Predictions for Software Development in 2025

As 2025 approaches, industry leaders share their predictions on how software development will evolve. From AI advancements to shifts in workforce strategies, these insights provide a glimpse into the future of the industry.

Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI)

Derek Holt, CEO of Digital.ai, highlights the rise of Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI):

“SEI will have a breakout year in 2025 as more and more businesses realize they need to measure the end-to-end business process of software development and delivery. This will drive continuous improvement and improved developer experiences.”

SEI is poised to replace Value Stream Management, offering businesses a robust way to achieve AI-powered software development capabilities.

AI Code Ownership Challenges

Emily Nakashima, VP of engineering at Honeycomb, warns about the risks of AI-generated code:

“In 2025, we’ll see heightened awareness of the downsides of owning AI-generated code and running LLMs in production. What was fast to create in development is suddenly slow, expensive, and unpredictable in production.”

Expect advancements in LLM observability and security practices, along with headline-making incidents tied to AI code.

The Shift-Everywhere Approach in DevSecOps

Dylan Thomas, senior director of product engineering at OpenText Cybersecurity, predicts the evolution of DevSecOps:

“DevSecOps will continue evolving beyond the ‘shift-left’ paradigm, embracing a more mature ‘shift everywhere’ approach.”

Automation in CI/CD pipelines and lightweight analysis in IDEs will streamline security practices, particularly for API security testing.

The Rise of Neuro-Symbolic AI

Jans Aasman, CEO of Franz Inc., explains the potential of Neuro-Symbolic AI (NSAI):

“NSAI will combine pattern recognition, logical reasoning, and language understanding to identify suspicious transactions across decentralized platforms.”

This hybrid AI approach will enhance fraud detection and compliance in digital currencies.

Competition in Data Catalogs

Alex Merced, Senior Tech Evangelist at Dremio, sees fierce innovation in data cataloging:

“Apache Iceberg will emerge as a key player, redefining standards for open table formats with its hybrid catalog capabilities.”

As hybrid and multi-cloud ecosystems grow, seamless interoperability and governance will dominate the data landscape.

The Year of the AI Agent

Jamil Valliani, head of AI product at Atlassian, envisions powerful AI agents:

“In 2025, agents will perform highly specific tasks, integrate across products, and evolve collaboration within teams.”

These agents will transform team dynamics and task management, bridging humans and AI.

Skill-Based Workforce Ecosystems

Lucy Beaumont, talent management solution lead at SHL, highlights a workforce shift:

“Leading companies will increasingly view their workforce as a community of skills rather than static job roles.”

Skill-based ecosystems will allow organizations to deploy talent fluidly while supporting employee growth.

AI-Driven Security and Threats

Christopher Robinson, chief security architect at OpenSSF, discusses AI’s dual role in security:

“AI will help developers and defenders accelerate their work but also enable attackers to craft sophisticated social engineering attacks.”

The need for securing AI itself will become a pressing challenge in 2025.

Evolving Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Sachin Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of StackGen, predicts advancements in IaC tools:

“IaC tools will evolve to generate infrastructure from code, applying security and governance requirements by default.”

These changes will free developers to focus on application code and business differentiation.

Embracing Global Diversity

Roshan Kindred, chief diversity officer at PagerDuty, emphasizes inclusive IDE strategies:

“Tech organizations must design localized initiatives tailored to regional needs, fostering true global belonging.”

Diversity strategies will address cultural and regional challenges, ensuring inclusive workplaces.

Data Mesh Architecture

Arnab Sen, VP of data engineering at Tredence, predicts the decentralization of data ownership:

“Data mesh architecture will allow teams to manage their data as products, enabling independent and high-quality data exchange.”

This trend will benefit large organizations with complex data needs.

Memory-Safe Programming

David A. Wheeler, director of open source supply chain security at OpenSSF, emphasizes memory safety:

“Many software vulnerabilities can be eliminated by using memory-safe programming languages. Gradual rewrites of C and C++ modules will help.”

AI-driven tools may play a role in translating existing codebases to safer languages.

Tackling Flaky Tests

Trisha Gee, lead developer advocate at Gradle, highlights a persistent issue:

“Flaky tests will continue to plague teams in 2025, especially with the rise of microservices.”

Teams must prioritize identifying and resolving flaky tests to maintain software quality.

Conclusion

The year 2025 promises significant advancements and challenges in software development. From AI’s evolving role to innovative approaches in security and data governance, staying ahead of these trends will be crucial for developers and organizations alike. By embracing these predictions, the software industry can navigate the complexities of the future with confidence.