What Makes Spring the Dominant Backend Framework in 2021? Survey Insights

1. Who is the Spring Leader?

In the latest survey, the top three Spring projects remain unchanged, with about 75% of respondents using Spring Data, Spring Security, and Spring WebMVC. Additionally, roughly one‑third use Spring Kafka, Spring Batch, Spring Cloud, Spring WebFlux, and Spring Integration, while 25% use Spring Session, Spring LDAP, Spring AMQP, and Spring Cloud Gateway.

2. Data Everywhere

Application quality depends on data; complex apps may use multiple data sources across clouds. Spring Data simplifies access to relational and non‑relational databases, map‑reduce frameworks, and cloud data services.

Spring Data JPA is the top‑ranked sub‑project, chosen by 79% of developers. Spring Data JDBC follows at 74%. Non‑relational modules are also popular: MongoDB (46%), Redis (37%), and Elasticsearch (31%).

3. Kotlin Gains Momentum

Spring supports Java, Groovy, and Kotlin; Kotlin, an object‑oriented language with functional features, was first introduced in 2016. It appears to be the winner among emerging technologies.

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Over 40% of respondents are using Kotlin for Spring projects (18% extensively), and another 18% plan to adopt it. Nine‑tenths view Kotlin positively, making it the most enthusiastically received new technology in the survey.

4. API is the Most Important Spring Feature

97% agree that APIs are crucial to Spring development. Internal and external API usage were split, with internal APIs ranking first and third in use cases, while commercial applications fell to second.

Given the importance of internal APIs, understanding market usage and discovery methods is valuable. Interest in Spring Cloud Gateway, which offers developer‑friendly routing, protection, and monitoring, is soaring alongside its commercial version, Tanzu Spring Cloud Gateway.

5. Over 80% Use Modern Application Architecture

Spring helps developers keep pace with modern tech; 86% use Spring’s modern architecture style—94% adopt microservices, 35% use reactive programming, and 19% employ serverless approaches.

6. Spring Native

Reducing startup time and optimizing memory are top improvement requests. Spring Native addresses these by compiling Spring applications into native executables and is ready for production.

6.1 Why Hesitate?

The main obstacles are that Spring Native is still in testing (59%) and GraalVM native image technology needs maturation (46%). Nevertheless, 92% of stakeholders hold a positive view of GraalVM, indicating confidence in rapid maturity.

6.2 Bright Future

Spring Native entered public beta in March 2021. Although still in testing, 65% plan to deploy it: 29% within 12 months, another 29% in 1‑2 years, and 7% within five years.

7. Spring Takes Off on Kubernetes

The proportion of organizations running containerized Spring applications on Kubernetes jumped from 44% last year to 57%, mirroring industry‑wide Kubernetes adoption growth.

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Nine‑tenths of respondents want better Kubernetes support, including native service discovery and configuration (67%), simplified Spring Boot container image pipelines (57%), and application management for Spring apps (52%).

8. Conclusion

2021 saw Spring’s continued growth, with 61% of surveyed organizations naming Spring their primary or sole development platform (up from 52% in 2020). 95% agree Spring Boot dramatically boosts productivity, and 90% say Spring’s impact exceeds other Java platforms. The ecosystem’s breadth—especially Spring Data’s integration with MongoDB, Redis, and Elasticsearch—accelerates code delivery. Over 97% consider APIs essential, with JSON‑over‑HTTP and OpenAPI dominant, yet 20% already use GraphQL. While Spring Native is still emerging, its promise is strong, and Spring remains the top choice for enterprise Java development.