Software is reinventing itself (sometimes

literally). Here are some of the biggest shifts,

and the companies leading the charge

WRITTEN BY:

PADDY SMITH

S

oftware is evolving to the extent that increasingly even the

word ‘software’ is falling from favour. In a world of platforms,

ecosystems and solutions, we need to understand the

direction of travel for what is, when all’s said and done, code.

So what are the trends driving this new age of software, where

is it taking us, and who is at the wheel. Read on to find out.

The Next

Generation

2.0

SOFTWARE

THE TREND

CONTAINERISATION

The single biggest trend in software right now

is containerisation, a magic box of application

deployment that exists outside everything

else, and yet within it. Fast, accessible from

anywhere, on anything, it’s the very definition

of a magic bullet and tmakes virtual machines

look like penny farthings up against a racing

car. Of course, it’s also fabulously complicated

to implement, requiring specialised engineers

and deeply clever integration, but when it

works, it makes applications faster, more

reliable and safer. And the first green shoots

of containerisation becoming mainstream –

well, more affordable – are starting to appear.

THE SOFTWARE

KUBERNETES

With only two serious players in the

containerisation market – Docker and

Kubernetes – it’s always seemed likely that

one would streak ahead. Kubernetes is that

one, but don’t rush out to buy shares yet. K8s,

as it’s known to its friends, is an open-source

platform and everyone who’s everyone is

building parallel code they can tweak to their

own needs. Expect to see heavy competition

in the Kubernetes-core branded product

market as this trend develops.

AI & DATA ANALYTICS

104 March 2021