The software development landscape evolves along with the need for more sophisticated technologies that tackle complex business challenges. According to Gartner, the worldwide IT spending market will reach $4.6 trillion in 2023, with an increase of 5.1% in comparison with 2022.
That’s why 2023 is going to be rife with dynamic digital transformation trends in all domains, from healthcare and pharma to retail and manufacturing, bringing an increasing demand for more adaptive and flexible software solutions.
Read also: Enterprise IT Trends Outlook: What to Expect in 2023-2026
From AI-powered tools and cloud computing to the expansion of IoT and VR, this article will discuss several latest trends in software development that will stay with us in 2023.
New Challenges Facing the IT Industry in 2023
Growing technology disruption has been challenging businesses all across the globe, empowering highly adaptive companies to safeguard their competitive edge and stay ahead of the curve. In 2023, business resilience will remain the backbone of corporate culture for multiple companies. In addition, the increasing complexity of technology will require IT professionals to continually upskill, making areas such as Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing a priority for many companies. What’s more, the rise of AI technology will result in an urgent need for the implementation of ethical frameworks to ensure the responsible use of these tools. Organizations will also invest in data privacy and protection strategies to remain vigilant against malicious actors and malware threats. These continuous trends in the software industry will require technology experts to stay agile and maintain a deep understanding of the ever-evolving business landscape.
Key Industry Developments Looming on the Horizon
Let’s have a closer look at trends that will stir up the software development market in 2023 and assess how these latest technology trends in software development will shape the way businesses craft and deploy software solutions:
Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Adoption Will Intensify
The dynamic advancement in AI technologies is forecast to be one of the most influential trends in software development in the upcoming years. As Garner’s research highlights, the AI software market will grow to $134.8 billion by 2025, increasing its value from 14.4% in 2021 to 31.1% in 2025. As a result, AI-enabled solutions will become an integral part of software development projects. As a result, this software development trend will directly impact how developers work and create new software products.
For example, AI-based tools for application development can now analyze, test, and deploy software faster, with higher quality than ever before. Automated code refactoring and feature extraction are two examples of how AI can drastically reduce the amount of time spent on low-level programming tasks. They free up software developers to focus on more strategic tasks such as database performance optimization, architecture planning, and user experience design.
Such a substantial advancement can lead to faster deployment cycles and reduced human errors. By automating mundane tasks like code refactoring or bug fixing, tech experts will be able to optimize the development process and shorten the time to market for new software solutions. At the same time, AI-driven systems can be helpful in other IT sectors, specifically in project management. They can greatly contribute to the quality of decision-making and bring a new boost to predictive analytics, making it possible to anticipate issues before they arise. The adoption of AI has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of software development teams, enabling them to deliver projects faster and better and cater for more value for customers.
However, despite these advancements, human intelligence will remain a foundation of software development processes in the foreseeable future. While AI can automate tedious and time-consuming processes, software developers will still analyze and interpret complex data and stay responsible for project decision-making. They still will play a crucial role in designing, developing, and maintaining software applications.
Adhering to a Zero-Trust Model Will Prevail
Just a little while back, network perimeter security was one of the most widespread strategies to protect vital company information. It usually encompassed tools like firewalls that allowed users access to a network. Over the years, these cybersecurity standards drastically changed. This traditional approach to cybersecurity has become less effective in recent years due to the increasing complexity of IT environments. Given the widespread adoption of hybrid cloud infrastructure and remote work practices, the boundaries between internal and external networks have become blurred, making it harder to secure critical data.
To address this challenge, a new security model known as zero-trust has emerged as a viable alternative. In 2023, we can expect to witness a significant influence of this approach since organizations recognize the limitations of network perimeter security and seek more effective ways to protect their data. Zero-trust represents a security approach based on the principle of distrust of any entity or access request, regardless of whether it comes from inside or outside of the organization. In this way, every access request is thoroughly verified and authenticated, and only authorized personnel can access critical systems and data. This model is designed to prevent lateral movement and diminish the risk of data breaches and cyberattacks.
Yet, the adoption of a zero-trust model requires a substantial shift in the way organizations approach security. Rather than relying on perimeter-based security, which is no longer sufficient in the age of hybrid cloud infrastructure and remote work, organizations need to adopt a more comprehensive and proactive approach to security. This change means implementing security measures such as multi-factor authentication, encryption, network segmentation, user activities monitoring, network traffic control, and system behavior evaluation. It also heavily relies upon a cultural shift within the organization, with security becoming everyone’s responsibility rather than just the IT or security team.
The Multi-Cloud Approach Will Gain Momentum
2023 will see the rise of a multi-cloud approach, a strategy that offers an opportunity to collaborate with multiple cloud providers and use different cloud services simultaneously. This approach has been gaining momentum in recent years but is predicted to become even more prevalent in 2023 as organizations seek to tap into the benefits of cloud computing while minimizing the risks and limitations of a single platform.
As applications become more sophisticated and distributed, relying on a single cloud platform to meet a company’s needs poses a daunting challenge. Instead, developers are turning to multiple platforms and services, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, to create a more resilient and scalable solution. Meanwhile, the need for greater flexibility and agility in software development opens up high demand for adopting a multi-cloud business strategy. With its help, developers can rapidly deploy and scale their applications across multiple platforms, which makes it possible to respond quickly to changing market conditions and user demands. The multi-cloud approach also provides greater redundancy and failover capabilities. It helps ensure that applications remain available and responsive even in the event of a platform outage or other disruption. Undoubtedly, the multi-cloud model presents its fair share of difficulties. Coordinating and overseeing numerous cloud platforms and services can be an intricate endeavor. It demands a substantial level of proficiency and experience.
The IoT Will Continue to Transform Healthcare
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a fast-growing technology that is expected to have a major impact on the way software products are created in 2023. By connecting and exchanging data between digital and physical objects, the IoT will enable the development of highly interlinked applications with vast potential for improved patient outcomes. Within the healthcare industry, IoT devices can gather crucial data on various vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels, and medication adherence, enabling healthcare professionals to deliver more personalized and efficient care.
Telemedicine is another area where the IoT is making a substantial impact. Here, IoT enables remote consultations and virtual appointments and helps bridge the gap between patients and providers, particularly in rural or underserved areas. This technology is also making it easier for patients to manage their own health, with telemedicine solutions allowing for remote monitoring of chronic conditions and even virtual physical therapy sessions.
However, the impact of the IoT on healthcare extends far beyond patient care. This technology has also emerged as a potent tool for improving operational efficiency. Today, IoT-enabled inventory management systems and real-time location tracking solutions empower healthcare providers to optimize their supply chain and minimize waste. Such an attentive approach translates to substantial cost savings, as well as greater transparency and accountability across the healthcare supply chain.
WebAR Will Become More Widely Spread
WebAR is AR that is delivered via a web browser rather than through a dedicated app or platform. This has a number of advantages, including greater accessibility for users who no longer need to download and install a separate app to experience AR content. It also makes it easier for software developers to create and distribute AR experiences since they can leverage popular instruments such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript rather than requiring specialized AR development instruments.
WebAR offers several strengths, including its ability to create highly interactive and engaging online experiences. For instance, a retail website can leverage WebAR technology to enable customers to try on virtual clothing, visualize furniture in their homes, or even take a virtual test drive of a car. Such immersive experiences are proven to enhance customer engagement, ultimately driving sales and fostering brand loyalty. When using WebAR to deliver memorable and interactive user experiences, businesses can stay ahead of the competition and build a loyal customer base.
WebAR can have a positive impact on the field of education and training. With this technology, educators can create interactive and engaging learning experiences that allow students to explore complex concepts in new and innovative ways. For example, virtual field trips, science experiments, interactive history lessons, and language learning modules can all be delivered using WebAR technology. These immersive and interactive learning experiences are proven to enhance student engagement and foster a deeper understanding of complex concepts. In the end, WebAR has the potential to revolutionize the way education is delivered, creating a more effective and enjoyable learning experience for students of all ages.
WebAR presents exciting possibilities for interactive art installations, museum exhibits, location-based gaming experiences, and even real-time translation and interpretation tools. The ability to seamlessly integrate digital content into the real world opens up a world of possibilities for creating engaging, interactive experiences that captivate users and offer new levels of interactivity. As WebAR continues to evolve, its potential to meld together features of both physical and digital worlds will only continue to grow, creating exciting new opportunities for developers and users alike.
Citizen Development with Low-Code / No-Code Olatforms Will Expand
Driven by their ability to speed up development cycles, improve collaboration between IT and business teams, and enable faster innovation, low-code and no-code development platforms will remain in the spotlight of attention in 2023. What’s more, the soaring popularity of cloud-based platforms and AI-driven development tools will further enhance the capabilities of citizen development, making it even easier for non-technical users to build complex applications. This democratization of software development is a game-changing transformation in the IT industry as it empowers employees to take an active role in the development process.
Citizen development is a transformative approach that aims to democratize software development and empower non-technical users to build custom solutions using drag-and-drop interfaces, pre-built templates, and other user-friendly tools. As organizations seek to streamline development cycles, improve collaboration, and drive innovation, citizen development has gained widespread popularity in recent years. This software development trend has been fueled by the emergence of low-code and no-code development platforms, which enable business users to craft their own applications with little or no coding experience.
As key enablers of citizen development, low-code and no-code platforms provide pre-built building blocks that empower users to assemble applications without writing code from scratch. They offer a wide range of features, such as visual modeling, integrations, data management, and deployment, all of which can be accessed through a simple user interface. However, it’s worth noting that citizen development does not serve as a silver bullet solution. On the one hand, low-code and no-code platforms can accelerate development and revamp the operational capacity of the company. On the other hand, they pose new risks and challenges, such as security vulnerabilities, lack of scalability, and potential for creating technical debt.
While it democratizes software development and improves efficiency, it can also pose challenges in terms of governance, scalability, and security. When it comes to scalability, it can become difficult to manage and maintain applications as more and more employees create them. Besides, there is also the compatibility issue between solutions, which can arise if different teams use different technologies or platforms to build their applications. Incompatibility can lead to integration issues and potentially even system failures. To address these complications, organizations should establish clear guidelines and standards for citizen development. This approach usually implies defining the tools and technologies that can be leveraged by employees, as well as the development process and coding standards that should be followed.
Software Development in 2023: Major Challenges
The increasing complexity of software products embodies one of the key challenges facing software development teams in 2023. Given the rise of cloud computing, IoT, and AI-driven applications, software solutions have now become increasingly sophisticated, which requires teams to work with a growing number of technologies and platforms. Such a high level of complexity can ultimately lead to greater development costs, longer development cycles, and more significant risks of cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Meanwhile, a continued shortage of skilled experts exemplifies another major challenge for the industry. To tackle this complication, software development teams need to adopt new approaches and technologies that help streamline their workflows and increase efficiency. Agile methodologies, DevOps practices, and cloud-native architectures are just a few examples of innovative solutions that are gaining traction in the IT sphere. Moreover, investing in the upskilling and reskilling of existing staff and attracting new talent play a vital role in addressing the shortage of skilled experts.
Bottom Line
Software development trends reflect a dynamic technological disruption that transforms the way businesses operate in today’s markets. As their central feature, the ability to handle complexity and uncertainty is crucial for enterprises striving to hone their competitive edge and reap the benefit of pervasive software development opportunities. 2023 offers new opportunities for business growth along with technologies and solutions in AI, cloud computing, AR, or low code development. Not only do new products provide developers with the ability to create highly integrated and powerful applications quickly, but they also enable businesses to reduce costs and risks and revamp their operational capacity. As a result, keeping a close eye on emerging software development trends empowers companies to discover new vectors of growth and stay ahead of their competitors in the modern, fast-paced digital world.
About Intetics
Intetics is a global technology company that offers a range of software solutions and services designed to help businesses stay ahead of the curve. Our team of experienced professionals is committed to delivering excellence in everything we do, from software development and technical supervision to infrastructure management and software solutions governance. Whether you need to optimize your existing processes, implement new technologies, or expand your team, we have the expertise and resources to help you succeed. Take your digital transformation journey to the next level: get started now!
