In 2020 the software development industry advanced leaps and bounds, as it will in 2021, and 2022, and 2023 and—
Look, the industry moves fast, technology moves fast and it’s very difficult to predict what will happen next, but 2021 is here and more than ever, job sectors are becoming more reliant on software. However, there are a few development trends that have such a strong presence, that they’re worth informing yourself on.
Below I’ll discuss the most dominant software development trends of 2021.
1. Further Shifting to the Cloud
Cloud computing has been an IT standard for a while now. The adoption of native cloud development and infrastructure is expected to increase.
We’re likely to see an increase in private and hybrid cloud deployments. Why? Because hybrid deployments allow businesses to take advantage of both their on-site resources and cloud resources. Containers and Kubernetes play a role in assisting this trend, and we’ll expand on this below.
Enterprise companies that are managing on-premise, private, and public clouds from many vendors are finding it challenging to keep everything running smoothly. Subsequently, we can expect more large businesses to develop more hybrid-cloud strategies that will give large businesses flexibility and resilience. It will also allow them to support more apps and software services. The solution within many of these strategies will be cloud automation tools. Tools that can provide a comprehensive view of cloud computing and help development teams better organize workloads, costs and security issues.
Hybrid cloud deployment means that businesses are now investing more in these environments. Therefore, the need to monitor cloud services and compare their impact in relation to business goals rises. Again, automation tools that help companies monitor cloud environments will become in demand. Businesses will need to know whether certain vendors are justified and whether they’ll be worth it long term.
The old thinking was that cloud computing was often adopted to save costs. But this is no longer the case, now cloud computing is used to align with business strategy. This 2020 infrastructure report showed that more businesses are adopting cloud computing for the following priorities: security, flexibility, reliability and then cost.
2. Kubernetes Will Rise in Popularity
Kubernetes is the most-adopted type of container orchestration system. More and more organizations are moving to containerized software and Kubernetes is currently your best bet.
Kubernetes is currently a common afterthought, meaning that people are using containers or microservices and thinking “hey, Kubernetes would work great with this.” With more adoption, one can expect this to change and instead people will develop software with Kubernetes in mind, i.e Kubernetes-first software.
When any technology starts trending, there is a period where we can expect users with malicious intent looking to spot vulnerabilities and therefore security issues can pop-up. This isn’t to suggest that Kubernetes is lackadaisical on security, it’s actually very committed. Businesses just need to have strategies for managing risk in place.
3. Python Will Consume Everything
Once upon a time, Python was mainly used by data scientists and academics looking for a beginner friendly language. Now the need for data processing in modern businesses has demanded many developers shift to Python. The main reason developers are using Python for data analytics is because it has numerous task oriented libraries. It’s one of those cases where the programming language hasn’t necessarily changed, but the language itself now aligns with what’s needed. Modern technology like AI, big data, and machine learning are now commonplace and incomplete without Python. It’s also very flexible and can integrate seamlessly with other frameworks, languages, hardware, and architectures—hence why it is featured in many enterprise-grade applications.
Currently, Python is the third most popular programming language in the world, behind Java and C.
In 2019 Python doubled in popularity. Python was designed to be very user friendly, an introductory programming language for students. It’s open source, free to use, easy to learn, has thorough documentation and lots of community support, what more could a developer ask for? Therefore, compared to other programming languages, the time it takes to become a Python developer is smaller.
4. Microservices Will Become the Standard
The shift towards Cloud native and fast software development naturally means microservices will become more dominant. Of course, for some companies a monolithic architecture will still be preferred, because it’s just simpler than a microservice architecture. The main challenge with microservice architecture has to do with complexity, but the benefits are far too great and relevant to be intimidated. Upcoming technology is feature rich and requires flexibility, and microservices are better at handling that.
5. Progressive Web Apps Continue Their Growth
Progressive web apps (PWAs) are a concept: websites with all the capabilities of an app that can be displayed on any device or channel. Users get all the functionality of an app, without the need to download anything. It will be interesting to see what impact this trend has on native or hybrid app development. PWAs can go anywhere and perform consistently, removing the need to create native apps can cut many development costs.
PWAs are good news for web developers. Many web developers have wanted to create mobile apps, but it requires upskilling that they don’t have time for. PWAs allow these developers to create the equivalent of a mobile app using web development skills that they already have. So, learning to use PWAs is easy, and they also come with many other benefits: they guarantee fast loading speed across multiple channels or devices, they’re great for SEO, they’re responsive, cost-effective and easier to share.
But, compared to other trends pointed out on this list, PWAs are still very much a growing trend and aren’t in the limelight yet. There’s still a knowledge gap between PWAs and developers, there isn’t a strong enough developer community yet to have many businesses trusting PWAs.
2021 Looks Exciting!
You would have probably noticed that most of these trends interrelate, namely cloud computing, microservices, Kubernetes, and even Python all compliment each other. This is the way software development is going and it’s important you keep up with the industry if you want to still have a relevant skill set for the future!
If you’re looking for work as a software developer, we have a few places to look.
PeopleGrove (India)
Having a lot of listings for full-stack software developers in India, this is a great place to submit a resume if you’re looking for remote work.
Siemens
A well known electrical and automation company, they have many locations globally, including in India. If you’re looking for a software development job in Bengaluru, Siemens is a great, stable job to apply for.
CodeClouds
CodeClouds is a global development company with more than 400 employees. They’re always on the lookout for new developers with a variety of skills to join, and they’re currently looking to fill a lot of Technical Team Lead jobs.
