AI integration challenges software developers

The promise and perils of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been dominating the headlines with everyone from software developers to students working on ways to integrate it into their daily processes. This burgeoning interest in AI is borne out by the fifth annual Reveal 2024 Top Software Development Challenges survey, which found that the biggest software development challenge in 2024 will be incorporating AI into the development process (40.7%).

However, those who have not jumped on the AI bandwagon cite concerns such as: generative AI code lacks the creativity and innovation of human developers, AI can produce code with security vulnerabilities, and code developed with AI may contain errors, bugs, or inefficiencies. There is also a concern that AI might make the developer’s role obsolete.

The main reasons software developers are using generative AI in creating software are:

• Increase developer productivity 49%
• Eliminate repetitive tasks 38.4%
• Speed up development time 35.9%
• Cut down on errors 32.1%
   

AI is expected to have widespread integration this year as it becomes a ubiquitous presence among consumers, businesses, and global markets. Nearly half of the Reveal survey respondents (49.2%) plan to implement AI tools in 2024 compared to 27% in 2023.

Business intelligence and embedded analytics continues to grow

Due to more customer and internal interest, the use of business intelligence and embedded analytics is expected to rise again in 2024. Almost three-quarters of software developers currently incorporate embedded analytics into their apps (73.2%) and 71.6% expect their organization’s focus on business intelligence to rise in 2024.

"Organizations are embracing embedded analytics tools because they are the key to achieving a competitive edge and business growth. Our survey found that the main reasons software developers and their customers want embedded analytics/business intelligence software are to make better business decisions, improve productivity, increase sales/revenue, understand business problems, and identify trends," explained Casey Ciniello, Reveal and Slingshot Senior Product Manager at Infragistics.

Top challenges in 2024

While the biggest software development challenge in 2024 will be incorporating AI into the development process, security threats are surging, as evidenced by recent cybersecurity attacks on healthcare systems, financial institutions, retailers and even government. Other software development challenges include high workload (29.6%) and increased customer demands (29.2%).

The survey found that the biggest business challenge for the technology industry in 2024 will be working with limited resources (40.9%) -- surpassing the biggest business challenge of the past two years – recruiting developers with the right skills (34%). Other top 2024 business challenges are retaining current talent (32.1%), difficulty landing new business (30.6%) and inability to pay competitive salaries (30.3%).

"While the developer shortage is no longer the top challenge in 2024, respondents did indicate that Software Developer was their hardest job to fill, followed by Data Analyst, Web Designer (UX/UI) and Web Developer," notes Ciniello.

The top four skills that will be crucial in software development this year are:

• Working with web layouts (41.7%)
• UX/UI Design (39.2%)
• Data Analysis (37.2%)
• Data Visualization (31.7%)
   

Company growth is expected to slow

Last year was positive in terms of revenue growth with two in 10 survey respondents (19%) seeing revenue grow by 50% in 2023. However, expectations for new business in 2024 is expected to take a downturn. In 2023, more than a third of software developers took on new projects (35.7%), compared to 32.8% expecting to in 2024. Another third saw an increase in requests for proposals in 2023 (33%) while only 27.5% expect to see an increase in 2024. On the bright side, the survey found that software developers plan to expand into new markets (33.3%) in 2024.

"The tech industry is facing challenges on all fronts, from the implementation of generative AI to increasing cybersecurity attacks. As AI begins to shake up the software development industry, some are taking advantage of its initial capabilities while others are taking a “wait and see” approach. While AI may not replace developers any time soon, we must learn more about AI, explore its potential and prepare for its impact on the future of software development," said Ciniello.