9 Top Software Development Trends for 2021

Top software development trends for 2021

Are you looking for top software development trends in 2021? Well, you are in the right place! Here you will read various best software trends that will rule the year 2021.

Do you have an idea about how much the global market is spent on technology in 2019? Well, the answer is a whopping $3360 billion! This is a big number, and, considering the current dominance of the IT sector, it is only fair. In this blog, we will look at some top software development trends that will dominate 2021.

Be it the marketing of a business or learning a new programming language, people follow market inclinations to get an edge over others in that field. Every industry in today’s market is swarming with new businesses and to stand out in the herd, you should inculcate the top software trends in your company before anyone else. 

61.60% of software development companies agree that the average time of software development is 4-6 months. The question is: what can you as a developer or a business owner do in this time period to make sure that your software is the best in the market?

The term “IT” is a vast field comprising different categories. From the use of the latest marketing tools to creating interactive websites and apps for your business, every little modification you do fall into one or the other category of the IT industry. 

 

Most of the trends in this list were also a trend in 2019 or 2018. For instance, the Internet of Things. The net worth of the IoT market was expected to be 1.7 trillion dollars in 2019. The IoT industry is only going to expand in 2021 and you should leverage it, along with other trends, software development in your industry.

Software development is a significant part of the IT industry. You need to start using a futuristic approach and use top software development trends in the mainstream of your business operations. In this article, we discuss the top 9 software development trends you should follow in 2021 to stay ahead over your competitors.

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Good Read: Top React Development Companies in India for 2021

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Software Development Trend 1: The Blockchain Technology – Beyond Bitcoin

It doesn’t matter if you follow Bitcoin or not, you must have heard the sudden rise and fall in the value of Bitcoin in December of 2018. Well, we won’t be talking about Bitcoin or Ethereum here but the technology behind cryptocurrencies – Blockchain. 

Initially, Blockchain was limited to the finance industry but it is now moving to other sectors as well, such as healthcare, logistics, public administration software development, and more. The blockchain technology is one of the software development trends that can help your business reach new heights.

== What Is Blockchain and Why Should You Care?

To begin with, Blockchain is a series of non-changeable data records that are stored and managed by a bunch of computers and not just by a single entity. This accounts for the transparency of all the stored data, but, at the same time, can’t be changed unless certain credentials are met. 

The market of blockchain technology is increasing by each day and it is foreseen to impact the software development industry in a significant manner. The technology is still a fresh and developers have already begun to implement it and build secure and decentralized solutions to real-world problems of different industries. 

Stay ahead of your competitors by leveraging the power of blockchain technology for software development in your business. 

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Software Development Trend 2: Cross-Platform Development: Tools and Languages

The era of native apps is going down and cross-platform development is taking over because of its obvious benefits. Developers and business owners are investing in cross-platform development using the newest frameworks and programming languages for it.

Software developers are inclining towards programming languages that integrate features of two or more. One of the finest examples of this is: Kotlin and Scala taking over the good old JAVA in android app development. While JAVA is an object-oriented programming language, Kotlin and Scala offer object-oriented programming and functional programming at the same time. 

Cross-Platform software development not only helps you save from your budget but it also is logical. Why would anyone invest their resources in two different apps for iOS and Android when they can do with one? The concept of cross-platform development or hybrid apps has been existent for long but with development environments like Flutter and Xamarin, it has now become feasible to efficiently implement it in real-life.

The software industry is shifting towards cross-platform development and it is expected to dominate the market by 2021. Invest your business resources in cross-platform development, for instance – creating hybrid apps over native apps. Hire developers in India for quality software and mobile app development.

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Software Development Trend 3: Progressive Web Apps (PWA) – Are They Still In Trend?

Yes. They are. Progressive Web Apps offer the most up-to-date and seamless user experience. Besides, they come with a long list of benefits. For instance, the PWA of Starbucks is 99.84% (233kB) smaller than the native app.

The bounce rate of a poorly designed website or a buggy app can give a serious blow to the conversion rates of your business. Your website cannot leverage a device’s hardware specification to give its best performance. Similarly, the capability of your mobile app to use a device’s software and hardware specifications is limited. 

What if I told you that you can combine the best bits of your website and your app to offer your visitors a great experience?  Yes, you heard it right! Progressive Web Applications are a result of the perfect combination of a website and a mobile app. PWAs have cut the bounce rates and boosted the conversion rates of many brands in the market such as AliExpress.

== What are Progressive Web Apps?

In simple words, Progressive Web Apps are designed to offer application-like experience in a browser for your customers. PWA Apps essentially lower the chances of bad user experience and thus, have a long list of advantages over a hybrid or native apps. 

One of the major benefits of PWA Apps is that it cuts the development and distribution costs of your business to a large extent. Besides this, other advantages such as no updates required, less data usage, and better SEO, yield in better visitor or customer experience and hence, higher conversion rates.

PWAs are one of the most important software development trends you should use in 2021. Business leaders like Adobe and Google are already benefiting from PWAs. Hire PWAs developers and step into the future of software development.

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Software Development Trend 4: The Internet of Things – Connecting Devices, Enhancing Accessibility

IoT has been a part of top software trends for long now and considering its dominance, it will continue being a topic of interest in the next decade as well. This technology has already reached people’s homes, such as Alexa, but is yet to reach its limits. 

Internet of Things is a group of physical objects (things) such as smart wearable devices that are connected and can transfer data over the Internet. IoT in software development opens a way to reliable, user-friendly, and secure solutions. It creates multiple possibilities for both developers as well as business owners. They can this trend to get an edge over their competitors in the market.  

The IoT market is reaching new heights. The number of devices that are connected and are communicating through the Internet is increasing by each day. Gartner predicts the number of connected devices to reach 20.4 billion by 2021. Use the power of IoT to create secure and reliable software for your business today!

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Software Development Trend 5: Cybersecurity – Secure Internet

The concept of cybersecurity i.e. security over the Internet is not new. As the entire population is gradually shifting on the Internet, the need to keep it secure becomes more urgent. If you think about it, you rely on the Internet for numerous things such as bank transactions, cloud storage, communication, and whatnot!

Cybersecurity makes sure that your personal and professional data is secured from cyber attacks. Following the ongoing software trend, by 2021, the need to use cybersecurity for the safety of applications and software will increase significantly. This can only be implemented by hiring developers who can design custom applications and software for your business. 

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Software Development Trend 6: Use of Scanners and Sensors

Lately, mobile apps that use sensors and scanners to fulfill their purpose are coming into play, especially with the increasing market of IoT devices. The entire market is still innovating and sensors increase the chances of new applications. For instance, there are mobile apps that let you control your TV using your mobile phone.

Besides, there are sensors attached to your computers and mobile devices such as GPS, fan speed, temperature, and more. Using scanners and sensors for software development can push your business way ahead of your market competitors. 

Developers are using third-party platforms APIs, operating system support, and different tools to create compatible software and applications. Hire PHP developer with experience in a particular field to create futuristic apps for your business.

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Software Development Trend 7: AI-Driven Software Development

The term “Artificial Intelligence” is used a lot nowadays and you might be wondering how is this a part of software development trends for 2021? The artificial intelligence industry is here but it is far from reaching its peak. The entire world is moving towards automation and software has a major role to play in it. 

The revenue generated from AI is increasing and is predicted to generate trillions soon. Our software development technologies have now reached a level where they can be used for the real-life implementation of artificial intelligence. Be it machine learning, deep learning or anything else, businesses are using artificial intelligence to optimize their operations and create a better user experience.

Given its popularity, AI will remain in the top software trends for at least next few years. Companies are using artificial intelligence for better performance and decreased operation costs. To make your mark in the digital world in 2021, practice artificial intelligence-driven software development in your business.

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Software Development Trend 8: Increasing Popularity of Cloud Services

Cloud has been in the market for a long time now. Even technologies in this list such as IoT and Blockchain function as a cloud service. The problem of data storage is real and cloud offers a reliable and secure alternative to that. The market is shifting from using physical data servers to cloud and your business should become a part of it at the earliest.

By the use of cloud computing in software development, you can not only speed up the entire process but also increase transparency and decrease the overall project costs. This not only offers new opportunities for developers but also allows businesses to innovate. The reach of cloud services is increasing and it already has penetrated sectors like logistics, health care, finance, and more.

Types of cloud computing such as Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) are already being used by businesses to boost the overall efficiency of the development process. For instance, PaaS helps to develop and run applications without actually building them. The use of cloud services in software development will only increase and you should start leveraging its power for your business at the earliest. 

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Software Development Trend 9: AR/VR/MR – The Use of Immersive Technologies

Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) are terms that are commonly used in the current business world. The entire market of immersive technologies, no matter how popular it is right now, is in its budding phase. Immersive technologies provide a bagful of software development opportunities and you should jump in at the earliest.

Statistica has projected the AR/VR market to reach 209.2 billion dollars by 2022. While AR is being used for training purposes while VR has found its way in the gaming and video industry. Immersive technologies are bound to reach new market heights and it only makes sense to use it for the growth of your business.

We have access to powerful development tools and we can use to realize the power of immersive technologies. You can not only offer it as a service for your clients but also can use it for in-house operation. For instance, you can use these immersive technologies (AR/VR/MR) to apply different designs on furniture or to allow your customers to try clothes by dressing mannequins. As a software developer, these technologies offer opportunities to explore new and creative fields in the development world.

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Here is one more Software Development Trend: Low/No-Code Development – Development Using GUIs

Low-code development is one of the less-acknowledged but an important part of software development trends of 2021. The first thing that usually crosses our mind when software development is talked about is complex programming languages. Well, the low-code development market is thriving. Well, what is low code development? 

Low code development is building software or an app with the use of graphical user interfaces and without using any programming language. With coding an application or software in parts, you can visualize it without having developers to program it. There are different platforms available for easy low code software development and the entire market is projected to increase by 2021.

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Some Other Important Software Development Trends for 2021:

Emphasis on Cloud

It’s no secret that Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is on top in terms of software development trends. Cloud platforms like AWS and Google Cloud have lowered entry barriers, while business needs constantly shift and evolve. New Platform as a Service (PaaS) tools like Google App Engine have made deployment easier than ever, which means more companies can take advantage of scalable solutions without needing to invest heavily in development. When examining trends for 2021, it would be easy to assume cloud will continue to reign supreme – but there are other technologies that may overtake cloud by then. It may be too early to see what those are, but new applications of existing technologies could also make a big impact over time.

A Surge in Low-Code/No-Code Development

When it comes to software development, business users want simplicity. As a result, low-code/no-code development is likely to surge in popularity and be one of the top software trends for 2021. By enabling developers to create applications without touching code or writing lengthy lines of instruction code, low-code/no-code development allows developers to focus on what matters most—delivering solutions quickly. Today, U.S. enterprises are realizing that new systems can be created much faster and cheaper using low-code/no-code tools.

The Ascendancy of Python and JavaScript

Python and JavaScript together are expected to make up more than half of new software development by 2021. Python is popular for several reasons. First, it’s very easy to learn—even in comparison with many other programming languages. And because it was created in 1980, there’s a wealth of existing code that can be adapted to your own projects. It’s also easier to implement than many programming languages, and its portability means it can be used on almost any operating system without a major hassle (it works on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux/Unix platforms). Plus it helps that businesses love Python since its syntax is relatively easy to read and understand compared with C++ or Java – ultimately reducing training costs.

Uptick in Native App Development

With so many businesses switching to mobile, we predict a significant uptick in native app development. All sorts of companies—from start-ups to titans—will need applications developed, and now is as good a time as any to launch your own app. That said, there’s no such thing as an overnight success; it takes months, if not years of hard work to develop an app worth downloading.

Escalation of Edge Computing

Edge computing is, by now, an old buzzword in tech—but it’s still a fast-growing trend, not only because of its convenience but also its utility. Because edge computing is often associated with IoT devices, it makes sense that companies would want to make their hardware as efficient as possible by having all processing and data analysis done on-site.

Increased Use of Continuous integration (CI) & continuous delivery (CD)

Continuous integration is a way of automating software development so developers can put out new features and updates in real-time. Developers have been using continuous integration since its inception, but now companies like GitHub and Slack—who are using it to update their services without sacrificing security or performance—are making CI and CD mainstream. Companies that fail to adopt CI/CD run a high risk of falling behind their competitors. In order to remain competitive, they need to understand why CI/CD is such an important part of modern software development and how to best implement it in their own organization.

Final Words

These top software development trends show where the entire industry is headed. As a developer, you can learn new technologies and build futuristic apps. As a business owner, you can use these top software trends to take your business ahead of your competitors by cutting operation costs, create awesome user experience, and boost your sales. You can also hire Indian developers to build software and applications using technologies like IoT, Blockchain, AR, VR, MR, and others.

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