Software development is defined as a set of computer science activities dedicated to the process of creating, designing, deploying and supporting software using one or more programming languages. This iterative logical process is in high demand around the world. Here are 8 striking statistics that provide a clearer understanding of the field.
How many developers are there in the world today?
In its 2020 report, Evans Data Corporation notes that there are 26.9 million male and female developers worldwide. That number is expected to reach 45 million by 2030 as demand far outweighs supply in the field. That represents an average growth of 75% over the next decade.
What’s the average age of a professional developer?
According to a survey by Stack Overflow, 70% of developers are under 35 years of age. The 25 to 29-year-old age group is the largest, making up 29.5% of the total. Fun fact—only 5% of male and female developers are 50 and up.
What are the biggest challenges associated with software development in 2021?
In its annual report, Coding Sans notes that hiring is the #1 challenge in software development. The second major challenge is capacity, followed closely by knowledge sharing. Time management has also become more problematic with the advent of remote work.
What’s the average amount of time required to develop and deliver custom software in 2021?
Depending on the size of the project, the technology used and the required functionalities, it has been determined that it takes 1 to 9 months to develop and deliver custom software. On average, the amount of time required is 4.5 months.
Which methodologies do software development firms use the most in 2021?
Libéo has been in Agile mode for a while now and it’s good to know that this methodology is by far the most widespread in the software development world.
Which frameworks and tools are most used in software development?
A survey of 40,000 users conducted by Stack Overflow in 2020 provides a list of the frameworks and tools that developers appreciate the most. Node.js (51.4%) is the most popular choice, followed by .NET (35.1%), .NET Core (26.7%), Pandas (15.5%) and TensorFlow (11.5%).
Which programming languages do developers use the most around the world?
As of February 2020 and according to a survey conducted by Statista, JavaScript (67.7%) tops the list of the programming languages that are most used in software development. HTML/CSS (63.1%) came in second, followed by SQL (54.7%), Python (44.1%), Java (40.2%) and several other languages.
What are the hottest platforms for developers?
A Statista survey conducted in February 2020 reveals that the Docker platform is the most sought after by developers (24.5%). Amazon Web Services placed second (20.2%) while Kubernetes (18.5%) came in a close third.
What are the future sectors of software development?
- The global artificial intelligence (AI) software market will reach $126 billion in the United States by 2025 and will certainly be one of the prime sectors in development.
- The e-commerce market is very healthy and will continue to drive software development. By 2024, online sales will represent 21.8% of total retail sales worldwide (18% in 2020).
- Progressive Web Applications (PWA) combine mobile applications and web pages. They work offline, increase the conversion rate and load faster. According to Emergen Research, this sector will grow at a rapid pace to reach US$10.44 billion by 2027.
- The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming more and more prevalent in the current market. People often hear about the concept of connected homes, but connected objects can also be used to provide useful health data (e.g., smart watches), autonomous vehicles, smart farms, etc. The number of connected objects is expected to reach 30.9 billion by 2025 (13.8 billion in 2021).
- Everyone’s talking about cybersecurity. One year into the pandemic, our systems have been more tested than ever before. Cybersecurity is a vital component of software development, as data protection is a major concern for all actors in the digital field. A data breach in 2021 and beyond would be disastrous for any organization. For 2020, IBM estimated the average total global cost of a data breach to be $3.86 million.
- Cloud technology continues to lead, as shown by the popularity of AWS among developers (second only to Docker). The hybrid cloud (a combination of private and public clouds) is particularly trendy and represents a future sector in development. The cloud is a necessity for emerging development sectors, such as AI or machine learning, because it’s the only technology that provides the required computing power to work with these new models.
Gartner is estimating that by 2021, 75% of midsize and large organizations will have adopted multi-cloud or a hybrid strategy. —Carolee Gearhart, Global Channel Chief & Vice President, Worldwide Channel Sales and Global SMB Sales, Google
A field to watch!
Software development certainly has the wind in its sails. It’s a highly sought-after specialization in an increasingly connected world, where different organizations are trying to draw the maximum benefit from technology in order to deliver high-quality products and services. There are several interesting trends on the horizon for developers, which will enable them to approach various problems with creativity and propose efficient solutions with a high level of customization in an evolving context.
