Software development trends are significant drivers of business growth. Some of the 2019-2020 development buzzwords, such as microservices and cloud migration, have already become ingrained in the software industry and demonstrated their value to various businesses. They are already a requirement for many projects in our software development services.
Other trends in software development continue to mature and spread across industries. In this article, we examine four emerging technologies that will significantly impact the software industry in 2021 and beyond, highlighting their benefits through use cases.
Artificial intelligence-first software
Gartner predicts that organizations with at least four AI projects will increase that number to 35 by 2022. The latest trend is away from integrating AI into existing software and developing AI-first software, in which AI becomes the starting point for software development. It can benefit businesses in a variety of ways when powered by technologies such as deep learning, speech recognition, or machine vision:
Assistance with making critical decisions. Artificial intelligence analyzes medical records, genetic data, and laboratory results to predict diseases and identify more promising treatments in medicine.
Superior level of service. From virtual assistants that schedule doctor appointments in healthcare to software that recognizes faces and emotions to improve sales and marketing efforts, AI enables genuine client-centered services.
Quality control and aversion to risk. IoT devices transmit data to artificial intelligence-based programs that improve production efficiency and predict machinery failures in manufacturing. Additionally, AI is used in agriculture to analyze plants and detect weeds.
Case study: ReliaSoftware created an artificial intelligence-based application for analyzing brain MRI scans. The application, which utilizes convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithms, assists physicians in localizing brain tumors, planning surgeries, and monitoring treatment progress.
Beyond the financial sector, blockchain technology
The blockchain enables the transfer of money and information without using an intermediary and the maintenance of unalterable and transparent records. The mechanism is as follows: data is encrypted, chronologically linked to other data entries, and distributed across all computer systems on the network rather than being stored in a centralized server.
Due to the innovative nature of blockchain technology, it is being adopted by a wide variety of industries beyond finance, where it first appeared: distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, and government. By the end of 2024, the blockchain market is expected to reach $20 billion.
Consider the following benefits of investing in this technology:
- Data security. Decentralized data storage helps businesses that handle sensitive information (credit histories, medical records, and records from industrial IoT) prevent fraud and security attacks by encrypting and copying it to each computer in the system, eliminating the possibility of altering it without the approval of all system members.
- Contracts intelligent. The blockchain enables the creation of contracts that are automatically executed once all terms have been met. For instance, after the payment is verified via blockchain, the goods are shipped. As such, contract execution cannot be tampered with.
- Transparency. Businesses can use the blockchain's distributed ledger to replace paper-based processes, ensuring complete transparency of transactions and increasing the accountability of all parties involved.
Walmart evaluated blockchain technology's ability to track food provenance by requiring several suppliers to upload their data to the distributed ledger and use new unique labels on products. This enables the company to trace mangoes back to their origin farm in 2.2 seconds via the blockchain-based system instead of seven days when suppliers were contacted via phone and email.
Development with minimal coding
Low-code development refers to the process of creating applications without the use of code. Developers drag and drop prebuilt components, while regulation is generated automatically and is editable if necessary.
At first, low-code development was used on platform-as-a-service providers specializing in a particular type of software (e.g., CRM). However, low-code platforms now enable the creation of almost any low-code kind of application. They gain popularity due to significant functional improvements – microservices support, extensive integration capabilities, and AI/ML implementation.
Gartner predicts that by 2024, low-code platforms will be used in more than 65% of software development projects. This is due to the opportunities that low-code development provides for startups, small businesses, and enterprises:
They increased deployment speed. Low-code applications are significantly faster to develop than hand-coded applications, enabling businesses to meet the tight deadlines imposed by the competitive market environment.
Identifying and validating business concepts with fewer risks. In comparison to custom software development, low-code platforms help reduce costs. This is especially advantageous when developing a low-cost MVP to determine whether a business idea is worth further investment.
They are compensating for a dearth of UX resources. Low-code platforms provide integrated UI frameworks with prebuilt blocks and widgets that anyone with a basic understanding of user experience can create a user-friendly application.
Schneider Electric, a multinational provider of energy solutions, required immediate support for business processes involving multiple applications. The company created over 60 new apps in 20 months using low-code development and saved over 650 working days.
Web Apps That Are Progressive (PWAs)
PWAs are web applications that perform the same functions as native mobile applications without downloading them. By the end of 2020, 93 percent of Gartner survey respondents desired to have PWAs deployed or in development, and this trend will continue in 2021. The growing popularity of PWAs is due to two significant benefits:
A pleasant user experience. PWAs load content 2-3 times faster than responsive and mobile web pages, they display content even when the server is under heavy load, and they are resistant to crashes during periods of high server load.
Cost and time savings associated with development. PWAs are a viable alternative to native apps because they scale to all screen sizes and mobile platforms. Additionally, it is pretty cost-effective, as you can have a website and an app for the price of a website.
Businesses that benefit significantly from PWAs include e-commerce, hospitality, news sources, and social networks – all of which require a high level of user convenience.
Case study: Forbes' PWA opens in 2.5 seconds on mobile, compared to 6.5 seconds for their standard website. Additionally, Forbes stated that their PWA increased the average user session length by twofold.
Utilize the development trends of 2021 to your advantage
You can reap early benefits from emerging software development trends in 2021.
Relia Software is a software engineering firm specializing in developing innovative software for both enterprises and software product companies.
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Top comments (1)
Thank you, Le, for these trends. I would also say that 5G and Big Data were still some of the prominent trends to expect and nourish in 2021. They did not only lead 2021, but become a big priority in the next years.