June 24, 2023

Technologists Want to Develop Software Sustainably

Ingrid Olson, principal with application security at Coalfire, explains organizations such as the Green Software Foundation can help educate and unite developers interested in learning more about green development practices. "In the right economy developers can also 'vote with their feet' by seeking out employment with companies that advocate for more environmentally sustainable development practices," she says. She adds everyone is a stakeholder either directly or indirectly in the effort to create more sustainable software development practices. "In addition to the environmental benefits of green software development, in the long term there are also a lot of potential financial benefits from development practices that result in reduced carbon emissions," Olson says. ... Tegan Keele, KPMG US climate and data technology leader, explains software that includes complex computational models, like AI and ML, typically require more computing "horsepower" to develop, test and run. "The more intensive that process, the greater proportion of a data center’s computing power that process takes up," he says.

Shift in Sprint Review Mindset: from Reporting to Inclusive Ideation

It's useful to remember that our brains are wired to expect things based on what we've experienced before: it's extremely helpful when the situation is similar, but it can also prevent us from being open to new but important nuances. The new corporate language, certain experiences and time spirits should be learned. There may be times when your attention can make a big difference. For example, you may share a seemingly mundane suggestion in a meeting, only to notice a distinct shift in the atmosphere of the room. It's like walking into a bad neighborhood in a new country and instinctively feeling like an outsider. The level of danger is different, of course, but in both cases it's important to investigate and learn from these new experiences.?Therefore, like a seasoned traveler, change agents should be extremely open-minded and strive to understand the culture they're entering, while not blending in and staying true to their values and beliefs. It's important to understand the value and function of the current Sprint Review processes, while resisting "it won't work in our environment" and other skepticism.?

The Rise of Developer Native Dynamic Observability

Dynamic observability comes to address and solve these challenges. Basically, as opposed to static logging, with dynamic observability developers enjoy end-to-end observability across app deployments and environments directly from their IDEs. This translates into reduced MTTR, enhanced developer productivity and overall cost optimization since developers debug and consume logs and telemetry data where and when they need it rather than monitoring everything. Dynamic observability has emerged as a pivotal approach in modern software development, enabling teams to gain deep insights into system behavior and make informed decisions. It goes beyond traditional testing and monitoring methodologies, offering a comprehensive understanding of system patterns, strengths and weaknesses. ... Dynamic observability represents a paradigm shift in software development, enabling developers to gain a detailed understanding of system behavior and make informed decisions. Using tools and practices that go beyond traditional testing, it empowers teams to create robust and reliable systems.

Monolithic or microservices: which architecture best suits your business?

In the monolithic world, you’re dealing with one single codebase. The simplicity of this model makes it a great choice for small-to-medium-sized applications. But, as the business grows, so do the challenges. Every change, no matter how small, requires a full redeployment. Scaling particular functions can turn into a headache, with these slowing down your go-to-market speed and impacting your responsiveness. On the other hand, the microservices approach works like a small, self-contained team that collaborates, but can also work independently. This architecture gives you the flexibility of scaling, updating, and deploying each service independently — great for scalability, but with added complexity. Imagine trying to coordinate different teams spread out around the world, each with its own time zone and function. Managing microservices is a bit like that. Choosing the right architectural style isn’t just about handling the technology stack, it’s about aligning your tech with your business strategy.?

Microsoft slammed for hitting European cloud users with ‘unfair, additional’ charges

The issue can be traced back to a Microsoft licensing-related policy change in 2019 that stopped customers from deploying on-premise Office 365 licenses on third-party infrastructure. According to the report, this move may have generated an estimated €560m in first-year license repurchase costs for European enterprises. “An additional surcharge of €1bn, relating to licensing surcharges imposed on non-Azure deployments of SQL Server, may further be attributed to the policy change,” said the report. “If this Microsoft tax equals €1bn per year for just one product among potentially hundreds, the overall cost to the European economy as it looks to move enterprise and productivity computing to the cloud must be estimated to be significantly higher.” It goes on to make the point that this additional spend is money that could be used to accelerate the pace of digital transformation for European enterprises and, in the case of the public sector, this is taxpayers’ money that is being “unfairly diverted to already-dominant players”.

Making Better Data-Informed Decisions to Navigate Disruptions

Traditionally, companies have managed risks across domains that, while often volatile, were nevertheless limited in scope. Market dynamics, disruptive technology, and regulatory risks can change dramatically quarter to quarter, for example, but business leaders often rely on several key assumptions about broader global trends. However, the events of recent years have made manifest that business and political leaders can no longer rely on these assumptions. A lingering pandemic and its impacts have drawn into question traditional supply chain and risk management approaches. Social and political concerns have introduced new regulatory risks to businesses across industries. Global economic uncertainty lingers. Climatic risks require business to reconsider both their current supply chain strategies and long-term geographic footprints. Finally, geopolitical risks—including war and sanctions —and the uncertainty of some international agreements have upended traditional assumptions about the security of long-term investments

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