The software development industry is rapidly growing and is expected to continue in the future. Statistics show a projected growth of 22 percent from 2019 to 2029 in demand for software developers. This continuous growth in the demand for the profession is a testament to the industry’s penchant for an upward trajectory.
This upward trajectory will keep rising as innovations are sought and breakthroughs are made daily. The Internet of Things is a vast field that requires many applications and hardware to run the new digital world we’re building. It includes Android, iOS, web applications, and smart gadgets that are sure to rule the world in the next decades. The software development industry has so far kept pace with these continuous changes.
There are many tools and languages that are taught and practiced to bring out this IT revolution. Some commonly used languages include Python, C+, and JavaScript, while many tools, including SCA tools, help you build the best software. SCA tools enable secure software development at a brisk pace with the most efficient architecture and, to top it off, within a highly secure environment. The following statistics can show this meteoric rise in the fortunes of software development.
1. Niche-Based Demand of Developers:
The demand for software developers is high and continues to increase, particularly in areas such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and mobile app development. As pointed out earlier, the overall demand is set to increase by 22 percent, which may not seem much in the course of ten years. However, the average demand for all occupations in the same period stands at only 4 percent, thus making the 22% number significant.
Also, fields such as cybersecurity and cloud computing are at the forefront of the new IT revolution. These areas are in high demand, especially cloud computing which grew 17% in 2020. This performance isn’t bad for a pandemic year. Cybersecurity has also become a growing field due to strict government regulations and increased vulnerabilities due to the greater deployment of cloud computing.
2. The Demand to Continue:
Continuing with the above statistic regarding the demand for software developers, the same survey tells us that the demand will keep increasing. It projects that there will be around 27 million professionals by the year 2023 plying their trade in the industry.
3. The IT Industry is Full of Competition:
Software development is a highly competitive industry, with many talented developers competing for jobs and projects. In the U.S. alone, a whopping 4.2 million engineers in 2015 working in the software development business. Meanwhile, there are around 6 million Android developers across the globe, a testament to the increasing usage of Android in smartphones.
4. Open-Source Coding:
The world of the Internet may only seem to care about making profits, but there is an increasing trend of programmers contributing towards open-source software. While this may not be due to a philanthropic approach, a survey suggests that 29% of programmers contribute to open-source software development. The main reason behind this is that programmers are looking to polish their coding skills.
5. Outsourcing is Becoming More Common:
Agile software development methodologies are becoming increasingly popular and are focused on iterative, collaborative, and customer-focused approaches to development. Many software developers work remotely, with distributed teams collaborating using tools like video conferencing, project management software, and instant messaging.
As the pandemic taught companies that working remotely was possible without compromising efficiency, outsourcing has become more frequent. According to one survey, about a quarter of executives lean towards outsourcing software development for various reasons. Outsourced work constitutes about 4% of the total turnover in the software industry.
6. The Most Used Languages:
There are many programming languages available, but some are more popular than others. These include the earliest but most effective C++ and C#, amongst others. Other industry-leading languages include Java and Python. A survey suggests that around forty percent of programmers are using Python, while 70% have used JavaScript in the last 12 months.
7. The Future is AI:
There is a high demand for software developers with expertise in emerging technologies such as blockchain, machine learning, and virtual reality. According to statistics, AR/VR engineers are in demand, which has increased by a dramatic 1400% in the last few years. Also, 1 in 2 companies has a definite strategy to use AI in software development. Innovations such as AI-based development are needed to increase efficiency and reduce the long working hours to develop a single software.