Java is set to remain the stable backbone of enterprise applications, according to a new report from Perforce Software.
The 2024 Java Developer Productivity Report is based on a survey of 440 respondents across 72 countries. Among the key findings, 60 percent of respondents said their companies plan to add Java developers in the coming year, while 42 percent plan to increase their Java development tool budgets.
“These investments in tools and talent are testament to Java’s role as the stable backbone of enterprise applications,” commented Rod Cope, Chief Technology Officer at Perforce.
Cloud migration driving Java’s continued prevalence
The survey reveals enterprises are rapidly adopting cloud technologies, with just 13 percent saying they don’t use any cloud providers. However, transitioning monolithic Java applications to take advantage of cloud’s benefits like increased agility can create friction around performance and deployment speeds.
42 percent of respondents said they have fully adopted microservices architectures to help solve these cloud deployment challenges. A further 45 percent are actively transitioning to microservices from monolithic app designs.
Concerns remain about microservices bloat, however, with 41 percent of respondents using 11 or more microservices—up significantly from 16 percent in 2021.
AI’s role in developer productivity
The report found that just 8 percent are currently using AI tools to assist with coding tasks. Of those, some are using general-purpose AI like ChatGPT while others favour specialised tools like GitHub’s Copilot.
However, companies are taking productivity seriously through other means. 42 percent have formed dedicated “productivity teams” to investigate and implement new tools and processes to boost developer productivity across the organisation.
“Developer productivity teams are paving the path forward. These teams investigate solutions and test workflows so developers can concentrate on writing code—and pay dividends as development environments become increasingly more complex,” said Cope.
With 29 percent citing “too many tasks” as their biggest obstacle to productivity, ensuring developers can remain focused is critical for enterprises amid increasing cloud complexity.
The full 2024 Java Developer Productivity Report from Perforce is available here (registration required)
(Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash)
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