By Ivo Hensgens, Teamlead & Senior Technical Consultant, Dynamics4Business, December 11, 2025
Will the developer soon be obsolete?
It’s a question that came up several times during Directions 2025 — and one that may also cross your mind when you read what AI is already capable of today:
“Will we need developers at all in a few years?”
Because let’s be honest: the examples were impressive. AI generating complete screens, building integrations, writing test scenarios, and even producing documentation. And when you run into an error message? You simply paste it back into the agent, which then dutifully makes another attempt. But the closer you look at real-world practice, the clearer one thing becomes: AI is changing the work of developers — but it is not replacing them. In fact, towards customers, the role of the developer is becoming even more critical.
Why that is the case? You'll find out below.
But what impressed me most was not the number of sessions or kilometers walked. It was the amount of insights directly relevant to our customers.
AI can do a lot - but not yet what customers really need
The demos during Directions showed how quickly AI can generate code. A few lines of natural language, and a complete screen, workflow, or integration appears. It feels as if software development is becoming almost ‘magical.’ But the moment you look under the hood, that picture changes.
- Spaghetti code that no one can maintain anymore
- Functions that are written twice
- Logic repeated unnecessarily
- Standard Business Central functionality that AI is trying to rebuild
- Code that gets an extra patch of code on every error - without fixing the error itself
A simple request like make this button blue can sometimes result in dozens of lines of newly generated code, while the original line simply remains in place. Functionally it works — but technically it is not yet future-proof.
For customers who need performance, scalability and reliability, this is a problem that only an experienced developer recognizes and solves.
The role of the developer is shifting — and that is precisely what makes it valuable
Tomorrow's developer taps less code, but does more of the work that really matters:
- Defining architecture
- Controlling and correcting AI
- Ensuring quality and maintainability
- Adding context that AI does not understand
- Translating business logic into sustainable solutions
The developer thus becomes less “code typist” and more designer, reviewer, quality controller and guide. That is exactly where organizations gain value: software that is built quickly, but is also correct - now and five years from now.
Developers and consultants are growing closer together
AI is increasingly allowing simple technical actions to be performed by consultants. Consider:
- Small screen adjustments
- Simple automations
- Instruction-driven agent tasks
But where consultants can do more, their reliance on developers grows for:
- Robustness
- Scalability
- Validation
- Security
- Performance
- Impact analysis
The lines are blurring - but the areas of expertise remain existing and needed.
The result for customers?
- Faster iterations
- More efficient collaboration
- Solutions closer to practice
- Fewer waiting moments between functional and technical work
AI accelerates development - but good software remains human work
AI is not a replacement, but an accelerator. It builds faster, broader, and more creatively than a human — but without boundaries or judgment. A developer does set those boundaries:
- What is the best approach?
- Does this fit within the architecture?
- Is this safe?
- Will we still understand this in two years?
- Does this deliver the right result for the customer?
That is precisely what determines the value of a solution. AI can't see that - but a developer can.
The best results come from AI + developers together
The future is not a choice between human or AI. It is a combination of both:
- AI speeds up building
- The developer ensures quality
- The consultant brings the business context
- And together they provide solutions that work and stay working
The organizations that understand this will soon lead the way.
In conclusion
AI is changing the way we develop software, but not the need for expertise. On the contrary, the more powerful the tools become, the more important it is to have people who understand what is going on under the hood.
Want to discover what AI means for your organization - and what developers will (and won't) have to do in the near future? Schedule a short exploratory session with our team via info@d4b.nl.