Exciting developments, remarkable transformation, interesting trends!
Software delivery has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past few years, and the future promises even more exciting developments. Software delivery is constantly evolving, driven by emerging technologies, changing business needs, and shifting customer expectations. The future of software delivery is likely to be even more exciting and transformative than today.
Gartner: Gartner predicts that by 2025, 75% of global organizations will have adopted a DevOps practice, and 80% of software development budgets will be allocated to cloud-native development.
Forrester: Forrester Research predicts that by 2024, 70% of all software development will be cloud-based.
IDC: IDC predicts that by 2025, the global market for artificial intelligence in software development will reach $16 billion.
McKinsey: McKinsey & Company predicts that AI and ML will automate up to 40% of software development tasks by 2025.
Here are some of the trends that we can expect to see in the future of software delivery:
Increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning: AI and ML are already being used in some aspects of software delivery, such as automated testing and code review. In the future, we can expect to see AI and ML being used to automate even more of the software delivery process, from planning and design to deployment and monitoring.
Rise of DevOps and continuous delivery: DevOps and continuous delivery are already popular approaches to software development, and they are likely to become even more widespread in the future. DevOps and continuous delivery allow teams to deliver software more quickly and reliably, and they are essential for businesses that want to stay ahead of the competition. CI/CD has become the cornerstone of modern software delivery, enabling teams to automate and streamline the process from code commit to production deployment. The future of CI/CD will see increased adoption of advanced practices such as Progressive Delivery and GitOps. Progressive Delivery, as explained by Progressive Delivery: A Better Way to Do CI/CD, involves gradual feature rollouts, canary deployments, and A/B testing. This allows for safer and more controlled releases with real-time feedback from users.
Serverless Computing: Serverless computing, exemplified by AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions, is changing the way software is delivered. With serverless, developers focus solely on writing code, while the cloud provider manages infrastructure and scaling. This paradigm shift is discussed in-depth in this Forrester Research Report on the impact of serverless computing. Serverless is set to play an even more significant role in the future, enabling developers to build and deliver software faster with reduced operational overhead.
Containerization and Kubernetes: Containers and Kubernetes have become the de facto standards for deploying and orchestrating applications. The future will see Kubernetes evolving to simplify complex tasks and integrate with CI/CD pipelines seamlessly. This will enable developers to deliver applications consistently and reliably across diverse environments.
Artificial Intelligence and Automation: Machine learning and artificial intelligence are being used to automate various aspects of software delivery. AI-powered tools can detect issues, recommend fixes, and optimize CI/CD pipelines. For instance, Netflix's use of AI in chaos engineering. Automation is not limited to the development process alone. Chatbots and virtual assistants like GitHub Copilot are aiding developers in coding
Growing importance of security and compliance: Security and compliance are becoming increasingly important for software organizations. In the future, we can expect to see a greater focus on security and compliance throughout the software delivery process. With the Security-First Development approach, the future of software delivery will prioritize security with practices like DevSecOps. With DevSecOps, security is integrated into the CI/CD pipeline, ensuring that vulnerabilities are detected and addressed early in the development process.
Shift to cloud-based development and deployment: More and more organizations are moving to the cloud for software development and deployment. The cloud offers a number of advantages, such as scalability, flexibility, and cost savings. In the future, we can expect to see even more organizations moving to the cloud for software delivery. Cloud-native technologies like containers, microservices, and immutable infrastructure allow for more flexible and scalable delivery. As reported by Red Hat, over 50% of organizations now have cloud-native architectures on their roadmap. This enables quicker releases and easier management of the entire delivery lifecycle.
Rise of GitOps: GitOps, as explained by Weaveworks, is a way to automate deployments and infrastructure changes by using Git pull requests and merges. Infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform codify desired system states. Automation then ensures the actual state continuously matches the desired state in Git. This enables consistent, auditable, and reverseable deployments across environments.
Everything-as-Code: An emerging best practice is taking an "everything-as-code" approach as highlighted by Microsoft. This means defining not just app code but also configurations, infrastructure, pipelines, security policies, etc. in reusable declarative files that can be version controlled and deployed uniformly. This enhances consistency, traceability and speed.
Intelligent Testing: As per Gartner, AI-driven test automation will become mainstream by 2025. Machine learning will enable tests to configure and heal themselves, identify high risk test areas, and optimize test coverage. This will reduce test maintenance costs and give teams higher test reliability.
Edge Computing and IoT: Edge computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) are expanding the horizons of software delivery. Edge computing brings computation closer to the data source, while IoT connects billions of devices. Software delivery in this context will involve managing and deploying code to the edge efficiently, considering constraints like latency and resource limitations.
Decentralized Applications (DApps) and Blockchain: Decentralized applications built on blockchain technology are disrupting traditional software delivery models. DApps offer transparency, security, and trust. Decentralized finance—often called DeFi—refers to the shift from traditional, centralized financial systems to peer-to-peer finance enabled by decentralized technologies built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Here are some specific examples of how AI and ML are being used in software delivery today:
Automated testing: AI and ML are being used to automate the testing of software applications. This can help to improve the quality of software and reduce the time it takes to test new releases.
Code review: AI and ML are being used to review code for potential errors and security vulnerabilities. This can help to identify and fix problems early in the development process.
Deployment management: AI and ML are being used to automate the deployment of software applications to production environments. This can help to reduce the risk of errors and ensure that deployments are done quickly and efficiently.
Here are some of the benefits of using DevOps and continuous delivery:
Faster time to market: DevOps and continuous delivery allow teams to deliver software more quickly, which can help businesses to get new products and features to market faster.
Improved quality: DevOps and continuous delivery encourage teams to focus on quality throughout the software development process. This can help to reduce the number of bugs in software releases.
Reduced costs: DevOps and continuous delivery can help businesses to reduce the cost of software development and deployment.
Increased customer satisfaction: By delivering software faster and with fewer bugs, DevOps and continuous delivery can help businesses to improve customer satisfaction.
Here are some of the challenges of implementing DevOps and continuous delivery:
Cultural change: DevOps and continuous delivery require a cultural change within organizations. Teams need to be willing to collaborate and break down silos.
Tooling: There are a number of different tools available to help teams implement DevOps and continuous delivery. However, it can be difficult to choose the right tools for your organization.
Skillsets: DevOps and continuous delivery require teams to have a variety of different skills, such as development, operations, and security. It can be difficult to find people with all of the necessary skills.
Despite the challenges, DevOps and continuous delivery are essential for businesses that want to stay ahead of the competition in the future of software delivery.
Here are some of the benefits of using cloud-based development and deployment:
Scalability: Cloud-based development and deployment can scale to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.
Flexibility: Cloud-based development and deployment offers businesses a great deal of flexibility. Businesses can choose the cloud services that they need and scale them up or down as needed.
Cost savings: Cloud-based development and deployment can help businesses to save money on IT costs.
Here are some of the challenges of using cloud-based development and deployment:
Security: Cloud security is a major concern for businesses. Businesses need to make sure that their data is secure in the cloud.
Compliance: Businesses need to make sure that they comply with all applicable regulations when using cloud-based development and deployment.
Vendor lock-in: Businesses need to be careful to avoid vendor lock-in when using cloud-based development and deployment.
Embracing automation, cloud infrastructure, and declarative everything-as-code will help teams adapt to the rapid pace of change in software delivery.
Sash Barige
Apr/20/2023
Photo: unsplash.com
References:
Here are some specific articles and blog posts on the future of software delivery:
"The Future of Software Delivery: DevOps, Continuous Delivery, and the Cloud" by Forbes
"The Future of Software Delivery: How AI and ML Are Changing the Game" by VentureBeat
"The Future of Software Delivery: Trends to Watch in 2023 and Beyond" by CIO
"The Future of Software Delivery: A Guide for Business Leaders" by Harvard Business Review
https://cloud.redhat.com/blog/introducing-the-cloud-native-index-2020-report
https://www.weave.works/technologies/gitops/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/devops/develop/what-is-infrastructure-as-code
https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/what-is-kubernetes/
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