There are some interesting things to watch out for in 2011. It will impact how software development companies work and play. Such trends will also influence how business priorities change in the coming years.
Mobile application development
This is the era of convergence. When the web is transitioning to the mobile. Applications built to be operated over the web, are now got to be operated through the mobile phone. Most mobile applications do not have good software usability. They do not give the user a good experience. This needs to be improved. And this is an area that has business opportunity too.
The mobile platform market is still not monopolized. The game is open to a lot of players. Android, Windows Mobile and iPhone are some popular mobile platforms. Before building mobile applications companies are trying to figure which platform is stable and will stay that way.
Cloud computing
Software is now going the pay-per-use way. Enterprise applications are now beginning to be hosted in server farms of cloud service providers. Most applications are bought but used little. Such applications are used by enterprises on a pay-per-use basis. By doing this organizations reduce their total IT spend, and also minimize their IT infrastructure expenditure.
Software development management
With escalating software development costs, the need has arose for better management of software processes. Companies are now beginning to get serious about how they manage their processes. This year will see a lot of additions and subtractions to existing processes.
Service standards
With cloud computing, everything is becoming more of a service than a product. With service comes service standards. The party with the better service level will win.
User Interfaces will be richer
Rich media technology will take over how user interfaces will look and feel. Since the coming of Adobe Flex, developers are taking giant steps to improve the user experience of applications. The trend is set to continue.