As we step into 2024, the landscape of custom software development is evolving rapidly, driven by technological advancements and changing market demands. Businesses are increasingly recognizing the importance of staying ahead in this dynamic environment.
We will explore how these trends, from the adoption of microservices and container technology to the rise of serverless computing and the emphasis on user experience, are revolutionizing the way companies approach software solutions.
This blog post delves into the emerging trends in custom software development that are set to shape the industry.
As technology continues advancing at a rapid pace, businesses must keep up with the latest trends in custom software development to meet changing customer needs and desires.
Several key trends in custom software development are emerging for 2024 that companies like Aristek should follow to remain competitive.
Transition to Microservices
Monolithic architecture, with its single unified model, is becoming obsolete as applications grow more complex. Companies are migrating to a microservices design, building applications as suites of independently deployable modular services.
Microservices provide greater flexibility, easier maintenance, and the ability to scale individual services. Expect the utilization of microservices to increase in 2024 as the benefits become more apparent.
Accelerated Adoption of Containers
Along with microservices comes a growing reliance on container technology like Docker.
Containers package up code and dependencies into lightweight virtual containers, which can run isolated on a single machine or interact to create a containerized application.
Containers enable portability across environments, save money on resources, and align with DevOps continuous development approaches. Their usage will grow rapidly as organizations shift to cloud-native strategies.
Expanded Use of Serverless Computing
Serverless computing allows customers to run code without managing the servers. The cloud provider handles provisioning, scaling, and availability, while customers only pay for computing time used.
The serverless model will appeal to more companies in 2024 thanks to reduced operational
costs, automated scalability, and faster time-to-market. Firms will increasingly adopt serverless to simplify deployment and optimize budgets.
Prioritization of User Experience
Customers expect intuitive, slick interfaces with responsive designs tailored to their devices. To better compete, businesses will place extra emphasis on UX in custom software to create seamless omnichannel experiences.
Development teams will utilize design collaborations, user testing, UX-first frameworks, and tools like Figma or Adobe XD. Clean, efficient UX will be a critical differentiator.
Explosion of Low-Code/No-Code
Low-code/no-code platforms allow faster app development with minimal hand-coding. These intuitive platforms include ready-made components, drag-and-drop interfaces, integration capabilities, and options to add code only where needed.
They empower non-technical staff to build custom solutions. The low-code market is estimated to grow 22% annually through 2024 as businesses recognize the benefits.
Everything Gets Faster
The entire software lifecycle will accelerate thanks to maturing DevOps practices plus widespread adoption of agile and continuous development. Release velocity has increased 146% over the past 5 years as teams implement automation to scale output.
The pace will quicken further in 2024, with continuous integration enabling multiple daily releases. Customers will expect updates early and often.
Increased Use of AI Assistance
Advancements in AI will see developers leverage the technology for added value in custom software.
AI can generate code, complete repetitive tasks, analyze system performance, personalize experiences, provide intelligent chatbots, plus much more.
Teams will increasingly integrate AI capabilities through prebuilt services, development kits, automation tools and other offerings tailored to coders.
Cybersecurity Becomes Priority #1
With data breaches on the rise, security is paramount. Developers must build protection into custom software from the initial planning stages.
Companies will invest more in app security testing, infrastructure safeguards, encrypted data policies, and training to prevent vulnerabilities. Adherence to compliant architectures like ISO or PCI DSS will become the norm rather than the exception.
Everything Embedded with IoT
By 2024 over 25 billion IoT devices will permeate homes and workplaces. Custom software will often get embedded into these connected products, appliances, sensors and controllers to enable responsive real-time actions.
Development teams must prepare for expanded IoT integrations as customers tie enterprise systems into smart infrastructures for enhanced analytics and automation.
The Cloud Shift Crystallizes
Global end-user spending on public cloud is growing over 15% annually. As cloud platform maturity improves stability, security and capabilities, companies feel confident migrating critical systems to cloud-based environments.
Custom software will need cloud-readiness baked in, with flexibility for multi-cloud deployments. 2024 may finally see the cloud avalanche materialize.
To stay competitive in 2024 and beyond, businesses must closely track these leading-edge custom software development trends.
Working with a seasoned developer that understands both future opportunities and customer-centric product design will provide an advantage over rivals relying on outdated legacy systems.
Companies that embrace modern architectures, embed intelligent features, and deliver highly tailored experiences through quality custom software will lead their industries tomorrow.
