The 2025 O’Reilly Technology Trends report unveils crucial insights into technology consumption patterns across its platform, based on data from 2.8 million users. The report highlights the rising importance of AI technologies and emphasizes security and developer skills for the coming year.
Key Trends in AI & Developer Skills:
- AI Technology Surge: AI technologies like prompt engineering (456% increase), AI principles (386% increase), and generative AI (289% increase) dominate developer learning.
- GitHub Copilot Usage: A significant 471% increase in usage indicates developers’ growing preference for productivity-enhancing tools.
- Shift in AI Interests: There’s a notable drop in GPT-related content (-13%), as developers focus on foundational AI knowledge for broader model applications.
- LangChain & RAG Rise: These advanced AI tools have gained widespread popularity, now rivaling traditional AI libraries such as PyTorch and Keras.
Growing Focus on Security:
- Security & Governance Trends: Topics related to governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) saw a 44% increase, while interest in application security grew by 17%.
- Zero Trust Model Adoption: The zero trust model witnessed a 13% usage growth, highlighting the shift towards stricter access control strategies.
Additional Insights:
- Data Engineering Skills: Data engineering grew by 29%, reflecting the pivotal role data plays in AI-driven innovations.
- Decline in Traditional Languages: A decrease in Python (-5.3%) and Java (-13%) usage, with Rust seeing a 9.6% increase.
- Security Certifications: Certifications such as CISSP and CompTIA Security+ saw solid growth, underscoring the growing need for cybersecurity expertise.
- Cloud Computing Trends: While cloud computing interest plateaued, Google Cloud certifications experienced slight growth (+2.2%).
The 2025 technology landscape reveals the rise of foundational AI skills and a strong focus on comprehensive security strategies. As AI continues to transform the development process, professionals are urged to prioritize upskilling in emerging technologies to stay competitive.
