A recent survey conducted by Couchbase, a provider of a cloud-based database platform, casts light on the challenges and trends developers confront in their positions. The study of 533 software developers in the United States, ranging from individual contributors to C-suite administrators, reveals that an astounding 90 percent of developers are at or above their work capacity.
Consequently, developers are requesting automation tools and SQL-based database query capabilities to increase their efficiency. In addition, an astounding 86% of manager-level and higher respondents reported difficulties in recruiting developers with the appropriate skill set.
Due to their already hefty responsibilities, only 5.1% of developers feel able to take on additional initiatives, underscoring their current circumstance. As their responsibilities increase, developers increasingly assume additional responsibilities. In fact, 75% of respondents acknowledged occasionally or frequently performing duties outside their employment descriptions.
More than half (54.1%) of those with increased duties reported increased tension, while 43.8% felt overburdened, 40.2% experienced exhaustion, and 31.3% struggled with work-life balance. To address these obstacles, developers would turn to automation and SQL-based database tools as the most effective means of increasing their productivity.
Couchbase’s Director of Developer Experience, Perry Krug, emphasized the significance of providing developers with automation and user-friendly tools. According to Mr. Krug, outsourcing repetitive duties enables developers to devote their time and expertise to more valuable initiatives, such as the creation of business-critical applications. In addition, he emphasized the advantages of utilizing the SQL++ query language, which enables developers to rapidly create applications without a precipitous learning curve.
Additional significant findings from the survey published by Couchbase include:
- The majority of respondents (87.2%) continue to rely on legacy relational databases for application development. However, they wished for greater flexibility and agility. Non-relational databases (e.g., NoSQL) are of interest to developers due to their perceived benefits in terms of speed, flexibility, security, scalability, and cost reductions.
- Regarding their database infrastructure, developers intend to prioritize scalability, cost reduction, and data governance compliance in the coming year.
- The greatest internal obstacles faced by developer teams are talent constraints, the need to request access to data or other systems, and keeping up with the ever-changing compliance requirements.
- The top three technical skills required to develop modern applications, according to hiring managers, are cloud-based technologies, SQL, and teamwork experience throughout the data lifecycle. Despite these prerequisites, 86% of managers reported significant difficulties in locating developers with the necessary skill set.
- Companies are employing mentorship and training programs to close the disparity in developer experience. According to the survey, 71.6% of respondents have access to these opportunities. When searching for new employment opportunities, developers prioritize work-life balance, remuneration, and company culture.
Click here to download the survey infographic (PDF).
