the others, thus operations can carry on as needed.
8. Increased focus on cybersecurity via DevSecOps
Development, Security, and Operations are referred to as DevSecOps. It blends culture, platform design, and automation in a nutshell. Furthermore, it acknowledges security as a crucial shared duty across the course of the IT lifecycle. An increasing number of businesses are using DevSecOps to strengthen their cybersecurity programs, giving built-in security precedence over data-and app-based security measures.
Early identification of possible risks and vulnerability mitigation before they become serious issues are given top priority in DevSecOps. DevSecOps cuts down divides between teams and prioritizes security in all commit and pull requests. In the DevSecOps pipeline, compliance is equally crucial. For this reason, security and compliance checks are constantly included.
9. Ushering in the AR/VR Era
Beyond video games and entertainment, AR and VR have become more widespread. To be clear, VR is entirely a virtual, immersive simulation, but AR blends real-world elements with computer-generated content to provide an interactive and dynamic user experience. By 2024, more businesses will be utilizing these technologies to create interactive employee training programs and real-world simulations for stakeholders and customers.
For instance, large gear or technology that cannot be transported to a trade exhibition can be virtually or artificially recreated via VR or AR, giving stakeholders and customers a chance to “experience” it. Prototypes with a defined plan but not yet ready are similarly applicable. Furthermore, employees can increase muscle memory without immediately operating real objects (such heavy machinery and other equipment) by using VR and AR to augment training programs with practical and hands-on education.
10. Microservices Architecture
Software development using microservices architecture is a different approach to software development. On designing single-function modules with well-defined interfaces and operations. This has expanded dramatically in recent years and is in line with Agile and DevOps. Because microservice architecture is compact and self-contained, it greatly accelerates and improves the efficiency of service creation and maintenance for smaller development teams. Because each service layer in this design is separated from the codebase, management is made easier. Because of this, developers can maintain and upgrade a program or service without having to rebuild or relaunch the entire system.
11. AI in healthcare
What a Deloitte research identified as the top three goals of AI in healthcare—increased efficiency, reduced costs, and better products and services—AI provides to the medical sector. Developing AI software with the ability to detect medication errors automatically, enhance symptom analysis using patient data, and automate administrative tasks in general is one useful method AI can assist in achieving these goals.
The top 50 healthcare AI companies are said to have received over $8.5 billion in investments from venture capitalists, indicating the current significance of AI in healthcare.
12. React Native continues to thrive
Because React Native makes it possible for developers to produce excellent cross-platform applications from a single codebase, it has become the industry leader in hybrid development. Teams are able to work considerably more quickly and effectively as a result, enhancing their status as an important tool for businesses looking to increase their clientele and boost output.
Conclusion
Trends in software development are being driven by the massive shift to digital, artificial intelligence, and new technologies that are aiming to improve our way of life and working.
Groundbreaking technologies like Web 3.0, Internet of Behavior, Internet of Things, and quantum computing are making significant progress. These technologies have the potential to spur further advancements, especially when they are applied to the transportation, healthcare, finance, and other sectors.