Software Development Trends to Follow in 2021

The science fiction of yesterday is today’s trend. This is a marvelous world we’re living in, isn’t it? The technologies once described by futurologists in their books have jumped out from the pages right into our reality. Meanwhile, the things that seem to be fantastic tales today will transcend into the realm of reality one day.

Nonetheless, let’s not look down on projects that do not look too progressive and fancy. Sometimes, those are the most down-to-earth ideas that can bring you the biggest benefit. There is no wonder why some software development trends to follow in 2021 look humble while still retaining their status of a trend. Hence, let’s plunge right into the topic and talk about the software development trends that will surely rock the software development industry this year.

Neuralink

Elon Musk is known as one of the most eccentric and yet reliable tech minds on the planet. When he said that humanity will conquer Mars shortly, everybody laughed. When SpaceX became a habitue in outer space, NASA scratched their heads wondering how this man could have outdistanced them — the most influential space exploration institute in the world. Yet, Elon Musk has shown us that the drive for ideas can change the world for the better.

Neuralink is no less ambitious than Tesla and SpaceX, as Neuralink would become nothing else but a chip to be implanted in a human brain. Musk wants folks to be able to control gadgets around them with the power of thought. Yet, the entrepreneur’s vision reaches far beyond the margin of controlling gadgets, as the main point is to apply Neuralink in the healthcare industry. For example, it would be possible to connect a camera, a speaker, a memory card, or a prosthesis to a human brain via this chip. What does it mean for a user? Restoring one’s ability to see, hear, feel, memorize, and move.

Sounds fascinating, right? Yet if you think that it sounds too ambitious, here comes a description of an already existing system used to connect a camera to a human brain, thus helping the patients restore vision. In fact, Elon Musk’s invention is not limited to restoring people’s senses. Neuralink will be used for researching the human brain and fostering brain diseases treatment, including brain tumors, Alzheimer’s epilepsy, etc.

Finally, Neuralink will surely speed up the process of receiving and processing information due to its ability to connect to the Internet. It seems like Neuralink is going to change the way we live just like everything Elon Musk does.

Artificial Intelligence

Another impactful technology with an immense potential to become a staple direction in software development is Artificial Intelligence, as there are no boundaries to what AI is capable of. Indeed, its possibilities are limitless. For instance, AI is used to detect asymptomatic Covid-19 by listening to people’s coughs through their phones. It can also be used in agriculture by guiding and managing drones that analyze and control the fields, detecting plants’ diseases at the early and thus preventable stages.

AI’s usability also extends to the Customer Data Platforms (CDP) — systems used to learn users’ behavior, interests, and other information on the basis of their actions. This type of software serves to personalize user experience, creating perfect offers, leading to dream purchases, and to customer loyalty in the long run.

Google, Facebook, Apple, and other industry leaders have already made the most of this technology and still keep looking into its eternal potential. Have you ever experienced the fear of seeing contextual social media ads right after talking about a particular commodity on the phone? Congrats, my friends, you have just experienced the benefits of CDP. By the way, harnessing the CDP’s potential is quite a viable plan for your company as well.

Just have a look at the functionality of AI-based CDP and think about whether your business could benefit from it.

Low-Code Development

Low-code development is a trend that significantly facilitates the programming process. Such an approach helps developers reduce the amount of hand-coding, which occupies a huge chunk of time in software development. Platforms allowing low-coding are, first of all, aimed at refining user interface. Hence, the development process starts with creating flowcharts explaining the business logic. Then, the platform takes it on from the developer and automatically generates the code that implements the aforementioned logic.

It seems like low-code development is nothing but a ticket into the world of programming for everyone willing to begin the fascinating journey of creating various-purpose applications. This neoteric approach is becoming more and more popular since it is a faster and easier alternative to traditional software development. Here are just some of its pivotal benefits:

• The use of visual methods and models is much faster than development by writing code. Therefore, low-code platforms use built-in components to display information in a format that anyone can understand.
• Leading low-code systems offer a lot of out-of-the-box functionality that does not require building basic modules from scratch. For example, some of them contain ready-made tools for data customer relationship processes management.
• Each platform contains drag-and-drop functionality. It is one of the most useful tools that greatly simplifies the development process and is actively used by both analysts and developers.
• Cross-platformity is a useful property of low-code systems. You can create applications that will be compatible with different operating systems and will work on different devices.
• A low-code platform speeds up the software development cycle, simplifies debugging, testing, and deployment of applications. It provides users with access to information about the applications created.

Progressive Web Applications

Progressive web applications are a revolution in the domain of improving user experience. Put bluntly, a progressive web application is a program that makes a website interact with a user as if it is an application. Users can install it on any gadget, receive notifications, and work with it even without an Internet connection. Nowadays, numerous software vendors opt for this variant of apps because they are easy to develop and interact with users instantly.

How PWAs and Native Apps Differ

As a matter of fact, there are four major aspects that make PWAs stand out from the crowd of apps with their efficiency, flexibility, and universality.

As a matter of fact, there are four major aspects that make PWAs stand out from the crowd of apps with their efficiency, flexibility, and universality.

1. PWAs can be downloaded to any gadget, regardless of the screen size, or any other tech specifications.
2. PWAs are fully compatible with Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.
3. Application developers claim that building a progressive application is easier and faster than a regular website.
4. No backward compatible API is required. Unlike desktop apps, users run the same version of the site code.

Following the latest user-behavior trends, it becomes crystal clear that PWAs are becoming the staple of meeting the clients’ demands. According to Comscore, only one-third of smartphone users download between one and three applications per month. Most users do not download any. Here are six reasons why progressive web apps will surely make a difference for users.

1. Easier Navigation. Users can navigate to progressive apps from links on social networks, while browsing the web, or directly from SERP.
2. Less Importunity. An offer to install a progressive application is shown only when the web application meets certain criteria and the user has shown interest by revisiting the site.
3. Smooth installation. PWAs are installed instantly. All components that require a time-consuming download were already installed in the cache when the user first visited the site.
4. Less Memory Required. Progressive apps are much smaller in size because they leverage the power of the browser.
5. Convenience. Pop-up notifications, work offline, and all other features of a progressive application will work even if the visitor has not installed it.
6. Omnipresence. Regular applications can only be used on the platform for which they were created. Meanwhile, web applications are ubiquitous in their use.

Conclusion

The majority of software development trends to follow in 2021 can be cumulatively called humanity’s attempt to make life easier, safer, and better. While Neuralink definitely stands out with its revolutionary goals, it should be acknowledged that PWAs and low-code development are also crucial, as they pave the way for a more inclusive and extensive software development community. Meanwhile, the AI endeavors will bring automation to a lot of processes in copious industries that folks suffered dealing with. 2021 must become the year of betterment, and it surely will, as the brightest minds are investing their all in making this world a better place to live.