The year 2020 changed the way how we used to connect. The majority trend shifted towards staying connected using digital and cloud-based resources. Things changed dramatically in the business world too as worldwide business was severely impacted by the catastrophes of the contagious virus. The reliance on digital sources such as cloud-based solutions increased insanely and what once seemed to be a very slow process turned out to become the fastest adopted trend during the pandemic. We saw organizations rapidly pivot to remote-first environments, undergoing years’ worth of digital transformation in a matter of months.

This digital transformation was primarily backed by software developers who acted like “front line workers for digital transformation”. Developers helped their organizations not just to adopt digital trends but to help them become agile and resilient as well. The need for companies was there to opt for such solutions that help them engage with their clients more effectively without having to cost them any bio-threat. That’s why we witnessed an immense trend of cloud-based systems getting normalized and widely adapted.

Many of these trends that we are seeing are not very new, we were aware of them but the speed of them getting adapted is what surprised many, all thanks to the pandemic that gets us out from our comfort zone. We are currently in the first quarter of 2021 and things have started to get normal as the large production of different Covid-19 has started to roll out globally. Although, the virus is still hanging around the lockdown restrictions are still very strict in some parts of the world. It would be interesting to see how things will fold up as the year proceeds.

In this blog, I’ll be discussing how businesses will continue the pace of digital transformation, how would they tackle the extreme shortage in the demand of software developers, and what is the future of getting back to hybrid workplaces? I’ll be discussing all this in this piece.

Factors Determining Progress in Software Development in 2021

1. Tackling With the High Developers Demand:

Digital transformation is not simply about adding technology, the most effective businesses understand, but about helping their people to create value continuously through profound client insights and quick iteration. It's not just true for technology firms.

LinkedIn data reveals that software developers’ positions have surged up 25% between 2019 and 2020 across the United States. Digital skills are set to remain in high demand since 150 million tech or technology adjacent jobs are projected to be generated over the next five years. Skills like programming and digital marketing include the list of fastest-growing skills on LinkedIn since the pandemic struck.

All this development but there are still many companies that are struggling to find the right talent for their right needs as the skills have continued to evolve rapidly and it’s hard to find a match. Data shows that 20% of companies said that the skills they are now looking for are different from those they used to look for before the pandemic. The lack of the right skills and versatility among the developers has made a temporary shortage of software developers that have slowed down the pace of innovation and digital transformation.

2. Hatching New Pool of Developers:

As earlier said, the pandemic has caused a severe shortage of full-stack software developers which has made the process of digital transformation and innovation slow, there’s a need for high-competent developers in the global market. The current pool of developers has a role to play here to not just guide but also inspire the next generation of software developers.

In today’s world, it takes more than a “can do” attitude to be successful and developing additional skills such as communication, confidence, problem-solving, and resilience. Companies have a great task lying ahead of them to make such arrangements that will help newbies to develop the above skills. Efforts such as employee training programs and workshops can prove to be game-changing in the longer-run.

One thing not to forget here is that the newcomers are not well-driven and they rely solely on what they have learned during their educational career. They find it pretty difficult to match with the pace of professional work environments since the real-world problems are far beyond different from those they learn in books.

3. The Need to Bring Remote Flexibility in Workplaces:

Since the Covid-19 vaccination has started to roll out across the globe, it seems like the world will get back to normal sooner or later next year. People will start going to their workplaces and students can go to the schools/colleges but not to forget the fact that the remote work culture is here to stay.

Larger corporations such as Microsoft, Google, and Facebook have already implemented effective strategies for their employees to leverage from working remotely allowing their employees to work 50% of their time working remotely. Also, I was seeing a trend on LinkedIn that there is a 4.5x increase in the search for remote-based positions from January to December 2020. Remote work not only brings the freedom to work from anywhere you want but also inspires our family and friends and provides them with a chance to learn with us.

4. Leveraging from Low Code Solutions:

As the pressure mounted on developers to reinvent the processes to come up with solutions at a faster pace, they panicked and along with them, their organizations panicked as well. This is the reason why successful organizations are now focusing on utilizing sources that ask for low code.

React Native is one such platform that requires developers to write less and be more productive. This is why the platform has become the most used framework across the globe with 42% global usage.

Conclusion

Last year would certainly have a lasting effect on the technology world and professionals working in this domain. We look forward to seeing how we all develop, evolve, and learn together in this post-Covid-19 business world since there’s so much to fold up in the coming two years.

In case, you are looking to meet your software development needs, SoftCircles is one of the top-notch software development companies in New York that is home to an extremely talented pool of software developers.