Software trends can spread like wildfire… and are sometimes doused just as quickly. As a software professional, it becomes necessary to stay on top of these trends and remain current with your skills. So what’s trendy right now and what’s getting deprecated? Let’s take a look.
The 5 Trends on the Way In
- Artificial intelligence. By far the top trend throughout 2016 was the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence doesn’t just collect meaningless data; it scans for patterns and learns with the data that it acquires.
- Web apps. The single-page, continuous scrolling web app has essentially won the day. For the most part, users today want to see a slick, convenient app that has everything they need right above the fold. That also means apps that look the same on any platform.
- Android programming. Android is definitely winning the development game, and Android programmers are finding themselves similarly sought after. Android is now on the vast majority of Internet of Things devices, and a good Android programmer can write their ticket.
- Chat bots. Chat bots empower a user to self-service while still giving them a friendly, convenient, and easy-to-use interface. When paired with the above mentioned artificial intelligence, chat bots can be just as helpful as a human operator… at a fraction of the cost.
- Open source. When Microsoft threw its support behind open source in 2016, the game changed. Many enterprises are now supporting a shift to open source, in order to create innovative, stable, and interesting software solutions.
The 5 Trends on the Way Out
- Big data. It isn’t that data collection is out of the game. Far from it. But collecting big data is becoming less popular as businesses recognize that collecting it is one thing, and using it is quite another. Many companies were collecting big data without an end in sight. Most of them can stop now… until they have a game plan ready for it.
- Websites. Most websites are just the front-end for a larger web app today… and most people just want to have things accessible wherever they go. Large, cumbersome websites are now fading out, in favor of easier to use applications that anticipate a user’s needs.
- iOS programming. Though iOS programming used to be incredibly important, it’s now becoming fairly limited. Many platforms can now export to both Android and iOS devices (if you’re using a dev kit), and iOS itself is becoming fairly limited in nature.
- Wikis. There was a time when interminable numbers of wiki pages were used for documentation, but this can be difficult for a modern customer to peruse. Rather than wikis, businesses are now moving towards live chat programs, automated chat programs, and knowledge-base systems.
- Proprietary systems. Even large enterprises are now moving away from proprietary systems. Not only do they cost a lot to license, but they often lock companies into interacting solely with their tech support. It can be difficult to get answers, especially in the heat of development.
Keeping pace with current programming trends is the perfect way to develop yourself as a programmer. Now that you know which trends you should be tracking, maybe it’s time for a career change. The curated job listings at Software Specialists is the perfect place to start.