Top 7 software development trends of 2021

Software development will never be the same. It will keep evolving and what’s new today might be obsolete in the future. The overall idea is to develop applications that impact lives and make a difference. It’s a rat race. Companies are constantly competing with each other to see who invests more, who is faster, and eventually who the leader in the industry becomes.

With this standard of competition, if you’re planning to launch a competitive business in the software industry, you must know the top software development trends of 2021. After all, your ultimate goal should be to set your business apart with unique ideas, rather than following a copycat approach.

Blockchain

2021 is going to be the year of blockchain. By 2030, blockchain experts predict that global GDP will grow by $1.76 trillion, or 1.4%. (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2020).

Blockchain is commonly mistaken as a technology exclusively associated with cryptocurrency. However, with little research, one can learn about the broad use of blockchain.

For instance, secure data transactions, digital transactions, supply-chain communications, regulatory compliance and audit, and you name it.

Artificial intelligence

You must be wondering why every year is an AI year? The thing is, it’s going to be the same for many years to come. AI is not going anywhere, in fact, it’s here to keep us on our toes.

For example:

• There is AI-based software that can write your marketing copy. Actually, some search engine optimization experts fear AI will decrease SEO jobs and their importance.
• Restaurant owners feel excited at the prospect of having robot waiters who can work tirelessly for 24 hours a day, without asking for monthly increments.

In this sense, ethical AI is likely to gain more traction in 2021. Further, there will be major progress in the field of explainable AI — AI will justify why it takes certain decisions.

So, one can say AI is going to prevail in 2021, better than ever before.

Cloud

You might have thought the Cloud has become a normal thing in the software industry until the pandemic kicked in. When people were working from home, cloud-based technologies connected them.

Microsoft Azure is the cloud service utilized by 67 percent of respondents in 2021. Sources indicate that Amazon Web Services was on top of the list until 2020 when Microsoft took the top spot.

The use of the cloud is not restricted to the tech industry anymore. Realizing the importance of cloud-based data storage platforms, all kinds of businesses are keen to have their cloud-based platforms or shared ones.

The number of respondents using no cloud at all dropped from 8 percent in 2020 to just 4 percent in 2021.

Modern languages

The ultimate goal of any software development agency is fast and accurate development. With increasing competition, firms can’t rely on old development methodologies and languages, which are not designed to work in the modern era.

This will lead to increased use and popularity of modern languages like Rust, Go, Kotlin, and Python. Microsoft and Amazon are investing heavily in Rust, Python is being taught in schools, and Kotlin is being used by android developers.

Though these languages have been introduced a few years before, they are still not widely embraced. This is going to be the year when people will take a step forward and invest in learning new languages to stay up-to-date with trends.

IoT

People love it — devices at their homes being controlled by them when they are outside. The Healthcare industry can minimize errors and early diagnosis of fatal diseases. From the shipping industry to agriculture, manufacturing, and hundreds of other industries are enjoying the perks of IoT.

Summary

• Blockchain is going to be a hot software development trend in 2021.
• Artificial intelligence will be high in demand in software development jobs.
• More organizations will switch to the cloud.
• Developers will learn modern languages.
• The IoT is going to be more exciting.