premium Delivering services through a crisis: 5 lessons learned
The impact that COVID-19 is having on people’s lives and safety cannot be understated. Life as we know it changed dramatically in only a few short weeks. But amidst all these changes, the pandemic has also emerged as a major player in the age of digital disruption. Companies have found themselves relying on technology never … continue reading
Defining development roles in today’s modern software world
New and improved methodologies are always switching up the way software development teams work, but to keep up with the pace of evolution, the team structure is not the only change that needs to happen. Team members need to develop new skills and sometimes even transition to new roles. “The engineering teams definitely have to … continue reading
The dev manager’s dilemma: To code or not to code
There is very little difference between an engineering manager and traditional business manager. Both types of managers need to be able to organize, motivate and help teams as well as meet business goals in a cost-effective way. The difference is the work that is being managed. According to Lorenzo Pasqualis, vice president of engineering at … continue reading
premium Increasing serverless capabilities are pushing architecture to market maturity
Serverless adoption has been growing rapidly as the market begins to mature and as enterprise applications continue to shift in the direction of containers and microservices. The most prominent cloud providers including Amazon — which is at the forefront with its AWS Lambda offering — IBM, Microsoft, Google, and others have already released serverless computing … continue reading
APM, AIOps and Observability
Monitoring your applications comes in many forms. There’s traditional application performance management, which begat AIOps, which begat observability. But are there really any differences? If so, where are they? Some believe these are marketing terms used to differentiate tools. Others point to it as more of an evolution of monitoring. All that said, the performance … continue reading
premium Specification by Example: Looking back… and ahead
We’ve all heard the old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It’s trite, but it’s true. An image can cut through the crap and get everyone on the same page in an instant. In the software development world, examples carry the same power. That’s why I, like so many others, am a big … continue reading
Developer relations in a coronavirus world: The same, but different
I go to conferences on both sides of the Atlantic, and there’s a slightly hilarious thing that happens at morning caffeine break. Someone from the UK will walk up to the hot drink station and register bafflement, because there’s not hot water to make tea. Also our tea bags are pretty substandard, and there might … continue reading
premium The predictive analytics promise: How it can benefit your business
It is common knowledge that the volume of data in existence is increasing exponentially, and many organizations are starting to struggle with the best way to cope with it. This trend will only accelerate with the rapid development of IoT, which according to IDC will generate 79.4 zettabytes (ZB) of data in 2025 from 41.6 … continue reading
premium How to prevent security issues from derailing your hybrid cloud journey
Security is one of the first boxes to tick in the journey to the hybrid cloud, yet it’s still the one giving IT teams the most headaches. The recent 2020 State of Application Services Report, a survey of 2,600 respondents globally across all verticals, backs this up. Respondents listed the top challenges in managing a … continue reading
premium Squandering the honeymoon period
The 18-month project was approved, funded, and project team members, users and user management attended the project kickoff meeting for the new system. Six months later the project is on schedule and on budget. Yet, unknown to the team, problems are brewing that cannot only sink the on-time and on-budget project, but these problems might … continue reading
The security landscape brings new challenges and greater demand for cybersecurity
The past year witnessed some of the biggest data breaches of all time and the rapid proliferation of APIs have created new challenges in approaching the security landscape as a developer. “The fallout from not integrating security early in the development lifecycle has never been more apparent,” the 2019 State of Software Security report stated. … continue reading
Data science: Ph.D. or API?
Until recently, data science was a mostly academic pursuit and the subject of papers rather than practice. Over time, data science became an applied science with data scientists being paired with data engineers to develop production systems. We are now entering a new phase where much of the work being performed by data scientists (hyperparameter … continue reading
premium iPaaS adoption growing to handle integrations in cloud architectures
Integration used to be a lengthy, complicated process, a process that simply would not keep up with companies that are within some stage of their digital transformation. This demand for speed and interconnectivity prompted the growth of full life cycle iPaaS solutions — otherwise known as integration platform as a service — that would provide … continue reading
premium Making open source work for you and your business
Open-source software continues to win over developers and enterprises. A recent report found that 92% of applications use open-source components, and open source is the de facto standard for software development. The report, which was conducted by managed open-source company Tidelift, found open source exceeds proprietary software in technology flexibility and extensibility, developer satisfaction, total … continue reading
premium To build resilient systems, embrace the chaos
It shouldn’t be news to you to hear that software needs to be tested rigorously before being pushed to production. Over the years, countless testing methodologies have popped up, each promising to be the best one. From automated testing to continuous testing to test-driven development, there is no shortage of ways to test your software. … continue reading
Software development and testing considerations
Did you know there are at least 60 defined software development methodologies that have come out over the past five decades? The various options boggle the mind. Waterfall, lean, and agile are some of the best known, but there are so many more, including Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) and Test-Driven Development (TDD), as well … continue reading
Traditional QA won’t address today’s performance issues
We test because something broke in the past, because we care about quality code, and we want to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again. Quality Assurance (QA) testing was a response to the realization that we should proactively seek out problems in our software, before any new code is deployed into production, so … continue reading
premium Supercomputers are fighting climate change
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it is ramping up its computing power with two new Cray supercomputers in Virginia and Arizona, each with 12 petaflops of capacity, bringing NOAA’s total power up to 40 petaflops. These computers will unlock new possibilities for better forecast model guidance through higher-resolution and more comprehensive … continue reading
premium What swarm robotics has taught me about leading a team working on swarm robotics
As a roboticist and engineer, one of the growing areas I’m most excited about is the advancement of swarm robotics. I love the idea of taking inspiration from biological systems to enhance what autonomous robots can achieve collectively, and re-contextualizing social animal behaviors like flocking, foraging, and transport to create new possibilities for humanity. From … continue reading
premium The cloud security triptych
I’ve previously written about the “Three T’s” of shifting security left: training, tools, and teamwork. In this blog, we’re going to delve down a level and look at some of the tools needed to shift left, what they do, and where in the software lifecycle they belong. The lifecycle question is important to think about … continue reading
8 top open-source community and data tools
As organizations wake up to the multitude of ways advanced technologies can augment their businesses, developers with relevant skills are becoming ever more valuable. Data is the key to a whole kingdom of opportunity, and when combined with AI and machine learning tools, the bounds of this kingdom are practically limitless. Even for those without … continue reading
premium Software 3.0: Enterprise AI systems and the brave new economy
Machine learning (ML) and other artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are powerful tools with the potential to transform a wide range of processes for both consumers and companies. Though many of these technologies are still commercially nascent, a number of startups have emerged that provide ML-based software solutions to enterprises. We believe that these “enterprise AI … continue reading
Augmented intelligence will help, not replace, human workers
Augmented intelligence is growing as an approach to artificial intelligence, in a way that helps humans complete tasks faster, rather than being replaced by machines entirely. In an IBM report called “AI in 2020: From Experimentation to Adoption,” 45% of respondents from large companies said they have adopted AI, while 29% of small and medium-sized … continue reading
Java celebrates 25th anniversary following the release of Java 14
The two major Java releases are often the biggest news for the Java community each year, but this year brings another thing for the Java community to celebrate. This month brings the latest Java release, JDK 14, but in May, the programming language will celebrate its 25th anniversary. The first Java release was on May … continue reading
premium What does it take to commit to 100% open source?
Open source is arguably the most successful approach to developing and distributing business-critical infrastructure software. By removing all barriers to entry and giving developers absolute freedom, open source allows organizations to take software and implement it across their businesses in a truly seamless and customizable way. This can then lead to exponential adoption growth, which … continue reading
premium Solving your data problem with customized software
Large legacy enterprises have a data problem. Decades of iterative infrastructure updates via relatively small investments have resulted in information silos scattered across different systems and in different formats. For example, a hospital may have patient records in one location and accounting data in another. All of this data is managed by different teams with … continue reading
premium How training to run a marathon is like bringing a marathon project to the finish line
Anyone who has run a full marathon knows about “the wall,” also known as the point where runners feel like they can’t go any further. This happens when runners hit the 20-mile mark which for many is the most challenging part of the race––their bodies send signals like muscle cramps and fatigue as a cry … continue reading
premium Why behavior-driven development is hurting your test automation efforts
There’s a lot to like about behavior-driven development (BDD). When applied in the right way, BDD can narrow communication gaps, inject real-world examples into strategic discussions, and foster a better understanding of the customer. It can help eliminate the many wasteful activities that often hinder software development, such as rework caused by misunderstood or vague … continue reading
