Software Technologies

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

Software is an enabling technology underlying all ICT developments. Recent advances in the areas of Cloud, Internet of Things, and Big Data increase the need for programming and modelling methods, platforms and software reuse that facilitate the development of more interconnected, flexible, reliable, secure and efficient software. The convergence and interrelationship of all these technologies require a holistic approach in the software development that goes beyond software production within specific application domains.

Research and Innovation Actions

Proposals may cover one or both of the themes identified below.

1. Advanced software development approaches and methodologies: Novel development approaches which would drastically increase development productivity and various dimensions of software quality such as security, reliability, performance, scalability and adaptability. Aspects that can be covered include: novel requirement engineering approaches; tools and mechanisms for managing software quality, including big data analytics on user feedback and run-time software performance monitoring; tools for automated deployment and dynamic configuration; tools and techniques for automating software interoperability and compliance testing. Algorithms and techniques for extracting knowledge (e.g., specifications, designs or models) from the huge amount of existing open source code; tools using that knowledge in the development of new software.
2. Seamless software architectures: Innovative architectures, frameworks and platforms addressing the need for evolvable, secure, context-aware and self-adaptive software in highly connected and interoperable systems. Support for the development and testing of software for distributed systems in heterogeneous environments, addressing issues such as data consistency, reliability, scalability and the efficient use of underlying resources.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 3 and 5 million would allow this area to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Proposals should provide appropriate metrics for the claimed impacts:

• Reduction of the time to market of the new generations of software enabled products and services;
• A significant and substantiated productivity increase in all aspects of software life-cycle especially for distributed systems;
• Ability to meet software quality levels required by a fast growing number of software-enabled products and services;
• Increased reuse of code, design or functional requirements in the development of new software.