Trends in custom software development in 2021
The increasing constraints of the perimeter have opened up avenues for technological invention. Although there are some serious concerns regarding web applications’ security, developments around the world have not stopped. However, this has resulted in the increased use of technology, providing companies with new ways of doing business and recent software trends.
In almost every industry sector, the market dynamics are changing, which has changed the phase of technology as we know it today. But it’s not just technology and technology trends evolving; many things have changed this year to create a new norm for custom software development. Times are changing, forcing us to stay at home and endure the changes of a non-contact world.
Apart from the pandemic’s depressing year, we are also pushing forward with technological inventions and digital transformation at an unprecedented pace. We have never stopped growing and driving business continuity, with companies like Zoom, RazorPay, Zomato, Netflix, One 97 communications, and many more disrupting the year with unstoppable technology-based solutions.
One thing that is constantly growing is custom software development technology, which is also innovative. Every day we are introduced to advanced ways of making our lives easier. As more and more of these technologies become available, we need to improve our skills to train robots to be more like humans in the future.
So, without further ado, let’s take a deep dive into some of the disruptive technologies that are already changing the world and could lead to other advances in technology-enabled operations. In this blog, we’ll look at the top 10 trends in custom software development technologies that can help companies automate, strategically plan, and improve profitability.
The following is a list of technologies that will bring about radical change and turn the business world upside down.
| 1. Progressive Web App (PWA).
As web and mobile apps continue to evolve, much has been said and heard about PWAs. What is a Progressive Web App?
Progressive Web App developed with a long-term vision that focuses on the larger ecosystem, allowing users to build web apps with easier plugin integration, cache push APIs, and easier web usage for their apps. This simplification of the app provides a modern and convenient way to install the app on the home screen, enable push notifications, and do so even with a low internet connection. This type of custom software development is suitable for both mobile and web apps.
According to a study by the Top 30 PWAs Report, the average Progressive Web App to have a 36% higher conversion rate than other native smartphone apps.
Adopting such a progressive approach can make a significant difference to sales and revenue. This gap can also attribute to the rapid adoption of this technology. APIs are more compatible, can be fragmented more efficiently, and do not require maintaining the same version of website code used than other native apps.
| 2. Cross-platform development tools
Let’s say you are free to develop your app using a language known worldwide (e.g., Javascript). But who wants to go through the work of converting the code, making it compatible with other devices, testing the code, and finally deploying it? Which is the reason why cross-platform development tools have become a savior.
According to global statistics, the projected revenue from mobile app development, including paid downloads, in-app purchases, and advertising, is nearly $600 billion. As business apps become the standard for emerging businesses, this figure expects to rise even further.
Besides, Forrester reports that more than 60 percent of enterprises are now involved in cross-platform creation. IDC expects the market for cross-platform development solutions to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 38 percent, reaching US$4.8 billion by 2017.
More and more companies are adopting them because of the benefits they offer to businesses, including
Cost-effective – reduce the cost of programming in multiple languages for different devices.
Flexibility: Works seamlessly across all types of devices.
Time to market: Code prepares so you can deploy straight away.
Consistency – Compatible code formats so everything is written in the same form.
Reduced effort: You don’t have to put in extra effort to develop the same code in different languages. You can use the same code with cross-platform development tools.
| 3. Cloud technology
By 2022, all other countries will be years behind the US in “cloud computing usage” – Gartner.
There is no doubt that most companies are preparing to adopt cloud platforms. And nothing is stopping them from doing so. That’s because cloud technology offers many benefits, and businesses will reap the rewards every step of the way.
The cloud-first mentality is on all executives’ minds, and they want to move to a cloud platform, regardless of their domain or business. Cloud-first encompasses various functions, from storing data to processing, accessing, managing, and delivering it in the cloud. It is an all-in-one solution that can help your business save money and reduce annual operating costs.
Grandview Research has produced an insightful report on why and how people are turning to cloud technology. Below is one of their research images.
| 4. Big data computing – the heart of Apache Spark data mining.
People’s new norm has made them dependent on different types of gadgets and mobile phones, allowing most of them to collect as much data as they want. It has added information to the ocean of Big Data. We are responsible for increasing this ocean of knowledge and enabling many to make money.
Big Data will have access to data that will help them get a bigger picture of their business, save on research and analysis costs, improve pricing and estimates, and ultimately increase the revenue curve, which increases customer satisfaction.
| 5. Voice commerce
“Hey, Siri” or “Ok Google” are two of the most effective ways to ask a query and get a solution. Does this mean that Google offers voice commerce services? No, they don’t provide these services, but they help us solve our problem by providing accurate results.
Trends in voice search software
Actual voice commerce means searching for something on the internet using smartphones or speakers, desktops or laptops, or any smart device like Amazon Echo or Alexa. As the world has over by voice commerce (consciously or subconsciously both ways), we have seen a growth in this type of search instead of what we traditionally use to type into a search box and submit a query.
In a survey conducted by Capgemini on this topic, 35% of respondents reported buying a voice product. They also performed this survey for online purchases made via voice commerce, and the graph showed the same information.
Below is a snapshot of what we showed companies using voice search.
| 6. AR-VR
You like games with 3D effects that make you feel like you’re running through backyards and shooting enemies with a gun in your hand. It’s not just in the game; nowadays, we have AR images superimposed by technologically advanced cameras. There are filters, lenses, virtual showrooms, virtual tours of future homes that we implicitly use as AR-VR, but we are unsure what purpose it serves.
The AR-VR market is growing at an unprecedented rate. Several research companies are already conducting studies to understand the future scope of each of these technologies. One such study suggests that mobile AR will grow from $3.9 billion to $21.02 billion in 2019.
Given that many apps design for a quarantine environment, this will significantly impact trends such as social lenses or remote AR.
| 8. e-commerce app development
The advent of e-commerce app development has seen a surge in the number of people using them to sell all kinds of goods for everyday use and industrial operations. The e-commerce platform has been a boon for most of us in those unfortunate times when we cannot go out. E-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, and others have made life easier.
Most e-commerce businesses use an e-commerce store and an e-commerce website to carry out online marketing and sales and keep track of logistics and deliveries.
eMarketer also predicts that the size of the virtual reality market will grow significantly in the coming years. The virtual reality industry’s measure expects to grow from over $195 billion in 2017 to over $195 billion in 2025,
Shopping and selling on e-commerce platforms will get even better shortly. Chatbots provide virtual shopping assistance, voice assistants, AR-VR technology to enhance the virtual shopping experience, blockchain technology, and even droids.
These are some of the critical innovations you will soon see.
One of them has already conquered the e-commerce world. It is the voice assistant, now known as voice commerce.
| 9. CI/CD integration
The last item on this list is CI/CD integration. We know that CI/CD is a pipeline for continuous integration and continuous delivery from a technical perspective. In practice, it is about closing the gaps in the day-to-day development, testing, and building applications to make the most of automation.
All manual bugs fix without delay, and the entire pipeline is standardized to speed up testing and deployment.DevOps is based on a similar approach and increases reliability and speeds up the top development companies in India
Puppet, a CI/CD integration leader with its development tools, has built a platform that automates complex and demanding processes using CI/CD principles. One of the company’s technical managers tweeted the following from a CI/CD integration perspective.
| 10. Low-code/no-code platform
According to a study by Gartner Research, “low-code application development will account for more than 65% of application development by 2024”.
This buzzword leaves many digital footprints, and most of you have probably heard or read about this type of technology. To clarify, let’s start by defining what a low-code or no-code platform is.
Low-Code is one of the fastest ways to build an application without writing actual code. It is a visual representation of tools that the user can drag and drop or point and click. It takes less time and leverages all the other creative processes, deployment, and maintenance than traditional coding.
Applications that take less time to program but offer more flexibility in the configuration made with a low-code approach. Also, it can be integrated with automation and used for processes such as RPA – Robotic Process Automation, BPM(), Case Management, Artificial Intelligence, Design Rules, etc. Many technology companies are already using these platforms to create applications in less time than usual.
With so much information about low-code, we can at least see this technology evolving in leaps and bounds. We expect future advances and growth to be very rapid. Let’s move on to the next technology that is also increasing.
| Endnote
In the end, we found that it is the most advanced technology that will be disruptive from 2021. We are certainly not limited to the ten technologies listed above. We also found several other mind-blowing technologies that will improve everyday operations. These are some of the trending technologies for custom software development that will evolve in 2021 and have a disruptive impact in 2022. Your company can hire software developers from top software development companies in India.