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15 Predictions For The Next Big Thing In Software Development

Forbes Technology Council
Forbes Technology Council

Technology is evolving faster than ever before. Business owners must be willing to adapt to changes in tech if they want to stay competitive. To do that, though, you must first keep yourself abreast of the latest trends.

We asked the experts of Forbes Technology Council to share what they think will be the next big thing in software development. Now is the time to start looking into these trends so your business can become an early adopter.

1. Containerization 

In many ways, I think this may already be true for a lot of organizations, but I think this is just the beginning of a widening trend. The Docker and Kubernetes ecosystem definitely help with moving forward as well, but I expect that within the next few years it will be more uncommon to see teams not using containers. - Zach Bruhnke, Halleman Bradley

2. Functional Programming 

Functional programming is not new, but it has not gained widespread adoption. However, with SPAs becoming more complex, JavaScript is seeing its limitations by making it hard to maintain and debug code. With Elm, Facebook's ReasonML, more developers are adopting the functional mindset on the client side, and it could possibly be the start of more functional adoption in different parts of the stack. - Salim Madjd, AsthmaMD

3. Multiplatform UI Development 

Many companies end up needing frontends for web, iOS and Android. Doing these three different ways is ineffectual. Several solutions exist to address the last two (e.g., Flutter, React Native, Xamarin), but few handle all three in a reasonably successful fashion. On the back end, serverless solutions will be popular for certain use cases. Containers and microservices will proliferate. - Manuel Vellon, Level 11

4. Native Analytics Modules 

More and more products will include business intelligence and analytics modules natively in their solutions, reflecting the need to drive more value from the data these systems generate. Involving development to include natural language generation (NLG) in these BI and analytics modules will become a fundamental requirement as well. - Marc Zionts, Automated Insights

5. Software To Build Software 

Programming languages have become more and more developer-friendly. There have been initiatives to develop a website or even a mobile app without having any coding knowledge. This would be an important step since it would narrow the gap between imagining a product and creating it in real life. This will make at least showing proof of concept less resource intensive and hence more affordable. - Vikram Joshi, pulsd

6. Serverless Microservices 

The migration from monolithic software stacks to serverless microservices is the path many software companies are taking to better isolate and compartmentalize software development. Breaking apart code in this manner allows small dedicated teams to focus exclusively on specific areas with minimal impact on the whole. Many large companies have already achieved this. The rest of us should follow. - Chris Kirby, Retired

7. Data-Driven Rating Systems

We are seeing a collapse in the credibility of online reviews and ratings that are generated by humans. Software platforms that generate objective ratings for products and services, based on an analysis of actual prior usage data, are going to be critical in enabling better decision-making. - Daniel Levitt, Bioz

8. AI-First Software Development 

AI and machine learning-driven product features are already an integrated part of software development for e-commerce, movie watching and social media. Now AI-first software, from conversational virtual assistants to self-driving technologies, are becoming mainstream in software development. - Mitul Tiwari, Passage AI

9. Earlier And More Frequent Security Testing 

The inevitable evolution of DevOps will be to include security testing earlier and at more points in the development pipeline. Security testing is currently a bottleneck for delivery, and the cost is highest to remediate code when done late in the cycle. Providing developers with real-time feedback on the security of the code they are writing is the ultimate goal to avoid delays and expenses. - Travis Greene, Micro Focus

10. Human Behavior Modeling 

The next trend will be programming human behavior -- creating computational models of human behavior and developing algorithms to aid the customers/users with possibilities and choices. Finding the trends using digital behavior can calculate the next move of the user. Programming perceptual processes will be the next big thing in software development, and it will help mediate digital identity and behavior. - Komal Goyal, 6e Technologies

11. Increased Third-Party API Integrations 

I see a rising trend of customers choosing to use external API instead of custom development. It takes less time for development and helps save money at the beginning. In a few years, developers will be working mostly on integration between different services instead of developing a custom software solution. - Ivan Verkalets, COAX Software

12. Edge Computing For Data Processing 

Edge and fog computing will change how we process data. We’ll see a higher degree of computing happening at initial data capture to remove processing workload from the server side. This is essentially what’s already happening with IoT; however, in the future, we’ll see this in other non-IoT uses cases as well, like ensuring financial compliance locally instead of in a central data center. - Claus Jepsen, Unit4

13. Graphing Tools To Illustrate How Systems Work Together 

As the world and our devices become further intertwined, the behaviors or rules within software systems become increasingly complex. Businesses need graphing tools where engineers illustrate how these systems are working or not working together. - Larry Lafferty, Veloxiti Inc.

14. Blockchain 

Blockchain technology holds incredible potential for many industries, especially when used in tandem with internet-of-things (IoT) data, artificial intelligence (AI) and fog computing. Software developers will be focused on building disruptive, new solutions that leverage blockchain ledgers such as solutions to enable micropayments and smart contracts or end counterfeiting in the supply chain. - Maciej Kranz, Cisco Systems

15. Continuous Evolution 

Continuous evolution involves your team's ability to learn while they produce. You cannot expect everyone to be perfect on Day 1 or Month 1. The question is, how can you utilize the now and here with talented people? At what point are they ready to go? Enter continuous evolution. The knowledge and quality of your team will eventually converge into a stable line of progression. Now you can evolve. - Waije Coler, InfoPay


