101 Business Applications Developers Should Know (2025 Edition)

Whether you’re building a startup or modernizing an enterprise, your stack isn’t just code—it’s the ecosystem of tools that powers your product, people, and processes. This guide curates 101 essential applications across databases, productivity accelerators, security, networking, analytics, and more. Each entry is concise, developer-focused, and battle-tested in real-world teams.

How to use this list:

• Skim by category to fill gaps in your stack.
• Compare tools that overlap (e.g., CI/CD, BI, CRM) to fit your scale and workflow.
• Look for integration patterns: the best stacks reduce context switching.

Databases (1–8)

1. PostgreSQL — Open-source relational database with strong SQL features, extensions (PostGIS), and reliability.
2. MySQL — Widely adopted relational database; great for OLTP and LAMP stacks.
3. MongoDB — Document-oriented NoSQL DB for flexible schemas and rapid iteration.
4. Microsoft SQL Server — Enterprise-grade RDBMS with strong tooling and BI integrations.
5. Oracle Database — Robust RDBMS for mission-critical enterprise workloads.
6. Redis — In-memory data store for caching, queues, and low-latency operations.
7. Elasticsearch — Distributed search and analytics engine (often paired with Logstash/Beats).
8. Apache Cassandra — Wide-column NoSQL DB built for high write throughput and availability.

Developer Productivity & Collaboration (9–13)

9. GitHub — Source hosting, pull requests, reviews, Actions, and ecosystem.
10. GitLab — All-in-one DevOps platform (SCM, CI/CD, packages, security).
11. Bitbucket — Git hosting with deep Jira integration and Pipelines.
12. JetBrains IDEs — Language-specific IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm) for productivity.
13. Visual Studio Code — Extensible, lightweight editor with a massive plugin library.

DevOps & CI/CD (14–18)

14. Jenkins — Highly extensible CI server for custom pipelines and on-prem control.
15. GitHub Actions — CI/CD tightly integrated with repos and GitHub ecosystem.
16. CircleCI — Managed CI/CD with strong parallelism and ease-of-use.
17. Argo CD — GitOps continuous delivery for Kubernetes.
18. Azure DevOps — Boards, Repos, Pipelines, and Artifacts for end-to-end DevOps.

Cloud & Infrastructure (19–23)

19. Amazon Web Services (AWS) — Broadest IaaS/PaaS with global footprint.
20. Microsoft Azure — Enterprise-friendly cloud with strong AD/Office 365 ties.
21. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) — Data/ML-forward cloud with managed services.
22. HashiCorp Terraform — Declarative IaC for provisioning across clouds.
23. Kubernetes — Container orchestration standard for scaling workloads.

Security (IAM, AppSec, SIEM, Secrets) (24–31)

24. Okta — Workforce identity and SSO with lifecycle management.
25. Auth0 — Customer identity platform for auth, MFA, and social logins.
26. HashiCorp Vault — Centralized secrets management and encryption.
27. CrowdStrike Falcon — Endpoint detection and response (EDR).
28. Cloudflare — WAF, CDN, DDoS protection, Zero Trust access.
29. Snyk — SCA/SAST for dependencies, containers, and IaC.
30. OWASP ZAP — Open-source DAST for runtime security testing.
31. Splunk — SIEM and observability for security analytics and incident response.

Networking & Observability (32–37)

32. Datadog — Unified metrics, logs, traces, and APM with easy agents.
33. Prometheus — Open metrics and alerting with pull-based scraping.
34. Grafana — Visualization and dashboards across diverse data sources.
35. OpenTelemetry — Standardized traces/metrics/logs for vendor-neutral telemetry.
36. New Relic — APM and full-stack observability with strong visualizations.
37. Wireshark — Protocol analyzer for deep network troubleshooting.

Data & Analytics (BI/ELT/Stream) (38–43)

38. Apache Kafka — Distributed event streaming platform and durable log.
39. Apache Airflow — Workflow orchestration for data pipelines.
40. dbt — SQL-based transformation and testing for analytics engineering.
41. Fivetran — Managed connectors for ELT into your warehouse.
42. Tableau — Interactive BI dashboards for business consumption.
43. Power BI — Microsoft’s BI suite integrated with Office/Dynamics.

CRM & Sales (44–48)

44. Salesforce Sales Cloud — Market-leading CRM with extensive ecosystem.
45. HubSpot CRM — Easy-to-use CRM with native marketing/sales tools.
46. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales — CRM tied to Microsoft stack and ERP.
47. Pipedrive — Pipeline-focused CRM for SMBs and startups.
48. Zoho CRM — Affordable CRM with broad app suite integrations.

Marketing Automation (49–52)

49. HubSpot Marketing Hub — Inbound marketing, email, workflows, and analytics.
50. Marketo — Enterprise marketing automation for complex campaigns.
51. Mailchimp — Email marketing with templates, automation, and reporting.
52. Segment — Customer data platform (CDP) to collect, unify, and route events.

Finance & Accounting (53–56)

53. QuickBooks Online — SMB accounting with invoicing and bank feeds.
54. Xero — Cloud accounting with strong UX and app marketplace.
55. NetSuite — ERP/financials for growing and enterprise teams.
56. Stripe — Payments API with billing, subscriptions, and fraud tooling.

HR & People Ops (57–60)

57. Workday — Enterprise HRIS, payroll, and talent management.
58. BambooHR — HRIS for SMB with PTO, onboarding, and reporting.
59. Gusto — Payroll, benefits, and HR tools for small to mid-size teams.
60. Greenhouse — Applicant tracking system (ATS) for hiring workflows.

Project & Product Management (61–65)

61. Jira Software — Agile boards, backlogs, and release tracking.
62. Asana — Project planning and collaboration with timelines and goals.
63. Trello — Simple Kanban boards for lightweight workflows.
64. Linear — Fast issue tracking for product teams with opinionated UX.
65. Monday.com — Visual work management with automations and templates.

Design & Prototyping (66–69)

66. Figma — Collaborative UI design and prototyping in the browser.
67. Sketch — Vector design for macOS with rich plugin ecosystem.
68. Miro — Online whiteboarding for workshops, flows, and mapping.
69. Balsamiq — Low-fidelity wireframing to iterate quickly.

Customer Support & Success (70–73)

70. Zendesk — Ticketing, help center, and omnichannel support.
71. Intercom — In-app messaging, bots, and customer engagement.
72. Freshdesk — Support suite with automation and knowledge base.
73. Gainsight — Customer success platform for health scores and renewals.

Automation & Integration (RPA/iPaaS) (74–78)

74. Zapier — No-code automations connecting SaaS apps via triggers/actions.
75. Make (Integromat) — Visual scenario builder for multi-step automations.
76. n8n — Open-source workflow automation you can self-host.
77. Apache NiFi — Dataflow automation for ingest, routing, and transformation.
78. IBM Webmethods — Enterprise iPaaS and API integration.

Document Management & eSign (79–81)

79. Google Workspace (Drive/Docs) — Real-time docs, sheets, and storage.
80. Microsoft 365 (SharePoint/OneDrive) — Enterprise document and collaboration suite.
81. DocuSign — Electronic signatures and contract workflows.

Communication & Meetings (82–84)

82. Slack — Team chat with channels, apps, and workflow automation.
83. Microsoft Teams — Chat, meetings, and files integrated with 365.
84. Zoom — Reliable video meetings, webinars, and rooms.

Endpoint & ITSM (85–88)

85. Jira Service Management — ITSM for requests, incidents, and changes.
86. ServiceNow — Enterprise ITSM/ITOM with strong process automation.
87. Jamf Pro — Apple device management (macOS, iOS).
88. Microsoft Intune — Endpoint and mobile device management at scale.

Backup & Disaster Recovery (89–91)

89. Veeam Backup & Replication — VM and cloud backup with granular restores.
90. Acronis Cyber Protect — Backup plus endpoint protection.
91. AWS Backup — Centralized backups for AWS services and on-prem via gateways.

E-commerce & Payments (92–95)

92. Shopify — Hosted storefront with extensible apps/payments.
93. WooCommerce — WordPress-based ecommerce plugin with flexibility.
94. Adyen — Global payments platform with risk tools and reporting.
95. Square — POS and online payments for retail and SMB.

CMS & Web Platforms (96–98)

96. WordPress — Ubiquitous CMS with themes, plugins, and headless options.
97. Contentful — Headless CMS for omnichannel content delivery.
98. Webflow — Visual web design with production-grade hosting and CMS.

API Management & Gateways (99–101)

99. IBM API Gateway — High-performance, extensible API gateway (OSS/Enterprise).
100. Apigee — Google Cloud API management for security, quotas, and analytics.
101. AWS API Gateway — Managed gateway for REST/WebSocket APIs in AWS.

Quick CI/CD Example: Build, Test, and Deploy on Push

A minimal GitHub Actions workflow that runs tests, builds a Docker image, and deploys to Kubernetes. Adjust steps to match your stack.

name: CI-CD
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  build-test-deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20

      - name: Install deps and test
        run: |
          npm ci
          npm test -- --ci

      - name: Build image
        run: |
          docker build -t ghcr.io/your-org/your-app:${{ github.sha }} .

      - name: Login to GHCR
        uses: docker/login-action@v3
        with:
          registry: ghcr.io
          username: ${{ github.actor }}
          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Push image
        run: |
          docker push ghcr.io/your-org/your-app:${{ github.sha }}

      - name: Set up kubectl
        uses: azure/setup-kubectl@v4
        with:
          version: 'v1.30.0'

      - name: Deploy
        env:
          IMAGE: ghcr.io/your-org/your-app:${{ github.sha }}
        run: |
          sed -e "s|IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER|$IMAGE|g" k8s/deployment.yaml | kubectl apply -f -

Pro tips:

• Use OpenTelemetry for traces/metrics/logs and forward to Datadog/New Relic/Grafana.
• Store secrets in Vault or your cloud KMS; never in repos.
• Enforce SAST/SCA (Snyk) and DAST (ZAP) in CI, not just pre-release.

How to Choose the Right Tools for Your Team

• Fit to workflow: Tools should integrate with your primary dev flow (Git provider, chat, ticketing).
• Scale and cost: Prefer consumption or per-seat models that match your growth curve.
• Ecosystem: Strong APIs, webhooks, and connectors reduce glue code and manual work.
• Security posture: SSO/SAML, audit logs, least-privilege roles, and compliance (SOC 2, ISO 27001).
• Vendor lock-in: Favor open standards (OpenAPI, OpenTelemetry, Terraform) and exportability.
• Time-to-value: Pilot with a small project; prefer tools that deliver wins in weeks, not quarters.

If you’re assembling a stack today, start with your core production needs (cloud, CI/CD, observability, security) and layer in collaboration and business systems (CRM, analytics, docs) as workflows mature. The best stacks are boring, interoperable, and automate the busywork so your team can ship faster.