2020 has proven this decade will be dramatically different than the one before it with so much change and volatility. The Covid-19 pandemic has allowed many businesses an opportunity to reboot their way of thinking and reinvent their approach in the field of modern software development.  Software services companies are now leading other industries to inculcate the way of modern software development.

Cloud-centric software companies now can change, tune, tweak, and augment the functionality of the different parts of the software if they want. “Modern software development is about acknowledging the landscape of libraries and tools and applying them. The knowledge of creating an optimal algorithm is no longer required. Modern software development platforms become agile and move on from the traditional coding process of the 90s that required a sophisticated application” as mentioned by our CEO Apratim Ghosh.

Now the hidden question is how modern software development trends will be reshaping the organization’s future and how software developers are going to accommodate this in 2020 and beyond?

1. AI-powered business process  

The growth of AI-powered businesses will exponentially increase in the next few years. It is a great opportunity for organizations to retool routine business and technical processes using AI technology. It is also a great consideration for the software consulting services company engaged in developing custom applications. AI will lead the business with greater efficiency, better accuracy, and improving the bottom-line as well. 

2. Low-Code and No-code tools in frontline

After this pandemic, global business has observed five years of digital transformation within five months. Low-code and no-code platforms come to the front line of future software development. Low-code and no-code tools are now shining by building custom business processes and apps for businesses with minimal IT support in the blink of an eye. 

low-code-platform

Software consulting firms are now more adhere to this platform as it allows citizen developers with minimal knowledge of hand-coding and makes the delivery faster with pre-packaged templates, graphic design, and drag-n-drop options.

3. Switch to machine learning operation

Machine learning operations are now highly recommended for an advanced modicum of operational excellence. In MLOps, the automated concept drift-detection allows us to check how production data differ from the data used to train the model. Based on the real-time feedback on the KPI model of production software services companies provide pre-build support to their clients and successfully update the model in the production phase with the support of AutoML integration. Software consulting companies are also applying the same machine learning techniques for successful software application development.  

machine-learning-environments

4. Automated evaluation of code quality

Code quality is the first consideration of every software consulting firm in building any software because without readable, scalable, and maintainable code they cannot run the application successfully. Considering it, experienced engineers pay more attention to developers’ coding capability at the time of hiring. In the voice of Tigran Sloyan, Code signal, the manual code review is a lengthy process, but with advanced AI and machine-learning techniques, it will be automated very soon.

5. Progressive custom web app

Progressive Web Applications are the latest generation of mobile-optimized websites. According to Gartner’s research, Progressive Web Apps will replace 50% of all customers facing native apps by 2020. Software consulting companies are now giving more preference to these PWA as it shares many of the same functionalities as native apps and provides an identical user experience. 

native-progressive-app-differences

6. Python squeezes its competition

According to software services companies, Python’s robust growth is likely to be continued in 2020 and beyond. We all know that computer languages are always growing to shift and evolving but, Python has magically edged out Java for the top spot.

top-programming-languages

As per the opinions of the corporate leaders, Python is an easy-to-learn language, and spontaneous syntax makes it a transcendent language for beginners. Open source and versatile features make Python an ideal choice for start-ups and mid based software consulting firms. With so much popularity this trending programming language of 2020 reached Version 3.8.1 from version 1.0.  

7. User-experience design

According to the Forrester Research report 2019, on average, every dollar invested in UX brings $100 in return with an ROI of 9900%. For every business. In that context, User Experience designs have entirely shaken the ground of how custom applications were developed to address user challenges, and now it is time to explore how the UX principle could play a pioneering role in defining a product or service roadmap. In the view of IT consultants, user experience led software design is critical for redesigning customer-facing services and allow companies to recapture their business in the present all-digital environment.  

8. Motion UI

In 2020 and beyond, we will start seeing a less static website with more applications of motion UI. It is the most user-centric and sophisticated approach for a design that makes the website more expressive and even user-friendly. For example, a user clicks on a button will redirect them to a page with new information along with the moving effects on the screen. According to Thomas Griffin, Motion UI can connect dots and improve user journeys that a static image or a screen cannot.

9. Edge computing and FAAS

For a long time, the cloud-based IaaS and PaaS technologies have helped many organizations to accelerate their delivery while the majority still require a nonredundant service for isolated geolocation. The shift to FaaS (functions-as-a-service) is the next big evolution that will host at the very edge of our cloud and CDN networks.

10. The integration of DevSecOps

Within modern software development, shifting security and integrating DevSecops combine with automation is the next big future trend. Developers can not overlook the security nor allowed waiting until the later stages of the software development life cycle to ‘take on’ security. Software services companies apply threat modeling automation as it enables them to detect, prioritize, and mitigate threats from virus attacks in the design phase. 

devops-security

11. Perfection with digital experience

A perfect digital experience went from a novelty to a table stake in a blink of an eye. Front-end development takes center stage as the number of applications skyrockets, and cloud infrastructure becomes ubiquitous for software development services. As per McKinsey build up the next-generation operation model is the most crucial part of digital experience in development. It allows business free from all constraints (decision-making bureaucracy, tech infrastructure, business-historic culture) innovative talent that can push the envelope and hatch new business models—your in-house Internet start-up.

In short, we can say that modern software development is all about building solutions that take advantage of technology offer using the different architectures, services, and capabilities available to maximize the benefits. It also increases interpersonal skills and improves the collaborative approach to maintain harmony with the context of use and customers. 

Now organizations are paying much attention to fundamental concerns like security, privacy, and ethical responsibility with modern software development practice. We hope in the future Modern software practice will make developers more eligible with better techniques and technologies. If you also want to apply modern software development techniques for your business, then feel free to reach us. We are here to help you!

In 2020, low code speaks about a movement within technology because, in future, 50%*** of all new business applications will be created with this visual coding tool. If you are not familiar with the term low-code platform for app development, then get ready because you are about to start hearing it everywhere. Global businesses are now creating add-on pressure on developers in demand for multichannel applications to gain competitive advantage. In that scenario, low-code development platforms are accelerating the delivery of business applications with high productivity and offering better customer experience.

The worldwide low-code development platform market generated $10.3 billion revenue in 2019 and is expected to witness a CARG of 31.1% during the forecast period of 2020-2030**. Most of the tech companies consider low-code application platforms because it requires minimal coding and enables faster delivery with the help of pre-packages templates, graphic design techniques, and drag-n-drop tools. Below, three key factors work as driving force in this platform:

According to the Salesforce.com survey report, over 76%* of IT professionals were profoundly interested in low-code app development, which may scale up to 81% in 2021. More than half of the business is now happening using the low-code programming because developers consider this process viable for the development of the mission-critical application and high-level programming language. 

The rapid digital transformation has created a significant impact on major industries like Retail, BFSI, FMGC, E-Commerce, Media, and others. Undergoing process of digitization is a multi-faced journey, and not a single tool or approach will make the transformation to reality. But the bespoke platform can play a central role in the mixed method of digital transformation by reducing the load on IT and accelerating development time than traditional development process. This low-code solution empowers users to build solutions to meet their exact requirements that increase organization agility. This rapid transformation can evaluate the company brand position in this competitive market with a better customer experience.

The ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 is working as an additional fuel on the growth of low-coding platforms. This global pandemic pummels the economy, shredding profits and millions of jobs, now organizations are looking for a new platform to change. In that scenario, low-code automation is helping organizations adapt to massive disruption by quickly combining human and digital labor in the same workflow. COVID-19 has resulted in some of the complex problems mentioned below, for which low-code offers an excellent solution.

  1. Rapid business transformation in Retail and Healthcare
  2. Immediate need for applications
  3. A drastic shift in business strategy models
  4. Technical debt, and unavailability of talents become burden for companies

This pandemic has forced many small retailers and healthcare organizations to adopt or leverage their online marketing just for survival. Education, Pharma, and other small businesses are now depending on low-code solutions for an immediate need for new software applications. Self-reporting apps on disease symptoms, apps for online classes, government apps for the temporary service are now of outrageous demand. AD&D services in the insurance sector, airlines, retail, and healthcare are in the first row of low-code app demand. Moreover, cost of maintenance and update is quite low in this platform that can reduce company technical debt.

As per the Gartner report, Salesforce, Microsoft, Mendix are the topmost service leaders in fastest-growing low-code environment who have configured the cloud-native deployment options to minimize the operational risk and align organizational needs. 

At Inovar, we are fully aware of the benefits of the low-code development platform and have aided one of the biggest healthcare centers in the US. We have helped them to migrate from their existing manual process to a low code solution to help patients amid this global pandemic. It was a comprehensive solution which included, dashboards, online forms where patients can ask any query or find details regarding doctor consultation quickly.

The old way of doing things might not die out completely, but people may be more reliable on low-code platforms as low-code programmers are going to lead the development environment. In a nutshell, in the era of rapid transformation, maybe companies won’t get much time to follow the lengthy development process or reinvent new wheels that can make apps redundant before they are even released. It will be the best time to believe in empowering IT developers and supporting them in creating a whole new ecosystem of application development.  

Hence, do not allow yourself to be on the wrong side of history and empower your business with the right trend of the market.

References

* LOW CODE DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM MARKET – GROWTH, TRENDS, FORECASTS (2020-2025), Mordor intelligence, Retrieved from: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/low-code-development-platform-market

** Low-Code Development Platform Market Research Report: By Offering (Solution, Service), Deployment Type (Cloud, On-Premises), Enterprise (Large Enterprises, SME), Vertical (IT, BFSI, Retail, Healthcare, Government, Manufacturing, Media and Entertainment, Education, Energy and Utilities) – Global Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030, PRESCIENT& STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE Retrieved from: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/low-code-development-platform-market

*** Miller. T, How Low-Code Technology Accelerates Digital Transformation Retrieved from: https://www.bpmleader.com/2018/05/07/how-low-code-technology-accelerates-digital-transformation/