The Top Software Development Priorities of 2015

Each year, SoftServe and ExecutiveBrief collaborate to conduct a survey of industry trends that determine software development priorities in the upcoming year. One major challenge cited in the survey was by software developers and their need to provide the optimum user experience for mobile applications.

The growing number of mobile devices and enhanced functionality has led to increased efforts to provide responsive design. Another major area of focus covered by the study is data analytics. The ever increasing amount of data being produced requires special tools to provide ease of accessibility and visibility. Security also remains a high priority to protect sensitive information. Many companies surveyed expressed an interest in third-party assistance to achieve their goals.

Mobile UX

Mobile technology is rapidly changing the way that businesses interact with their employees and customers. In addition, mobile applications have become a major part of marketing and promotion. The ability to provide a good user experience often determines whether or not the app and hence the business is successful or not. It is critical that the application be:

• Easy to use  
• Conserve time  
• Conserve space

The user interface should be compatible with the device the application is designed to avoid confusion and allow users to readily engage in activities. A user friendly design also enables tasks to be picked up from where they terminated in the event of interruption. As mobile capabilities continue to grow and become incorporated into more business functions, mobile UX remains one of the top software development priorities.

Business Intelligence Tools and Applications

Many organizations collect a tremendous amount of data in an effort to make accurate business decisions as well as gain insight into customer preferences. Software applications are necessary to provide access and visibility to this information. The increasing amount of data stored has created a demand for faster applications to improve processing speed and deliver information on a role based need. Real time data provides critical information to improve efficiency, manage inventory and determine manufacturing costs.

Designing business intelligence tools requires understanding the business’ processes and the type of data required. The increase in the amount of data collected and the number of applications in which it is used has led to it becoming one of the major software development priorities of 2015.

Security

Security remains one of the top software development priorities. With major security breaches receiving national attention, protecting sensitive information has become a major concern. As cyber criminals become more resourceful, developers must initiate ever more sophisticated preventative measures. Most responded that third party assistance was needed for one or more of the following:

• Development of security solutions
• Load testing existing security measures
• Validating existing security measures

To ensure that your company is staying up to-date with the latest software development priorities of 2015, it’s important to have the right development team that has the skill sets to stay on top and ahead of those priorities. If you don’t have the manpower in-house, working with a software outsourcing advisor can help you find the right development team with the skill sets you’re looking for.