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Software Technology

Most in-demand developer skills for 2021

developers skills 2019

2020 has been full of uncertainty as the global COVID-19 pandemic has slowed many sectors. One place it hasn’t slowed is software development. New products and services have to keep up with changing consumer habits. This year saw lots of development in online shopping as well as video conferencing. Have you already been thinking about next year’s trends in development technologies and skills needed to create the most innovative solutions? Well, we’ve been thinking about what kind of new skills are in demand in 2021 and which way we should develop our tech pool to stay competitive. So, here we have come up with a short list of skills that we think will be in high demand in the new year!

Along with the dynamic development of new technologies, there is still a need for new developers in the IT job market. The most in-demand developers are those who have unique expertise adapted to the current and future needs of the ever-changing market. Do you know which skills will be most favored by employers in the coming year? Read on for our forecasts for 2021!

Private blockchain technology

Blockchain is a technology that will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the next generation of the internet. Blockchain proponents want to revolutionize how we organize data and will continue to inspire further changes.

Even though development has slowed since its height in 2017, many large enterprises are testing private blockchains to handle back-office processes and cut administrative costs. Demand for blockchain programmers in 2021 will only continue to rise. Developers will have to know cryptographic algorithms coding and be able to build distributed and decentralized databases. Certainly, the knowledge of technologies such as C ++, JavaScript, Python or Solidity will still be vital. AWS Kubernetes integration is also a highly valuable skill for developers entering this field. 

Dynamic development in the blockchain niche has led to increased interest from businesses. Knowledge of blockchains and of database architecture will continue to grow in 2021 and beyond.

And, what’s the outcome of this trend? First of all, more traditional enterprises will have to change to stay relevant or will be edged out by companies ready to take full advantage of blockchain technology.

Fintech knowledge

Financial technology aim to improve various financial services, such as online payments, currency exchange or online banking. The branch is developing very dynamically. The fintech market will grow to more than $300 billion by 2025 according to a recent report from Market Data Forecast. It’s easy to guess that as an area directly related to finance, it may also generate huge profits. People crave convenience and will flock to products and services that give it to them.

According to “THE BANK OF THE FUTURE: The ABCs of Digital Disruption in Finance” report, the biggest role in the financial revolution is access to powerful databases. Investment in development will create new tools that startups and tech giants can gain new users.

Fintech may be a competition for traditional banks, but this is not the only option. The more optimistic option assumes that fintech companies will be open to cooperation. Regardless of what the future of traditional banks will look like, the development of new technologies and, consequently, the introduction of such solutions as mobile wallets or automated consultants will increase the demand for programmers who can create such innovative products in line with the needs of this dynamically growing market.

most in-demand developers skills

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Another area worth paying attention to in 2021 is artificial intelligence and machine learning. Machine Learning is a concept within the field of artificial intelligence, which means algorithms that process and learn from collected data. Marketers, for example, could use machine learning to match relevant ads based on a user’s search results. They are also used in applications with functions such as facial recognition, speech or text recognition, navigation, and recommendation systems.

The problem in finding programmers in the field of AI is that since it’s a relatively young field, it’s challenging to find senior specialists. In other words, the barrier to entry is much higher than for other IT fields such as web programming or mobile applications.

One reason is the deep mathematical knowledge this specialization requires. If you work in machine learning, it’s essential to be familiar with numerical methods, linear algebra, probability and statistics. Additionally, experience with libraries such as NumPy or SciPy is useful. Python and R are some of the most common programming languages  for AI and machine learning.

Employers looking for AI specialists concentrate in finance and big tech according to the McKinsey report the report “Artificial Intelligence. The Next Digital Frontier.” Companies in these fields have the greatest need for qualified specialists with the knowledge in the field of machine learning.

Problem-solving skills

Obviously tech skills are crucial in-demand skills. But it’s not the whole picture. Soft skills are just as crucial for developers.  Negotiation, leadership and creative problem solving are just a few of the soft skills employers look for. critical thinking has long ranked among the top skills for developers. “2018 Developer Skills Report” prepared by the HackerRank portal reveals that the most desired skill is creative problem solving.

developers in high demand

Nearly 95% of the surveyed employers indicated this particular skill. This naturally should not be surprising, because solving problems is an inseparable part of a programmer’s everyday work. If a developer possesses such a skill, the gaps in the knowledge of a given technology or programming language will be quickly filled.

The key element while working in IT is to identify and understand a problem, and then break it down into smaller tasks so that as many tasks as possible can be solved. Only in this way, the programmer will be able to cope with large tasks. Analyzing the development of technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence mentioned above, you can notice how dynamically the IT market is evolving and changing. This means that programmers will face increasingly difficult and complex tasks that have never been encountered before.

What’s more, it has been emphasized that the knowledge of programming languages is not the only job requirement when it comes to programmers. In order to perform well, they must follow the latest trends and know what solutions will meet the users’ expectations. It is also necessary to have an innovative and creative mind that will help design applications. Creating new solutions that will be able to improve the quality of a given software, as well as the best user experience would not be possible without problem-solving.

2021 will not be different. Even as technology changes, core people skills will not.

Remote working skills

As the nature of work changes, we’ll have to adapt to new realities. Along with the creative problem-solving skills, working on a team remotely is going to be increasingly important in 2021 and beyond. Over-communication and enthusiastic team connection is vital to maintain team cohesion and productivity. Developers should develop these people skills to stay competitive in the job market.

Using videoconferencing and other communicators effectively is one key skill. People want to see other people’s faces, even if they can’t be together in the same place. Letting your team and clients know when you’re available — and when you’re not is also a great thing to keep on mind. Setting a status on platforms such as Slack is one part of working remotely effectively.

Even as COVID-19 subsides, remote work will stick around in some form or another. So plan to develop these skills for the near future.

Conclusion

The IT industry has been developing dynamically for many years and we have no doubt that it will still be evolving even faster in the 2021. The knowledge of innovative technologies, but above all, tracking and following the latest trends constantly are the skills that are, and will be, increasingly in demand. Next year the most important issue will be to understand the customers’ and users’ needs. This is a basis on which software will be developed that has to be adapted to and suited to the latest trends of the constantly changing market.

See also: How to hire developers! Tips for 2018/2019

Categories
Entrepreneurship Software

What you need to know about the “product owner” role in agile scrum app development

Before you dive headfirst into a software development project, it’s important to keep a few things in mind when you’re working with an external partner. Software projects not only need engagement from a development team, but also from you, the so-called product owner.

Product owners are the main points of contact on the client side. They direct development, give feedback and can make application development run smoothly. If you find yourself in the product owner role, be ready to devote time for planning, analyzing, and discussing the product roadmap with your development team. 

Hiring a development team

A client should take time to hammer out many of the aspects of a product before the project starts. First of all, he has to look for a professional software provider. It may be tempting to race to the bottom on price, but balancing price and quality is a key consideration. If you don’t have internal programming resources already, you’ll need to spend some time looking for the right provider. Finding the best delivery partner can be time-consuming and needs a lot of effort. And that’s only the first step.

Legalities and a product brief

Once you’ve found a perfect development partner, the next step is to negotiate all the legalities and sign a contract. It also needs effort on the client’s site.  You need to determine the project scope, define the application’s features, and describe the expected result. Here’s our guide on how to get an accurate cost estimate and to allow the IT team to understand how the application should work and what features it has to cover.

Defining the application’s scope and estimate

Clients describe their vision in many different ways. Some of them compare their idea to some tools that already exist on the market and have similar features.  It’s very common for clients to have an app in mind that they’d like us to emulate. For us, it’s a nice way to get the first feeling of a solution we’ll build. In the second stage, we ask additional questions to get a more detailed understanding of an idea and its full range.

Some clients already have examples of the mock-ups or even sketches of their preliminary idea. They prepare information about the business value and show how the future product will support the vision.

It’s very helpful for the product owner and the development team to agree on as much detail as possible before a project starts.  But without a technology background and project experience, it’s not easy for many clients to define the detailed product vision. That’s why we offer our clients product design workshops as the first step of work on the application. These workshops clarify all product details in its technology and business aspects. We advise on features to be chosen for an MVP, define usability that meets target groups needs, and prepare an application prototype which very often is necessary to convince investors/sponsors to support a project.

In our workshops, we spend a few days together discussing the vision of the project about the features of some use cases about the business itself.  So there is a moment in which the client should teach us about his vision should convey to us as much information as possible here in order for us to understand the project and to estimate it. So that’s a lot of effort and our clients really need to allocate some time to determine all the details and the common point of view relevant the product and its vision.

We need to ask a lot of questions to digest the information that we learned and come back with follow-up questions. We engage clients in this somewhat intensive process. While it sometimes takes quite a long time, the finished product will be what you want. In order to get professional service, you’ll have to set aside time to get everything right.

Workshop preparation for application development project

Once you decide on taking the product design workshop, here’s what you should expect.  So, in case of meeting with one person which represents the whole company, he should be well prepared. He must have knowledge both from the business and technology side. It is really important if the person is meeting us only alone in person or if it’s a kind of company project where there are more stakeholders.

Understanding all sides of the project and achieving all the knowledge needed could be very time-consuming. The whole team needs to meet together in the same room for a few hours, clearly defining the future product functionality cannot be overestimated.

What you need to know about the "product owner" role in agile scrum app development

Product owner role

We work in the scrum methodology, so we have to choose a person who will be responsible for the application development project. We don’t usually allocate the product owner on our side. Scrum assumes that there is a development team, but there is also the role of a product owner who is in charge of deciding which features are in the system. He or she has to know everything about the product and answer any questions about how developers should implement features. The product owner is able to respond to all questions about the product, system and also business background.

It’s better for the clients to have a person on their side who has a very strong industry background and a great understanding of the client’s business niche. Working as a delivery team we can perfectly recommend the technology, UX, and many other aspects but at the beginning, we need to acquire the domain knowledge from the client’s business.

A product owner must answer questions that arise throughout the project. He or she needs to respond quickly enough not to create a bottleneck. In order to avoid sending a single question, we organize so-called backlog groomings or backlog refinements. These are meetings where the goal is to explain the backlog to the team and discuss with the development team all the upcoming tasks trying to find out all these questions before we start the implementation of a given feature. This kind of meeting usually lasts much longer at the beginning of the project and then we keep these meetings regularly every week or every two weeks depends on the length of the sprint just to refine the next stories on the list. This way can be on the right track with all client’s needs with the minimum effort from the client’s side to run the project on time and within budget.

One example here is our project for The Guardian Soulmates app. The company had a dedicated business owner in London who took care of the business. She also set the roadmap for the system in terms of business and discussed priorities and features with us. All the process is led over Slack — both sites are this way very responsive and the communication was quick and efficient. We run planning sessions together and groomings to set up what should be done in the next sprints.

Product owner engagement as a success factor in an application development project

Of course, there are clients who do not want to engage so much in the project. They just want to write down specifications then want the software provider to learn and understand their business enough to ask all the questions that appear during the development process.

We try to discourage clients from that kind of approach, but if there is still a need on the client’s side to pass us the product owner role, we try to adjust and prepare for the role as much as we can. Then we only need a contact person on the company’s side to decide about the next step of the project. That is why we always try to encourage our clients to consider this team spirit type of arrangement and be ready for some serious involvement on their side.

Conclusion

As you start your software development project, be sure to prepare to work with your software development team to get the best possible outcome. Do your research and hire a software partner that will be open and honest with you and who has a history of excellent work. Assign a product owner who knows the ins and outs of the project and is ready to work closely with developers. Devote time and effort to get everything in order and finally, take the plunge.

Categories
Blockchain Software

How to build and integrate external databases with Hyperledger Fabric

Blockchain Information flows in the digital global networks. 3D illustration of data cells with binary code elements.

Distributed ledger tech may improve your company’s back-office processes, but getting these systems to scale remains a technical hurdle. 

In this webinar, blockchain developer Tomasz Kaliszuk offers some ways to design blockchain apps to be usable. One essential feature is adding dashboards to search and sort records, which can slow the network at scale. Integrating external databases to the system is one solution. Find out more by signing up below.

In this webinar, you’ll learn:

  1. How Hyperledger Fabric can build trust and transparency within a network of businesses
  2. How to integrate Hyperledger Fabric with external databases
  3. How to overcome technical challenges

 

We are helping businesses with powerful enterprise blockchain applications based on Hyperledger fabric. Click here to contact us and one of our experts will get in touch with you.

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Blockchain Healthcare

Ways private blockchains empower patients to protect their medical data

Doctor on blurred background using digital medical futuristic interface 3D rendering

IT solutions have driven change in industries such as finance, insurance, and retail. However, there are also industries where systems are not as quick to change. The healthcare industry is one part of our lives where IT adoption is slow. Doctors and administrators still perform many repetitive tasks on paper such as storing and transferring data. Apps that use a distributed ledger are some ways to improve medical records storage, just as it is with pharmaceutical supply chains.

Medical records storage

One major problem in the healthcare industry is how hospitals, insurance companies, and patients themselves handle medical records. Inefficiencies in how administrators handle data impacts quality and only drives up costs for both providers and consumers. Healthcare professionals often have to transfer duplicate records each time a patient comes in. As a result, a lot of healthcare processes remain inefficient, on paper, and offline. One solution is to develop applications that enhance cooperation and cut redundant tasks.

 

Currently, in the healthcare industry, there are two kinds of problems. First is duplicate medical data and the second is that this data is neither transparent nor interoperable. This is detrimental to the industry and consumers because they lose a lot of time, and use a lot of paper documents for the same data. Before I start to analyze the problems and offer ways to solve them, we should understand the healthcare industry and medical data handling.

 

This data has to be secure — only authorized people should control the flow of sensitive medical data. One particular advantage of a blockchain-based medical records app would be its ability to control access to records while also distributing current versions to authorized people in the network. 

The problems of electronic health records

Pictured above, the application stores and distributes patient data. At present, most institutions’ medical records storage is on centralized databases in which data remains siloed. This solution leads to duplicated health data and a lack of transparency. Today, patients expect a seamless flow of data, however. In Poland, for example, to found a company, we get a unique identifier, called a NIP number. We can then use this ID to identify details of our company in external institutions such as banks, insurance companies, or public institutions. Of course, this identifier relies on a centralized database.

 

Our enterprise blockchain app would rely on all stakeholders running a node to avoid any single point of failure. We have one identification of our patient/company based on the decentralized solution where we can enable access to their personal health data. This is the core of our solution.

 

We understand the healthcare industry and our software and blockchain experience help us realize how big the potential for blockchain solutions in the healthcare industry are. This technology helps eliminate duplicate records and helps patients, doctors, and administrators manage personal data and securely distribute it across a network of hospitals, insurance providers, and consumers.

Advantages of private blockchains

Our solution is based on the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric. Developed in December 2015, the private blockchain has supported blockchain initiatives in companies such as IBM and Intel. A private blockchain is the best solution for medical records handling because it enables safe, transparent data management. Patient data saved on the blockchain is available for everyone who has access for this data but only the patient can directly set access to this data. On the other hand, we have the trust of data between each medical institution. This transparent data management is comfortable and safe for all parties.

 

Pictured above, a blockchain app stores the data.  Patients have their own public and private keys. Patients can take their medical data with them since it remains on the distributed ledger. Public keys help identify the patient in each medical institution system. Each medical institution can easily manage patient medical records with patient consent. The other medical institution doesn’t have to create the same data as the first medical institution. Instead, medical facilities share the data across the network.

 

On the other hand, each patient has a private key to sign the transaction. Private keys allow users to save data on the blockchain or share this medical data to other medical institutions. Health professionals can read this data immediately after receiving it.

Conclusion

The ability to store data in one secure place where we only have access to it because only we have a private key to manage this data gives us the freedom to decide where and how the data is visible. From our point of view, this could be the management of medical data 2.0 where the patient is the owner and manager of the data, not external institutions that process this data on our behalf. This approach may look strange, but the decentralization of communication and data storage forces us to look at the collection and management of data.

 

Many companies from the healthcare industry which are going to implement our solution could help patients and administrators better manage medical data. This not only makes medical data transfer more transparent but also empowers patients to take control of it. The medical data of the process 2.0 is the future which gives safety, freedom and another way to store medical data.

 

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