Who Should Read the Java Developer Productivity Report
Are you tasked with managing a multi-language development team, or are you deep in the trenches with Java development? Whether your role includes managing Java developers, writing code, or testing and implementing new Java development tools, you’ll find salient data points on technologies and trends in this year’s report. The 2024 Java Developer Productivity Report is for:
- Development and application engineering executives
- Java team leaders and managers
- Java architects and developers
Productivity Teams are on the Rise
While they operate under a variety of names, including productivity teams and automation workgroups, they have a common focus: to investigate and implement new tools and workflows across the enterprise. 43% of respondents say that investigating and implementing tools is up to individual efforts, but nearly as many (42%) say their organizations use productivity teams to research solutions. That may be the relief developers need, as 29% said that too many tasks is their biggest barrier to Java development productivity.
"Companies care about improving the efficiency that their developers are able to deliver expectations to their teams. This is why creating teams devoted to productivity is so important to delivering applications better and faster."
- Curtis Johnson, Product Manager, JRebel by Perforce
Methods to Encourage Developer Productivity
Increasing Developer and Tool Budgets
Investments in Java
The message is clear: Java is here to stay. And the data from the 2024 Java Developer Productivity Report supports that claim:
- 60% of respondents plan to add Java developers
- 42% of respondents plan to increase their Java development tool budget
“Seeing some of this data confirms suspicions that I’ve long had: This stuff isn’t going away. The longevity of these pieces of software is only longer now.”
-Deepak Giridharagopal, CTO, Perforce
IDE Preferences Are Shifting
To no one’s surprise, IntelliJ IDEA topped the charts as the most popular Java IDE with 41% of responses. Eclipse held onto the second position (23%), but Microsoft Visual Studio Code, or VSCode, is close behind at 19%. Additionally, 84% of respondents using IntelliJ IDEA said they use more than one IDE in their Java development practice, with VSCode being the most popular secondary IDE.
Watch for adoption of VSCode increase—especially for targeted use cases like debugging. And the lightweight code editor space will soon have a new addition: JetBrains Fleet is currently in Beta and is expected for general availability later this year.
Year-Over-Year IDE Trends
Cloud Provider Comparison
Cloud is a Key Component of Agile Environments
Cloud is a necessity to remain agile in today’s business environment, and that statement is born out in the results of the 2024 Java Developer Productivity Report. Only 13% of respondents reported that they don’t use any cloud providers. But the investment in cloud only makes sense if your tooling and processes can operate at the speed of cloud; a quick, iterative DevOps loop is critical. Without it, cloud deployments become the equivalent of driving a Ferrari to the grocery store.
This year’s results show that some companies may be struggling to keep pace, with friction surrounding performance and deployment speeds.
- 13% of respondents don’t use any cloud providers
- Secondary cloud platforms account for 29% of all responses, more than Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform
Microservices May Not be the Answer
Many organizations are migrating to microservices, yet the 2024 Java Developer Productivity Report shows they might not be the salve they were once billed to be. After years of trending upward, microservice adoption rates were largely status quo in 2024. While more than half of respondents are on microservices, a sizeable portion are using monolith or modular monolith environments.
“Microservices are a great tool in the toolbox, but they’re not the one tool for every problem.”
-Rod Cope, CTO, Perforce
Increase in Microservice Startup Time
