Google Cloud Next 2026 opened with Thomas Kurian declaring the end of the AI pilot era and Sundar Pichai comparing the enterprise refrain of last year (“Can we build an agent?”) to today’s: “How do we manage thousands of them?” Google Cloud Next ’26 answers the second question with a single product story: Gemini Enterprise […]

The convergence and overlap of software development platforms have blurred traditional boundaries, making it difficult for firms to distinguish between tools once meant for specific roles or tasks. While this overlap gives buyers power and flexibility, it also creates confusion, as different platforms can support creating general business apps and process orchestration. Understanding the five primary types of software development platforms — agentic software development, app generation (AppGen), digital process automation (DPA), adaptive process orchestration (APO), and AI — helps enterprise leaders align tools with their software development goals.

AI, application generation (AppGen) platforms, and agentic software development are transforming the software landscape, but misconceptions create confusion about what these technologies can deliver. While agents and generative tools accelerate portions of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), they cannot yet create end-to-end production-ready enterprise apps. AppGen has subsumed low-code, making these platforms the most practical path to enterprise-grade AI-enabled software development. Successful organizations will use AppGen to democratize software creation. Leaders who invest strategically will gain speed, scale, and competitive advantage as agentic capabilities mature.

There’s a lot of noise right now about what generative technology can do in enterprise software development for applications and workflows. Depending on who you ask, it’s either the end of software developers — or just another overhyped shift. Let’s cut through the noise. We Started With The Low-Code Revolution Low code was a revolution. […]

Every year, Forrester predicts what lies ahead for software development. Did our 2025 predictions come true? This report holds us accountable by assessing each prediction against what actually happened. Overall, our 2025 predictions had mixed results. Although some predictions were spot-on or even undersold the true results, economic conditions and AI investment meant that other predictions were off base. Read this report to see which predictions were on target and which went astray.

The impact of AI on development has been swift and extensive. At one time, we looked at tools that sped and eased development as low-code for citizen and professional development. Application generation (AppGen) platforms now deliver further simplified experiences while extending to support the software development lifecycle (SDLC). This shift means many more platforms support unified citizen and professional developer ecosystems, broadening the value and applicability to all businesses.

I have had the challenge and honor of running several very large software businesses, $1 billion and larger. I have also had the excitement of creating new software businesses from concepts to commercially sold products. As a lifelong techie, the excitement of identifying business problems, conceptualizing software solutions, and then bringing them into reality still […]