You will surely agree that software development trends have always been growing, but the ongoing pandemic has further driven the changes. What seems acceptable in software development today may no longer be so soon. Startup founders need to be well-informed of where software industry trends are heading and strategize things accordingly when developing a mobile app. Nowadays, there is a growing interest in low-code development platforms. Also, the market revenue is anticipated to hit USD 46.4 billion in 2026.
Technological and societal needs drive many of the changes we’re likely to see. For example, new uses for artificial intelligence (AI) force the industry to become more concerned about ethical AI. At the same time, the need for a secure way to execute contracts pushes blockchain to the next level. Many AI development companies embrace digital acceleration and software development advancements to understand new ways to drive their operations forward to benefit customers, society, and their bottom lines. No one has a diamond ball to discover exactly what the landscape will look like in 2022, but the trends below I've mentioned are based on past trends. So let's move toward the areas that founders need to keep their eye on as they plan for a new app.
Top 5 Software Development Trends
1. Flexibility With Anywhere Operations
In this digital age, mobile apps are redefining how physical businesses operate in a community that is moving towards the digital space. Anywhere operation is a model that allows software development companies to extend their services and products to clients beyond physical axioms. It is not about replacing physical setups with cloud solutions but enhancing CX (customer experience) by providing a digital alternative.
For instance, as the pandemic forces people to remain at home, on-demand delivery apps are in huge demand. Around 37% of citizens reportedly spend more on delivery apps due to the coronavirus in the US. In recent years, the flexibility of enabling customers to engage with businesses has also seen apps like Aspiration booming. It provides a digital alternative to conventional banking and enables users to track carbon footprints generated in their transactions. Startup founders can begin by developing an on-demand delivery app like Netflix, Zomato, UberEats, DoorDash, and many more to leverage the growing desire for the anywhere operations model.
2. Internet Of Behavior (IoB) For Personalization
Expect software trends to lean towards personalization, particularly with the IoB (Internet of Behavior). Internet of Behavior is the extension of the Internet of Things (IoT). Besides gathering data from devices, (IoB) Internet of Behaviour tracks and analyzes people's behaviors as they interact with apps and devices. IoB has yet to gain mainstream traction, and Gartner also predicted that around 40% of the global population will have their behaviors tracked by 2023. To create a personalized user experience, the data gathered via IoB proves to be useful.
Startups can pick up examples of IoB in action from how YouTube is showing personalized video feeds based on how users react. Likewise, Facebook uses the same concept to display ads that are likely to gain more engagement from the users.
3. Cybersecurity Demands A Different Strategy
Ransomware attacks are expected to cost businesses an astounding USD 6 trillion by 2022. As the world becomes more digitally interconnected, startup founders cannot afford to take cybersecurity for granted. Therefore, startups need to take a different approach to address cybersecurity concerns. Conventional methods like establishing a perimetric firewall or anti-malware application are no longer sufficient.
Malicious attackers are operating with smarter techniques, which calls for a cybersecurity mesh to be implemented during development. Cybersecurity mesh is where security measures are introduced and tested upon each app's distributed network access module. In this strategy, DevOps ((Dev) software development and (Ops) IT operations) teams include security testing during the software development to ensure that no vulnerabilities are introduced in the process. Indeed, cybersecurity is likely to be a growing concern in the foreseeable future, security apps like Nox, VIPRE, and Lookout are worthy ideas for growing startups.
4. Remote Operations With Distributed Cloud
Distributed cloud technologies are one of the major forces shaping software application development trends. We all know that cloud computing isn't a new concept, but the way the cloud is applied in a distributed manner in recent years has improved user experience. Till today, around 80% - 85% of software development companies' workloads are stored in the cloud. Moreover, video streaming apps are developed on distributed cloud technologies and are expected to hit USD 59.14 billion by the end of 2021.
Instead of hosting backend services on a single cloud server, startups should adopt the distributed cloud topology, where services work on different cloud providers and geographical locations. The instant benefit of the distributed cloud is felt when apps remain operational, even when there's an issue in one of the servers. The high availability prevents service disruption, and cloud redundancy features prevent data losses. Moreover, startup owners could gain helpful insights by studying the success of existing cloud-based apps like Dropbox, AWS, Google Drive, Salesforce, Vimeo, Evernote, and many more.
5. Total Experience For Improved Conversion
As far as software development trends are concerned, customer experience (CX) is more important than ever. According to Forbes, approximately 90% - 96% of customers mentioned experience as the key to instilling brand loyalty, and that’s where total experience, or TX (total experience), kicks in for app development. Instead of focusing on (CX) customer experience, employee experience, user experience, and multi-experience as separate entities, TX provides a central point where they intersect. With total experience, startups ensure that their customers receive the best experience and empower the support team in their job.
The key to TX (total experience) lies in unified communication, which means that getting the right customer support technologies. It’s important to have cohesive communication between support personnel and customers, even if the latter is stationed remotely. VPN (Virtual Private Network) offers 24*7 responsive live-chat support, which is the perfect example of total experience.
Conclusion
I hope now you understand that software development is a dynamic industry that is influenced by consumer behaviors, technologies, and other underlying circumstances. With all these software development trends, the coming year will see many innovations and ways to continue using technology to drive remarkable outcomes.
This will be especially true as more mobile app development companies achieve digital acceleration and start to think differently about using technology to meet their societal, financial, and customer care goals. It is important that startups are better prepared to turn their ideas into successful apps. To do this, founders will require a better understanding of the latest software trends.
