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Best of Development 2021

January 6th, 2021 26 min read

Development tools generally consist of a range of products which can be used to develop applications. This can include everything from code editors, to debuggers, to entire integrated platforms.

This year, TrustRadius is awarding the best in customer support and usability among some of the most common categories of Best of Development software in use today.

The Best of Development winners are: 

Best of Customer Support – App Development

  • GraalVM, 1st Place

Best of Feature Set – App Development

  • GraalVM, 1st Place
  • Oracle Java SE Subscription, 2nd Place

Best Feature Set – CC Integrated Development Environments

  • Eclipse, 1st Place

Best Customer Support – Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

  • Visual Studio IDE, 1st Place
  • PyCharm, 2nd Place

Best Feature Set – Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

  • Visual Studio IDE, 1st Place
  • PyCharm, 2nd Place

Best Customer Support – Low Code Development

  • Appian, 1st Place

Best Usability – Low Code Development

  • Appian, 1st Place

Best Feature Set – Peer Code Review

  • Gitlab, 1st Place

Best Customer Support – Software Components

  • Progress Telerik UI, 1st Place
  • Progress Kendo UI, 2nd Place

Best Usability – Software Components

  • Progress Kendo UI, 1st Place

Best Feature Set – Software Components

  • Progress Kendo UI, 1st Place
  • Progress Telerik UI, 2nd Place

Best App Development Customer Support 

An App Development Platform provides UI controls and time-saving tools for developers and UX professionals. Due to the technical complexity of such suites, it is important for vendors to provide excellent customer support to abate common issues. Below are the awards for the Best in Customer Service among App Development Platforms.

GraalVM, 1st Place

Customer Support Score: 8.1

Customers were particularly pleased with the abundance of support available through GraalVM’s active community. Common platforms such as Slack and GitHub were noted as areas where one could seek resolution.

“Awesome is all I have to say for the issues that happen in GraalVM. The people over at Github are very attentive and help a ton if any issues are found, Oracle support themselves are very helpful. My experience with them has always been a swift and easy support, something that other languages lack.”

  • Verified User, Contributor in Information Technology | Computer Games Company, 1-10 employees

Best App Development Feature Set

As App Development platforms are intended to save developers time, a robust feature set would therefore be necessary for maximum productivity. These platforms tend to boast a number of useful features, including UI controllers, collaborative mobile workspaces, and visual data insights to name a few. Below are the awards for Best Feature Set among App Development platforms.

GraalVM, 1st Place

Customers were very happy to report support for services written in a number of different languages, including Java, JavaScript, Ruby, Python as well as legacy C/C++ code libraries.

“GraalVM is more like an open-source SDK–we can create applications across the platforms like desktop, mobile and cloud applications. It’s easy to build and deliver the applications for native images of iOS and Android, and GraalVM easily talks to different technologies like Java, Python, Ruby, and different databases. GraalVM is well suited for development with Gradle and Maven build tools. Any open-source or enterprise application can be developed using it.”

  • Muni R., Sr. Technical Lead | Emtec Inc.Information Technology & Services, 201-500 employees

Oracle Java SE Subscription, 2nd Place

Oracle’s Java SE was praised for its wide functionality across a variety of use-cases, including automation activities, shopping portals, embedded applications, and mobile apps.

“Java is the easiest language to support because of the worldwide adoption, especially as the transferrable skills carry over to android development. This portability is what put Java on the map in the first place, where the virtual machine can run on Linux, windows, and potentially arm/raspberry pi/Arduino as well. The ability to run on multiple platforms with low-level access along with the low barrier to entry make Oracle Java SE Subscription a winner. It’s free!”

  • Andrew T., Developer | Bible Message AppComputer Software, 1-10 employees

Best C/C++ Integrated Development Environments Feature Set

Unlike generalist IDEs, a C/C++ IDEs include built-in support for C and C++, such as debugging, code autocomplete, and refactoring. Below are the awards for Best Feature Set among C/C++ IDEs.

Eclipse, 1st Place

Many users praised Eclipse for its use as an all-encompassing platform, allowing users to not only write code but also compile, flash, and debug it.

“Eclipse is my go-to environment for Java development. I’ve also used it for embedded, C/C++, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and more. Sometimes you need a few versions of Eclipse so it is easier to work between the different types of projects. Because Eclipse is open source there is a very large support base.”

  • Bob S., Co-Founder, President, CTO | Infofree Sales Leads | Business Lists | Person Search & CRM101Computer Software, 1-10 employees

Best Integrated Development Environment (IDE) Customer Support

Many businesses use C/C++ IDEs for application development as they are flexible and powerful coding languages. Because of this, they may also be increasingly complex to utilize, and the need for vendor support may arise on occasion. Below are the awards for Best Customer Service among C/C++ IDEs.

Visual Studio IDE, 1st Place

Customer Support Score: 8.7

As part of Microsoft’s ecosystem of products, customers were satisfied with the extensive knowledge base provided by the MSDN forums and documentation, as well as the countless online communities filled with independent knowledge.

“If we have an installation or updating problem,they will quickly respond to our matter. Visual Studio has a kindly customer service team.”

  • Madusanka B., Senior Executive ( IT & Administration ) | PIBT – Pioneer Institute of Business & TechnologyInformation Technology & Services, 501-1000 employees

PyCharm, 2nd Place

Customer Support Score: 8.5

Many applauded PyCharm’s prompt responses to common customer issues, as well as their regular updates and knowledgeable communities.

“The customer support to a pro version is active, and they try to fix the issues ASAP. Regular upgrades are done to fix the bugs or to add the latest features. There are many community forums available that help one to get their problem fixed. Detailed documentation is provided to most of the keywords, which helps a naive person to pick faster.”

  • Verified User, Consultant in Information Technology | Information Technology & Services Company, 10,001+ employees

Best Integrated Development Environment (IDE) Feature Set

Integrated Development Environment Software (IDE) is software consisting of a range of development tools (e.g. a source code editor, a debugger) presented in a graphical user interface (GUI), thus forming a comprehensive programming environment packaged as a software application. Below are the awards for the Best Feature Set among IDEs.

Visual Studio IDE, 1st Place

Customers noted Visual Studios flexibility across a variety of different projects and use-cases, as well as its suite of testing and debugging features.

“Our .Net team uses Visual Studio IDE as their tool to build .Net web applications, APIs and do light interface work with Azure resources. Since the IDE provides a complete development environment, it makes it easy to build, test, debug, and deploy code into a wide variety of environments with ease.”

  • Sean P., Software Development Director | Fresh ConsultingInternet, 201-500 employees

PyCharm, 2nd Place

Many customers sang PyCharm’s praises when it came to flexibility, and were pleased with its fully integrated suite of tools.

“One can create a java file, can connect to DB, can connect to different servers with Unix, and can also create an automation framework using a robotic framework, which in turn makes it an RPA tool.”

  • Verified User, Consultant in Information Technology | Information Technology & Services Company, 10,001+ employees

Best Low Code Development Customer Support

Low-code development platforms (or rapid-application development platforms) provide ‘citizen developers’ with tools to build simple process applications with little oversight. They are best for junior programmers or non-coders with some technical acumen. Because of its intended ease-of-use, it is critical for vendors to provide top-notch support for any issues a customer may encounter. Below are the awards for Best in Customer Support for Low Code Development platforms.

Appian, 1st Place

Customer Support Score: 8.1

Appian was lauded for their extensive support forums and knowledge base, as well as their prompt live support.

“When we need help with a development scenario or issue, there is an Appian community forum where Appian developers can post questions and get help. It is also a knowledge base where you can look to see if anyone has had a similar use case or issue. For platform issues, Appian support is very responsive. We have had server issues and Appian will help our server admin very quickly to diagnose the problem.”

  • Christine M., Principal Programmer | GDITDefense & Space, 10,001+ employees

Best Low Code Development Usability

Low Code Development platforms simplify the application building process, and are frequently used for simple process applications. The tools give businesses the ability to create simple apps without much technical know-how. Streamlining a very technical process requires software with a high degree of usability, of which you will find the awards for below.

Appian, 1st Place

Usability Score: 8.6

Appian was credited for their intuitive training, allowing for a faster turnaround time for developers.

“With a short class for experienced developers, it’s easy to get up to speed using Appian to design workflows. End-users have a much shorter training requirement, usually with no instruction required. This allows developers to produce more code, and solve more business issues, while end-users get the benefits of quick releases and faster, iterative development for their everyday tools.”

  • Rob K., Applications Engineer | LHSFNANon-profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees

Best Peer Code Review Feature Set

Peer Code Review software is designed to help developers improve software quality. Using these tools, software developers review each other’s code before releasing software to QA. The goal is to identify bugs, resulting in more maintainable code–and for that reason, you would want software with all the bells and whistles to streamline your process. Below are the awards for Best Feature Set among Peer Code Review software.

Gitlab, 1st Place

Gitlab received high regards for having countless essential features built in, including ticketing and pipeline management.

“For modern software projects, this tool is one of the best solutions for essential must-haves. It provides basic issue-tracking, ticketing, repository, and pipeline functions. From small to highly complex software, from single player projects to multi-level software building, this tool has nearly everything you need.”

  • Balázs K., Software Developer | Webvalto Ltd.Banking, 51-200 employees

Best Software Components Customer Support

Software components or componentware are meant to work within a larger package or application. Each component is a reusable modular resource that performs some particular function. In order to best serve the needs of a potentially wide variety of customers, vendors must offer top of the line customer support, and below are the awards reflecting such:

Progress Telerik UI, 1st Place

Customer Support Score: 9.4

Many customers were satisfied with the degree of detail and promptness employed by Progress Telerik UI.

“Very detailed and helpful replies (email) . Responses were under 2 hours in most cases in my experience. Support quality is the best of any organization I’ve dealt with. Handling of security issues was particularly well handled.”

  • Curtis C., Senior Software Engineer | LogibecInformation Technology & Services, 201-500 employees

Progress Kendo UI, 2nd Place

Customer Support Score: 8.5

Kendo received a number of high regards for their prompt and knowledgeable responses, as well as their extensive support community.

“I have been a customer of progress for a number of years and Telerik before that. I have always chosen to opt in for the best support plan. I hardly have ever needed to use it, when I have put in a support request via email or phone, the response was always quick, professional and on point. In this industry that is refreshing. The support usually include sample code. The ten rating is deserved.”

  • Robert B., President | Nexcor Technologies, Inc.Food & Beverages, 11-50 employees

Best Software Components Usability

Due to their highly integrated nature, Software Components must be intuitive enough to use across a variety of platforms and situations. Below are the awards for Best of Usability among Software Components.

Progress Kendo UI, 1st Place

Usability Score: 8.3

Kendo’s scalability and useful updates helped set it apart from the pack for customers.

“Highly scalable and easy to use, has superior quality updates when compared to other competing products. Documentation is easy to find and browse, has a large user community that contributes with examples and answers to questions.”

  • Sergiu P., Senior Analyst, Business Data and Systems – Research and Innovation | University of Nevada, RenoHigher Education, 5001-10,000 employees

Best Software Components Feature Set

As software components are intended to handle a variety of big-picture situations, it is critical for feature sets to be as versatile as their use-cases. Below are the awards for Best in Software Components Feature Sets.

Progress Kendo UI, 1st Place

Kendo’s rapidly growing feature set has allowed it to become exceptionally robust, allowing complete control over project elements.

“At first, the Kendo Grid was a bit light on features, but it has grown over the years and is quite full featured. I really like the editor control. It just makes having WYSWYG input easy to implement. The Window control is really quick to implement and is quite flexible as well.”

  • Clay H., Software Developer III | Opus SolutionsEvents Services, 51-200 employees

Progress Telerik UI, 2nd Place

Telerik has received high praises for its stability and operability, allowing for an increase in productivity throughout the development cycle.

“Telerik UI has helped us to speed up the development and release cycle. The stability of the component has helped us to provide a stable and consistent user experience to the users. Support for various platforms have also helped us to look into Telerik library before trying out something else.”

  • Abhay G., Senior Manager | Bentley SystemsComputer Software, 1001-5000 employees

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