Software development firms need to be aware and stand ahead of new market advancements. This helps them adapt and tweak their skill-sets to meet the needs and requirements of their clients. Changing trends in technology give software companies an advantage to leverage the quality of services provided by them. Businesses that are not up-to-date with the latest technological developments tend to be left behind in this highly competitive environment.
So let’s go through some of the custom software development trends that will help you stay relevant in your field.
What is custom software development?
This is a process in which software is specifically designed and developed for a group of users in an organization. Custom software ensures all of the client’s preferences and requirements are accommodated effectively.
Custom software development trends in 2020
- Progressive web apps: A progressive web app (PWA) is a hybrid of mobile and web applications. A PWA is generally designed and built using web technologies but has the feel and look of an app. The main aspect of a PWA is its script, called service worker. The script runs in the background separately from the web app. A PWA can be used directly unlike a traditional app that requires the users to download and install it. As these apps are “progressive,” they work on all devices and browsers. PWAs work well even in offline mode and low connectivity, unlike native apps. Interestingly, India’s Flipcart witnessed a 70% surge in conversions after launching its PWA Flipcart Lite.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) backed development: Over the last few years, AI has become a very popular software development trend. It has helped many medium and large enterprises by automating tedious, repetitive tasks that take too long for humans to complete. For example, A-I driven chatbots have helped customer-facing businesses serve hundreds of customers at a time without shedding extra time and human resources on it. To keep up with this uprising trend, software companies must write codes that can be integrated with self-learning algorithms.
- Blockchain development: Blockchain technology has paved the way for data and money transfers without an intermediary and keeps all the related records unchanged and transparent. Though primarily dedicated to the finance sector, many industries have been increasingly adopting blockchain including healthcare, manufacturing, distribution and public sector. By 2024, the blockchain space is expected to grow to $20 billion in annual revenues (Fortunly statistics). Some of the reasons why blockchain is investments are:
- Data safety
- Smart contracts
- Transparency
- Use in cryptocurrencies
- Use in bank transfers
- Use in property records
- Mixed reality: Mixed reality is a combination of two new emerging technologies: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).Though mainly used in the gaming and entertainment industry, VR is also leveraged in other sectors like military and retail. AR, on the other hand, has been prominent in mobile applications specifically. A surge in AR applications is expected to take place as more companies are developing their own customized apps to expand their customer base.
- Cloud computing: Cloud computing has been nurturing custom software development by providing all the essentials including infrastructure. Businesses across the globe are deploying diverse cloud computing models like SaaS and PaaS to increase and systemize development, testing, storage, and even disaster recovery. The cloud provides software companies with scalable, on-demand resources, which will help them in the execution of projects with minimal hassle.
In a time where technological developments are constantly changing, custom software firms need to stay ahead of these trends and incorporate them into their roadmaps.