The software development business tops the job chart in the US. As this field has immense potential and touches almost every life on the planet, more and more people are moving into this field and picking up the trending technology. With the advent of sophisticated technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and Blockchain, the demand for software developers has been witnessing a significant rise for the last two years.

The year of 2018 is an exciting and path rendering year for software development for several technologies. But, one should be cautious while betting upon a particular technology for development as it may go out of trend the next year.

It is now an established fact that any technology can fade in no time due to in the wake of frequent new and rapid advancements. Hence, it is pertinent to keep abreast of the advancements in the technology industry and trends that can benefit your business in the future.

Following is a summary of a few promising development trends in 2018 that will carry themselves and dominate in 2019.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Digital transformation is the need of the day for organizations across the globe to better compete in the market. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be considered as the key driver of digital transformation.

AI is on the way of becoming omnipresent and gradually getting into everything nowadays. The leading analyst firm Gartner estimates the revenue of the AI industry at $1.2 trillion by the end of 2018, up 70% from a year before. The AI-derived business value is expected to reach a whopping $3.9 trillion by 2022.

The data above identifies AI as development trend that will be at the fore front for at least the next few years until the technology becomes mainstream. The next will see almost 40% of organizations automating their businesses with the help of AI.

AI technology helps businesses in the execution of several tasks to provide high-quality services and enhance customer experience. Voice-activated home assistants, big data, smartphones and more are a few practical applications of AI.

If you are a serious software developer, keep an eye on the artificial intelligence development.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain has been a buzz word recently due to Bitcoin. However, this technology has its applications beyond cryptocurrencies as well.
Blockchain involves a peer-to-peer network of interconnected computers for storing data or information which can’t be modified or stolen by anyone. It works as a distributed ledger technology that nullifies the need for central entities.
This technology is quickly and rapidly gaining ground as all the industries and companies are either adopting it or planning to adopt in the future. It is quite promising as it allows authentication of large-scale transactions in no time, thereby removing the need for expensive intermediaries and eventually reducing costs.
Companies associated with all the industries including healthcare are seeking blockchain to improve their supply chain, medical data, administration and more to streamline processes.
The vast majority of leading technology companies is stepping into the blockchain game and introducing their own platforms based on this technology to drive adoption. For example, IBM launched its IBM Blockchain platform last year. Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle are also diving deep with the blockchain technology.
This simply means that organizations worldwide will start building blockchain-based applications and demand for blockchain developers will explode in the time to come.

Progressive Web Apps

The websites that mimic and act like native mobile apps or conventional apps are known as progressive web apps (PWAs). The PWAs are promising as they provide benefits of mobile experience along with the features of browser technology.
As these apps are less complex to develop and maintain in comparison to conventional mobile apps, Gartner had relied on PWAs as a software development trend in 2017 which is likely to continue as a hot trend in 2019 as well.

Low-code Development

Even though the low-code development, which allows developers to build software without much expertise in coding, is a recent phenomenon, the technology has grown faster among the businesses. It facilitates a faster way for developing and deploying enterprise-grade applications.
Siemens recently acquired the low-code development company Mendix for $730 million, which signifies the role that low-code development will play in 2019.

Cybersecurity

A report by Alert Logic puts the following stat:

About 18% of the organizations reported at least one security incident in the last one year
Protection from data loss and leakage (67%) is the biggest concern for cybersecurity professionals
Threats to data privacy (61%) and breaches of confidentiality (53%) are other prominent concern areas

The aforesaid stat indicates cybersecurity is a major concern area for businesses of all sizes and they are looking towards the software development industry to check into this. This opens a new world of opportunities for web development companies.
It is evident that developers with right skillset will have ample opportunities in 2019. Those who are not abreast of the latest technologies may also learn and gain mastery as it’s never too late to learn new things and enhance the skills.

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