11 Best Software Development Tools For Project Management, Cybersecurity & More in 2021

• Enterprise cloud and server hosting that devs can easily use to deploy their environment
• Bringing teams together in order to solve issues more effectively
• Project management boards right beside the code
• GitHub Marketplace with a wide array of tools that can be purchased
• Integrations with other projects through easy-to-use API
• Documentation can be hosted by developers in their repositories

2. Zend

One of the success factors that is constantly on everyone’s minds is: productivity. Zend is a tool designed specifically to boost this particular aspect of one’s work.

This PHP-based IDE is one of the very best software development tools to come out this year used by programmers, designers and devs worldwide to code, test, debug and test their creations in desktop and mobile environments.

There is substance behind creators’ bold claim that Zend is “the fastest way to enterprise PHP”. Built for scalability as well as security, it points out to these key abilities:

• Increased agility and productivity through Continuous Integration/Delivery
• High-levels of compliance and security
• Reliability, scalability and performance of PHP apps
• Deep diagnostics that provide clarity and visibility

…Zend works in unison with Xdebug, Z-Ray and other tools enhancing debugging capabilities. It can even work with GitHub’s GitFlow and other development tools for which it has support capabilities. Likewise, Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS can deploy PHP apps made with Zend.

Depending on one’s (or team’s) needs, Zend comes in two variants: Developer Edition and Production Edition. Their portfolio of clients boasts over 40,000 internationally recognized names across various industries.

3. Trello 

Trello is commonly used by software development teams because of its ability to make workflow easier.

It offers boards, lists and cards that allow you to organize yourself and your team in a flexible way. Among its features, there are also adding comments, setting due dates and uploading attachments that make collaboration between team members smooth.

This tool also makes it possible to prioritize actions and monitor progress while boosting software developers’ productivity.

• Detailed overviews of Front/Back Cards
• Information backup
• Individual and group task management
• Voting options
• Developer API
• Automated email notifications
• Deadline alerts and notifications

What’s great about Trello is that it integrates with several online platforms such as GitHub, Google Drive, JIRA Cloud, Slack and Bitbucket.

The Top Tools for E-Commerce Software Development

1. X-Cart

If there is one branch of web-based industry that can look forward to a bright and shiny future, it is e-commerce. Shopping will never go out of style or become superfluous, and e-shopping is its 21st-century facet.

With online shops popping up left and right, it’s vital for developers to equip themselves with e-commerce development tools. They need to meet the standards of building responsive, light-weight, effective and secure shops.

One such tool is X-Cart – an open-source coding high-hitter of a program that has given Magento a run for its money. X-Cart can integrate seamlessly with WordPress, but it really ups its game when used with their own hosting service.

Take a closer look at X-Cart and you’ll notice that it also has:

• Great, ready-to-use design templates
• Low cost (users only pay a one-time license fee)
• Open-source PHP code-hinting, giving developers full control of the tool
• Security AND velocity
• Integration with top global payment methods
• A thriving community of experts and users who are there to assist each other

The Top Software Development Tools For Planning and Releases

1. Jira

Part of the widely recognized Atlassian Suite, Jira Software has two main purposes: planning and managing projects and tracking of issues. And for both reasons, it is much loved in the software development community and its agile teams.

Jira’s main use is for planning, tracking and releasing software that is ready to take on the world from the get to. It can help developers create stories on issues and delegate tasks across the entire team. It also makes for a visible environment in which the entire team’s work gets fully contextualized. That way, it’s much easier to discuss and prioritize tasks.

Ensuring complete privacy, data encryption and compliance, this up-and-coming development tool knows its safety ABCs. It can also be further expanded with countless apps and other Atlassian-native services. Potential users are presented with three distinctive cloud-hosted plans: Starter, Standard and Premium.

• Ability to pull report presented in real-time visual data
• Creating a unique workflow or picking one from existing templates
• Integration with tools already in use by the developer or a team (Confluence, Bitbucket etc.)
• Security and scalability of Jira throughout entire organizations.
• Compatibility with Windows and Linux
• High level of customization

2. Perforce Helix Core

Perforce is a company that specializes in streamlining software developer teams’ processes. Through their many products, they demonstrate deep understanding of multi-faceted nature and complexity of bringing apps to reality.

One of their cornerstone products that stands out from the crowd in 2021 is Helix Core. This super-capable tool protects users most valuable assets, can scale work at great lengths and enables effortless collaboration.

In a nutshell:

Helix Core keeps track of changes in source code and helps you manage them. This, in turn, makes your teamwork much faster, no matter the complexity of the project. It’s robust and built to endure: this tool can contain thousands and thousands of users and software developers, millions of transactions on a daily basis and huge quantities of data.

It will automate workflows, integrate with your toolset and deliver continuous high performances.

HelixCore can come with a suite of Helix products that include:

• HelixSwarm
• Helix4Git
• HelixTeamHub

The Top Software Development Tool for QA Testing

1. qTest Manager

Quality assurance testing is a must for any self-respecting enterprise that wishes to keep its integrity and spare themselves blushes. In that regard, qTest Manager secures a robust, reliable and lightning-fast interface.

This software development tool enables its users to organize their tests in a facile manner thanks to its flexible configuration and real-time tracking of executions.

Its creators take some pride in that qTest Manager is:

• Seamless integration with multiple third-party tools, such as Jira
• A highly qualified customer success team that can help users with interface
• Reliability and scalability

This awesome software development tool’s real-time QA metrics and reporting can deliver data necessary for improving a team’s productivity rate. It can also increase visibility through simple and complex reports. A multitude of filtering options can be used to custom-tailor the report right to measure.

The Top Software Development Tool for Cybersecurity

1. ModSecurity

Finally, as a proverbial icing on a cake, comes the question of safety and security. There can’t be enough talk of this when it comes to software development. There is just too many rogue individuals and organizations just waiting for you to make that final slip up.

Thankfully, there’s strength in numbers – and expertise! Hundreds if not thousands of brands out there are working diligently on coming up with security tools so we don’t lose any of that precious sleep.

One such do-good company is the one behind ModSecurity, an open-source program that uses firewall applicable on dozens of different servers.

What it then does is:

• Provide power rules language and API
• Enforce advanced protections
• Passive security assessment
• Selective narrowing down of HTTP features you’re willing to accept

ModSecurity’s creators like to point out the four guiding principles they are basing their brainchild on:

• Flexibility (through a mighty rule language)
• Passiveness (the tool will never interact with a transaction unless told to do so)
• Predictability
• Quality over quantity (putting limited resources to the best use possible and keeping some ideas for later versions)

To recap, there are some truly inventive software development tools breaking through to the mainstream public. Some of the talking points presented above are:

• The advent of storage tools that operate on cloud servers, such as Azure, Cloud9 and Atom
• The redefining of project management through tools that facilitate teamwork and collaboration (GitHub, Zend, Basecamp)
• The expansion of programs for planning and release of software products (Jira, Helix Core)
  cybersecurity is a VERY big deal – still!

It’s of vital importance for businesses, their executive decisionmakers and managers to recognize and define their need for a certain product and reach out to its respective parent company. Having a clear idea about your business’ direction and putting these software development tools to that use can make all the difference.

Luckily, we can help there, too!

Browse through our site’s directory of top software development companies to find the exact match for your needs! And in order to capitalize on software projects by making them as successful as possible, you can skim through their portfolio, services and clients.