Notes on data, AI, IT
and security
No marketing fog. The way I think about real problems with founders and managers.
Branching strategy as a release discipline
How a team's approach to version control branches shapes the rhythm of releases, hotfixes, and who can ship what without waiting for whom.
When a data warehouse becomes the bottleneck
Signs that your corporate data warehouse has stopped keeping up, and how to think about the next step.
An API is a contract, not a piece of code
Why the interface between systems matters more than the implementation behind it, and what that means for how you manage integrations.
Microservices: what the term means for business
A breakdown of what actually sits behind the word 'microservices' and how a manager should think about this architectural choice.
Docker 1.0 and the new discipline of release
The Docker 1.0 release is not about containers. It is about the runtime environment becoming as manageable and reproducible as the code itself.
After Heartbleed: the audit you actually need to run
Nearly two months have passed since Heartbleed was disclosed. A look at what is worth checking and doing if you have not done it yet.
Text analysis becomes practical: what it means for business
Natural language processing tools have reached the point where they can be used without a research lab. What to do with that.
Microservices: architectural choice or management decision
Why moving to microservices is not purely a technical decision, and what a founder needs to understand before such a project starts.
Open data: what it is and why business should care
Governments and organisations around the world are opening up data for free use. A look at the practical opportunities this creates.
Heartbleed: when someone else's code becomes your problem
The OpenSSL vulnerability showed how much business depends on invisible components that nobody controls and nobody is accountable for.
Industrial robots are getting cheaper: what it means for manufacturers
The cost of industrial robots has been falling for several years. A look at which manufacturing operations this is now a practical question for.
Technical debt: what it means for non-technical founders
An explanation of technical debt through a management lens - where it comes from, how to measure its business impact, and when to pay it down.