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As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, the product engineering industry has undergone a significant transformation. According to a study by Allied Market Research, the global product engineering services market is projected to reach a staggering $1610.6 billion by 2031. Amidst this rapid evolution, several product engineering trends have emerged as critical in today’s landscape.
To succeed in a technologically advanced world, businesses must stay abreast of these trends. This blog will delve into seven essential product engineering trends tech leaders need to keep a close eye on.
1. Low Code Accelerates Development
A new approach continues to gain traction as product engineering shifts towards simplification-low code. Low-code platforms enable individuals to develop software solutions using just drag-and-drop functionality and an intuitive UI, eliminating the need to write thousands of lines of complex code. The low-code environment offers tremendous potential as it enables developers to create fully functional prototypes up to 10x faster than traditional coding. This frees up development experts to work on strategic, high-value projects.
Besides, low-code also democratizes development, allowing individuals with limited programming skills to transform their ideas into digital solutions. No wonder, the market for low-code is burgeoning-the low-code development market is estimated to reach a whopping $46.4 billion by 2026!
Despite some experts being skeptical of the low-code approach, it can be a worthwhile investment for those looking for innovative ways to fast-track product development while saving time and money.
2. Progressive Web Apps Enhance User Experience
The development of progressive web apps has emerged as one of the most noteworthy trends in the product engineering space in recent years. Progressive web apps (PWAs) are a great alternative to complex software solutions as they combine the elements of both a website and a mobile application, allowing developers to bring most of the benefits of a native app to the mobile browser.
PWAs can be accessed through a web browser, without requiring the end-user to visit an app store and download the software locally. Like a mobile app, PWAs can work offline, send push notifications, and be accessible from the home screen.
Needless to say, the development of PWAs has helped organizations reduce product engineering costs and accelerate time-to-market while drastically improving user engagement and experience. No wonder, several globally recognized companies including Flipkart, Starbucks, Twitter, and Pinterest that chose to invest in PWA development have realized tangible business outcomes.
3. Continued Expansion of Outsourcing
Companies often face challenges when it comes to implementing new technologies into their custom software product. Either the necessary skills are unavailable in their region, or they are too expensive. And that’s where outsourcing comes to their rescue.
Outsourcing enables companies to instantly access a talent pool of software specialists to build a high-quality product, all while reducing costs for installing infrastructure as well as hiring, training, and recruiting new talent. While outsourcing has been helping organizations boost their product engineering capabilities since the 1980s, the rise in globalization during the early 2000s further accelerated the trend.
Today, businesses have been able to save up to 70% of their costs by simply outsourcing their product engineering initiatives to a reliable development partner. Not to mention the ability to quickly scale development and accommodate changes in team size.
Considering the exponential rate at which technology is evolving, the demand for outsourcing will only continue to grow. If predictions by Statista are to be believed, the market for IT outsourcing will touch an estimated $587.3 billion by 2027.
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4. Microservices Architecture Improves Scalability
Microservices architecture is a relatively new development paradigm that evolved in response to the inefficiencies associated with a monolithic architecture. In a microservices architecture model, developers build a software product as a collection of small, self-contained, loosely coupled services, each catering to a specific functionality such as order management, invoicing, or messaging. These services, called microservices, communicate independently with each other through APIs.
As each service can be developed, tested, and deployed independently, developers don’t need to overhaul the whole program when introducing new features or changes. This kind of architecture lends a software product enhanced scalability, availability, and fault tolerance.
The rising adoption of microservices and containers powered by Kubernetes is a trend one needs to look forward to. The global market size of microservices architecture is likely to reach $8073 million by 2026, as per a study by Allied Market Research.
5. The Rise of Web 3.0
Web 3.0, also called the ‘decentralized web’, is a revolutionary trend in product engineering expected to take center stage in 2023 and beyond. Web 3.0 is the latest phase of the world wide web, with Web 1.0 characterized by static, read-only websites, and Web 2.0 characterized by user-generated content, social networks, big data, cloud technologies, and mobile applications. Web 3.0 is built on blockchain-powered databases and comprises cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, and decentralized applications (DApps), among other elements.
Since all the data on the internet will be stored on a decentralized ledger, no single entity will have control over it. This means individuals can make payments, publish content, and download content anonymously, without risking their personal information. This makes Web 3.0 a promising solution for creating a trusted digital environment wherein personal data will be safeguarded against unauthorized usage or breaches and Blockchain-powered smart contracts will pave the way for smarter, safer transactions.
6. DevSecOps Boosts Security
DevSecOps is another emerging trend that aims to integrate security practices into the product development lifecycle. By implementing security measures throughout the entire software development process, from design to deployment and maintenance, the practice ensures that the software is secure by design, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities. Like DevOps, DevSecOps also emphasizes collaboration between the development, security, and operations teams, with security treated as a core component of the development process rather than an afterthought.
The adoption of DevSecOps is becoming increasingly important as it helps mitigate the risk of cyber attacks, data breaches, and other security incidents that can damage an organization’s reputation and result in significant financial losses. By embedding DevSecOps practice into product development, organizations can innovate quickly, unlock a sustainable competitive advantage, and minimize exposure to risks driven by breaches.
7. Cloud Computing Facilitates Collaboration
Over the last decade, cloud computing has helped organizations with the on-demand availability of computing resources including servers, databases, networking, analytics, software, and intelligence over the internet. Thanks to the power of the ubiquitous cloud, organizations have been able to simplify infrastructure maintenance and ensure scalability while realizing improved developer productivity and optimized development expenses.
We have seen how the implementation of a cloud-first strategy enabled organizations to adapt to remote workflows and enhance collaboration in the face of pandemic-induced disruption. Considering how organizations are waking up to the indispensability of the cloud, the demand for cloud computing will only surge; it has been predicted that the global market for cloud will touch $947.3 billion by 2026. The widespread adoption of remote collaboration coupled with rising internet penetration and burgeoning data volumes will serve as major drivers for the growth of the cloud.
Case in Focus
The client, a Massachusetts-based healthcare technology expert, wanted to upgrade their existing patient management solution with advanced features and functionalities. They were struggling to find a reliable product engineering specialist with extensive knowledge of the US healthcare sector as well as local compliance regulations.
Damco partnered with the client and assembled a multi-stack Product Lab team to work along with their in-house technology experts to fulfill their unique needs, while ensuring adherence to data privacy and security requirements. The Product Lab team implemented the RAPADIT framework to help the client release new product features and updates up to 5X faster. Owing to Damco’s collaboration, the client was able to cut down development and operational expenses by a staggering 40%.
Wrapping Up
In today’s fast-paced environment, businesses face the constant challenge of staying ahead of the curve. To thrive in an industry evolving by leaps and bounds, it’s vital that businesses integrate the aforementioned trends and technologies into their product engineering initiatives.
A trusted digital transformation specialist with over two decades of experience across the length and breadth of technologies, Damco provides businesses with carefully-vetted software engineers who assess your requirements and craft innovative solutions that help you gain an edge in your niche.
Looking to upgrade your existing software product or build a new one from scratch? Get in touch with our product engineering experts today.
