IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Developer and DevOps 2025 Predictions

IDC FutureScape Figure

• Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Developer and DevOps 2025 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers

• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

• Prediction 1: By 2028, 65% of Organizations Will Use DevOps Tools That Combine MLOps, LLMOps, DataOps, CloudOps, and DevOps Capabilities to Optimize the Route to AI Value in Software Delivery Processes

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 2: By 2027, 75% of Organizations Will Combine GenAI with FinOps Processes to Improve the Intelligence of DevOps Pipelines and Optimize Costs Before Going into Production

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 3: By 2027, 70% of Corrective Code Fixes for Application Security Issues Will Be Generated by AI-Assisted Automated Remediation Tools, Reducing the Time to Patch a Software Vulnerability Down to Days

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 4: By 2025, the Need for Faster Access to Innovation, Operational Sovereignty, Transparency, and Lower Costs Will Drive 65% of Organizations to Develop Applications with Open Source AI Foundation Models

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 5: By 2027, 60% of Net-New Applications That Leverage Generative AI Capabilities Will Be Developed by Low-Code or No-Code Developer Technologies

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 6: By 2029, GenAI-Based Software Testing Tools, Capable of Writing 85% of Tests, Will Be Augmented by AI Agents and Agentic Workflows, Improving Code Coverage and Quality, But Demanding Governance

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 7: As Part of the Shift to Platform Engineering, 70% of Developers Will Leverage Cloud-Native Developer Portals and Cloud Developer Environments to Improve the Efficiency of Their Work by 2027

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 8: By 2027, 60% of Enterprises Will Require Technologies to Manage the Proliferation of GenAI Copilots and Digital Assistants

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 9: By 2026, 30% of Mainframe Developers Will Use GenAI to Retro-Document COBOL and Accelerate the Modernization of Mainframe Applications, Opening Up New Opportunities for Mainframes in a Digital Landscape

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 10: By 2028, Natural Language Will Become the Most Widely Used Programming Language, with Developers Using It to Create 70% of Net-New Digital Solutions

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

• AI-Driven Business Models — Moving from AI Experimentation to Monetization

• The Drive to Automate — Toward a Data-Driven Future

• AI-Driven Workplace Transformation — Building Tomorrow's Workforce Today

• Expanding Digital Security Frontiers — Fortification Against Multiplying Threats

• Battling Against Technical Debt — Overcoming Hurdles to IT Modernization

Learn More

• Related Research