involves creating a computer program, or set of programs to perform tasks, from keeping track of inventory and billing customers to maintain accounts, speeding up business process and in fact, even improving application effectiveness. Unlike vanilla programming, application development involves higher levels of responsibility (particularly for requirement capturing and testing).

The Application Development industry has seen a lot of changes in a relatively short period of time. From both sides of the fence – customers looking for software solutions, and the resource pool of application development talent – there has been considerable upheaval over the last few years.

New architectures, myriad platform choices, increased functionality expectations, and requirements to protect against constantly evolving security threats are some of the challenges faced by application development practitioners, or Developers. In today’s global marketplace, where outsourcing of application development is commonplace, the application developer needs to prove far more than his ability at programming. His ability to collaborate, his awareness of the need for integration with other enterprise components, his familiarity with compliance issues and various other factors contribute towards his ability to land contracts.