Emerging Trends in Software Architecture from the Practitioners Perspective: A Five Year Review

Software architecture plays a central role in the design, development, and maintenance of software systems. With the rise of cloud computing, microservices, and containers, architectural practices have diversified. Understanding these shifts is vital. This study analyzes software architecture trends across eight leading industry conferences over five years. We investigate the evolution of software architecture by analyzing talks from top practitioner conferences, focusing on the motivations and contexts driving technology adoption. We analyzed 5,677 talks from eight major industry conferences, using large language models and expert validation to extract technologies, their purposes, and usage contexts. We also explored how technologies interrelate and fit within DevOps and deployment pipelines. Among 450 technologies, Kubernetes, Cloud Native, Serverless, and Containers dominate by frequency and centrality. Practitioners present technology mainly related to deployment, communication, AI, and observability. We identify five technology communities covering automation, coordination, cloud AI, monitoring, and cloud-edge. Most technologies span multiple DevOps stages and support hybrid deployment. Our study reveals that a few core technologies, like Kubernetes and Serverless, dominate the contemporary software architecture practice. These are mainly applied in later DevOps stages, with limited focus on early phases like planning and coding. We also show how practitioners frame technologies by purpose and context, reflecting evolving industry priorities. Finally, we observe how only research can provide a more holistic lens on architectural design, quality, and evolution.