subject: Software Development Trends Survey Points To Optimistic 2010 Predictions [print this page] By sdnadmin | July 15, 2010 By sdnadmin | July 15, 2010
A recent survey conducted by ExecutiveBrief, an online technology periodical, of 500 software development professionals and senior industry executives found increased optimism regarding the market in 2010 with rising budgets and more hiring.
The overriding theme of the survey was that companies are looking to spend more on software development this year and increase hiring rates compared to 2009. Furthermore, fewer companies cited cost reduction or expense management as concerns in 2010, a significant finding that supports the notion that the recession has come and passed.
Of the respondents, 77 percent stated their budget for software development will increase during 2010, with 36 percent predicting a rise of at least 10 percent over 2009s budget. Conversely, a mere 8 percent felt their software development budgets would decline, an improvement upon 2009s 10 percent. Further optimism was shown in the 53 percent of respondents that foresaw increased hiring at their company, a 25 percent increase from 2009.
Reducing operational cost and expenses was the most important priority for respondents, as nearly 33 percent cited the potential issue, which has actually decreased a great deal from 2009, when 51 percent found this area problematic. By adding more staff, software development companies can increase their development activity and thus, worry less about heightened costs a smaller team would produce. Respondents were most interested in new product and application support, as 86 percent found these areas to be a top priority during 2010 a jump of 70 percent from the previous year.
For methodologies, agile adoption has continued to gain ground, with more than one-half of the surveys respondents preferred the method. In 2009, 42 percent was utilizing the method over other longer development cycles.
The 2010 survey was surprising in some respects with regard to its implied optimism, said Mary Brandon, vice president of marketing at SoftServe. Survey findings of projected budget increases, increased hiring and reduced need for cost and expense reduction support indicate software development professionals are bullish on their immediate future. Its something to watch as we begin the second half of 2010 and soon enter 2011.
Many other reports have supported this optimism for the software development industry, as well as the IT industry in general. Recent research from global research marketing firm Gartner found worldwide IT spending is expected to increase by 3.9 percent, which businesses might indeed allocate toward the software development industry.
