Modern software development thrives on progress and is becoming an increasingly important feature. Which trends companies should have in mind now. How companies achieve optimised workflows and better results.
Enterprise software development is becoming an increasingly important component in corporate development. It can be used to realise IT solutions that are tailored to the specific requirements in the company organisation. The possible applications of enterprise content management (ECM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), product release management or e-commerce show the enormous range of modern business software. At the same time, the technical possibilities continue to develop. In order to be prepared for the new challenges in this area, companies should therefore keep an eye on the following five trends:
1. Leaner infrastructures with enterprise software
In the future, your own infrastructure will become leaner, faster and more efficient. Through the use of further technologies such as serverless and cloud computing, it will also become more mobile and agile. The area of data protection and information security changes and adapts to new circumstances. In order to provide the highest possible benefit for businesses, enterprise software today must be dynamic, secure and scalable.
2. Use collaboration tools sensibly
Collaboration tools are often an integral part of enterprise software development. At the same time, the importance of transparent and effective collaboration in companies continues to grow. 86 % of managers see communication problems as one of the biggest problem areas in their companies. In addition, 75 % of employees attribute great relevance to teamwork and smooth collaboration for their work. It doesn't matter whether it's the collaboration of smart chat apps like Slack and Kaiwa or collaborative, web-based management projects like GitLab and Bitbucket. The trend towards more efficient enterprise collaboration applies to all application areas. This development will continue in the coming years and make "advanced collaboration" one of the most important fields of action for companies.
3. Enterprise software development with open source
Tools like Kaiwa and GitLab also show another important perspective in enterprise software development: the use of open source. The source codes of the software are freely available, are constantly optimised and can be used in the most diverse ways. The open source trend is not only visible in the improvement of collaboration, but in every software-based work process. In 2016, the number of companies implementing projects with open source increased to 65 % of the organisations surveyed in the Future of Open Source Survey. This makes them drivers of technological innovations, to which the big players such as Google, Microsoft and IBM have long dedicated their own development departments.
4. Machine learning and artificial intelligence
Machine learning (ML) has experienced something of a revival in recent years. On the one hand, this is due to the availability of large amounts of data and memory in Cloud Computing, on the other hand, the improved CPU computing power. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also becoming increasingly important. According to the Statista Digital Economy Compass 2017, the number of companies developing AI has increased by 337% in recent years. For companies using machine learning, this figure has even risen by 507 %.
What is machine learning?
Deep learning and the simulation of neuronal networks form the basis for predicting growth developments. However, the potential is far from exhausted and will increase exponentially in the near future. Infrastructural automation, new ways of targeting and addressing customers, corporate decision-making and information genesis/processing are the key application areas here. The greatest changes through machine learning are to be expected in these areas.
5. Optimise customer orientation with enterprise software
The last and possibly most important point in the trends in enterprise software development is a new customer focus. Only a consistent focus on the requirements and wishes of the customers can guarantee recurring success in the long term. In most companies, however, this aspect is still neglected. For the most part, companies describe their focus on customer communication as "moderate", although they are aware of the importance of the topic. This is shown by a survey of 318 companies on Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
New ways for customer-oriented organisations
New ways are needed for a successful orientation towards the customer. Individual solutions through agile and functional development methods are a central component of customer orientation. The use of AI in customer service can also be developed in small, iterative steps together with the business side. This is how companies secure a competitive advantage through an innovative approach.
Elements of customer orientation simply explained
This area is complemented by new possibilities for data collection and analysis. Heavy data and heavy analytics are keywords that enable this customer-oriented reorientation. Both processes deal with the processing of large volumes of data, with heavy data relating to the collection and management and heavy analytics to the evaluation of this data. Combined with individualised functional programming, they will significantly influence software development in the coming years.
Conclusion: Using trends in enterprise software development
The trends presented have a decisive influence on developments in enterprise software development. Companies should therefore take them into account in their future organisational planning. Customer orientation takes on a special role in this course. The other trends must always be seen with regard to the requirements and wishes of the customers, which must ultimately be implemented individually and adapted. Only then is a sensible and successful integration of modern software into existing work processes possible.
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