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Community Enterprise Developers Interviews

Meet the Enterprise Developers – Interview Series #4: Cloud Infrastructure DBaaS domain

Enterprise developers play a critical role in driving innovation, maintaining security, and ensuring the smooth operation of large-scale IT systems within organisations. Despite their importance, we have seen a noticeable decline in the number of enterprise developers across various domains. Particularly within the data analytics and business intelligence sectors, this drop is significant, decreasing from approximately 20% last year to around 14% this year (source: Q1 2024 Pulse Report).

In our ongoing Enterprise Developer Series, we’re striving to provide insights from professionals in the field. Our latest interviewee, who wishes to remain anonymous, will be referred to as Dev C. Dev C. shares their experiences and perspectives on working as an enterprise software developer at Oracle, offering valuable insights into the benefits, challenges, and evolving landscape of the industry.

Q. Can you briefly describe your Job as an Enterprise Software Developer?

Dev C. I work in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure – Database as a Service team where we get to work in developing many cloud related services and platforms that help customers.

Q. What are some of the challenges and benefits of working at a large company compared to a start-up?

Dev C. I would say there are no such benefits now, earlier my answer would have been job security but recent trends have proven this wrong, one benefit could be the culture and flexibility you get at least in Oracle. 

Challenges come in the form of financial increments and growth potential in some teams.

Transparency is needed

Q. If you could change one thing about how your organisation operates, what would it be?

Dev C. I would like a more transparent view about the growth of an individual rather than just be dependent on the manager and I think I would like to hire more people.

Using AI for education

Our latest Pulse Report shows that almost 55% of developers have used AI-assisted development tools for code generation tasks in the past 12 months, however, how does a company like Oracle view AI? Here is what Dev C has to say about Oracle’s policies.

Q. How is AI impacting your day-to-day life? Is there a policy regarding the use of AI tools in your company?

Dev C. Yes there is. But it’s related to not using it to generate code and use company proprietary code there, we can use it to educate ourselves or learn about different services.

Dependency on tools

Q. How much of your work depends on specific tools, frameworks, programming languages or cloud providers?

Dev C. A lot of it is using different frameworks.

Skill Development

Q: How do you keep your skills and knowledge up-to-date?

Dev C. Mostly by working on different projects, but sometimes if I find something interesting out of the scope of my work, I use youtube and other learning tools to update myself.

Mutual decision making

Q: How much influence do you’ve when it comes to procuring a new tool or service to support the projects at work?

Dev C. It’s a mutual team-wide discussion.

Through our conversation with Dev C., we’ve gained a good understanding of the dynamic role enterprise developers play within large organizations like Oracle. From navigating the challenges of growth and financial increments to leveraging AI for educational purposes, their insights highlight the evolving landscape of enterprise development. 

Do you want to shape the future and influence decisions of the largest tech companies? Get in our NEW Developer Nation survey! Everyone completing the survey gets instant access to our cool, virtual goody bag!

As we continue our Enterprise Developer Series, we aim to shed light on the experiences and perspectives of professionals who are shaping the future of enterprise technology. Stay tuned for more interviews and insights from the world of enterprise development.

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Enterprise Developers

Meet the Enterprise Developers – Interview Series #3: The Game Development  Industry

Ever wondered what it’s like to be at the helm of crafting tools that enhance the lives of game developers? We sat down with Anant Sharma, an Enterprise Software Developer at a prominent game studio, to dive deep into his world. Anant’s journey is not only fascinating but also filled with valuable insights for both aspiring developers and those curious about the dynamic tech landscape.

As we begin, Anant sheds light on his role, where he and his team create tools that elevate the quality of life for game developers within their studio.

Q1. Can you briefly describe your Job as an Enterprise Software Developer? 

Anant: We are creating tools for other game developers at our game studio to improve their Quality of life in the development process.

He then proceeds to discuss the pros and cons of working in a large company versus a startup environment, offering a valuable perspective for professionals at any career stage. Whether you’re aiming for stability or the thrill of wearing multiple hats, Anant’s insights have you covered.

Q. What are some of the challenges and benefits of working at a large company compared to a start-up?

A: Pros:

1. You get to interact with people of various backgrounds and get to learn from them in a more proactive manner compared to start-ups where there is less workforce.

2. Job stability and benefits that exceed what start-ups have to offer. 

Cons:

1. Since you have to wear many hats to get things done in startups, you get to have a more diverse CV at a startup compared to a large company where you are supposed to work on specific things. 

2. Startups have more flexibility for working hours compared to large companies since when there are many people you need to have core working hours to make sure all the workforce is active for the ease of communication. 

Embracing Remote Work: Anant’s Desire for Change

In this segment, Anant shares his aspirations for a completely remote work setup, giving us a glimpse into the evolving landscape of enterprise operations. As remote work gains momentum, Anant’s perspective reflects the changing dynamics of the modern workplace.

Q. If you could change one thing about how your organisation operates, what would it be?

Currently, our organisation is working in a hybrid mode, with 2 days at the office. I wish it was completely remote. 

AI’s Impact on Daily Life: Anant’s Experience and Company Policies

Anant delves into how AI is transforming his daily routine and shares the nuances of company policies regarding AI tool usage. AI is reshaping industries, and Anant’s thoughts shed light on the practical applications of this cutting-edge technology.

Q. How is AI impacting your day-to-day life? Is there a policy regarding the use of AI tools in your company?

We are actually already using AI to improve our quality of life, the policy around that depends on things like which AI you are interacting with. In some cases you are not allowed to share the company code base with the AI for results, also making sure the code generated by AI is checked since it’ll be your own responsibility. We are also testing GitHub copilot with some developers to see its impact on our process. 

The Tech Stack of an Enterprise Software Developer: Tools, Frameworks, and More

Anant offers insights into the tools, frameworks, and responsibilities that shape his role as an enterprise software developer. 

Q. How much of your work depends on specific tools, frameworks, programming languages or cloud providers?

As tools programmers, we not only work on creating the tools for the game engine but also stuff related to native code. Apart from that, sometimes we also have to interact with the CI/CD pipeline to improve it. 

Staying Ahead in the Game: Anant’s Strategies for Keeping Up-to-Date

Anant discusses his approach to staying current in the ever-evolving tech landscape, sharing valuable tips for continuous learning.

How do you keep your skills and knowledge up-to-date?

I think there are many ways to keep yourself up to date, things that work for me are: 1. Industry updates 2. Being part of conferences 3. Spending time in learning and development (which is part of our company policy)

Behind the Procurement Curtain: his Role in Tool and Service Selection

For those curious about decision-making processes in tech, Anant’s insights provide a behind-the-scenes look.

Q: How much influence do you’ve when it comes to procuring a new tool or service to support the projects at work? 

A: It’s a mutual team-wide discussion

Anant Sharma’s journey as an Enterprise Software Developer offers a window into the exciting and rapidly evolving world of tech. His experiences, challenges, and aspirations provide valuable lessons for professionals and enthusiasts alike. As the tech landscape continues to transform, Anant’s story reminds us of the importance of adaptability, innovation, and continuous learning in thriving as a developer.

Stay tuned for more engaging interviews from our enterprise developers series

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Enterprise Developers Interviews

Meet the Enterprise Developers – Interview Series #2: The data storage & processing sector

You might have heard the term “Enterprise Developer” buzzing around, especially in communities like Developer Nation. It generally points to professionals who work in larger teams or organizations that focus on creating high-level software.

Our second interview features an Enterprise Developer from the data storage & processing sector, who we’ll call Dev B to keep things confidential. Despite the anonymity, Dev B shares valuable insights into this fascinating domain. Stay tuned for more conversations as we continue to uncover the world of Enterprise Developers.

Discovering the Role

Q: Can you briefly describe your Job as an Enterprise Software Developer?

Dev B: Someone who works in the data availability and replication domain on multi-cluster distributed systems.

Challenges and Benefits of Company Size

Q: What are some of the challenges and benefits of working at a large company compared to a start-up?

Dev B: Stable environment where the company can afford you to train on their systems as compared to directly jumping on projects and work as soon as you join a startup

Seeking Collaboration

Q: If you could change one thing about how your organisation operates, what would it be?

Dev B: More team collaborations across different projects. 

Collaboration is the lifeblood of innovation, and Dev B sees room for improvement in this aspect within his organization. He envisions more collaborative efforts across various projects. 

AI’s Subtle Impact

Q: How is AI impacting your day-to-day life? Is there a policy regarding the use of AI tools in your company?

Dev B: AI for me is a means to quickly look up effective/optimal ways of solving trivial programming-related queries.

Artificial Intelligence is a buzzword that’s transforming industries worldwide. For Dev B, AI serves as a tool to swiftly find optimal solutions to programming queries. It’s a way to streamline and enhance the programming process by quickly identifying effective problem-solving approaches.

The Tools That Shape the Craft

Big organisations often have customised in-house tools tailored to their specific needs which though having a learning curve can get the work done more efficiently.

On the other hand 3rd party or open-source tools provide an alternative where you’ll find a ton of support, documentation and use case but you’ll have to adapt it for your specific needs

Q: How much of your work depends on specific tools, frameworks, programming languages or cloud providers?

Dev B: Mostly internal frameworks and the majority of C++ and c programming language.

In the world of software development, tools, frameworks, programming languages, and cloud providers define the landscape. For Dev B, internal frameworks take centre stage, with a predominant use of C++ and C programming languages. These are the tools that allow him to bring complex systems to life.

In this insightful interview series, we’ve delved into the world of Enterprise Developers, uncovering their unique roles and perspectives. Through our conversation with Dev B, an Enterprise Developer in the data storage and processing sector, we’ve gained valuable insights into the challenges, benefits, and dynamics of this domain. 

The importance of collaboration, the subtle impact of AI, and the instrumental role of specific tools and languages have come to the forefront. As we continue our journey to explore more Enterprise Developers’ stories, we look forward to unravelling the intricacies that shape the software development landscape. Stay tuned for more conversations that shed light on this fascinating realm. 

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Community Enterprise Developers

Meet the Enterprise Developers – Interview Series #1:  Investment Sector 

The term Enterprise Developer has been showing up quite frequently over the past few years in Developer Nation and other programming communities. In our experience, this term can have slightly varied meanings, but it often relates to the Developers working in big teams/organisations, supporting enterprise-grade software development. 

To shape a more accurate definition and learn more about Enterprise Developers’ roles, responsibilities, and challenges, we decided to ask them directly. Hence, starting this new series of blog Interviews at Developer Nation, talking with Enterprise Developers, giving our community more clarity about their work and how it differs from a startup environment.

The first interviewee in this series has requested us to keep their identity anonymous; hence respecting their privacy, we will call them Dev A.

Ayan: Can you briefly describe your job as an Enterprise Software Developer

Dev A: I work as a Software Developer at an investment firm, my work revolves around writing tools and data pipelines that help traders/operations and also data pipelines that run during and pre/post trading.

Dev A has briefly described their work as building tools and data pipelines that help investors trade on the platform. 

A data pipeline is a function that processes raw data from various data sources and then posts it to a data warehouse for further analysis.

Ayan: What are some of the challenges and benefits of working at a large company compared to a startup?

Dev A: Challenges – a lot of existing infra to go through and gain understanding on. Slow review and deployment process, lot of stakeholders.

Benefits – Learn about processes, scalable solutions, how large infra is maintained. You get a hang of good practices.

Processes make it easier for developers to work and support each other in a big team setup. However, these processes can also sometimes  become bottlenecks when new features of patches in the code need to be shipped to the production. As Dev A mentioned, the review and deployment process is slow, and many stakeholders are there whose reviews are needed. On the good side, these processes ensure the quality of the code having it being reviewed by multiple parties. Especially in financial organisations a bug showing an incorrect balance can be a disaster for the product. 

Ayan: If you could change one thing about how your organization operates, what would it be?

Dev A:  n/a

I asked Dev A if there’s anything they would want to change about the way their organization operates. Apparently there isn’t anything that is rare but good to know. 

Ayan: How is AI impacting your day-to-day life? Is there a policy regarding the use of AI tools in your company?

Dev A: Not allowed to enter proprietary information in LLMs. Consider anything entered into ChatGPT is as good as posting it on social media.

AI helps generate quick commands for generic things – e.g bash commands, generate snippets, etc. Stack overflow replacement in a crude way.

From the response, Dev A’s org seems to have a strict policy when it comes to using Large Language Models like ChatGPT with any proprietary information. However, Dev A has been using it to support their development work, like generating Bash commands or code snippets to automate aspects of their job, using it as a Stack Overflow replacement – Very Interesting. 

Ayan: How much of your work depends on specific tools, frameworks, programming languages, or cloud providers?

Dev A : Many libraries are inbuilt and maintained in-house, but many are used from outside as well. e.g redis, github etc.

This one is a classic. To be easily maintainable a big software project is usually organised into libraries, which are easier to maintain and reuse in different projects. As Dev A mentioned, many libraries are built and maintained within the org itself. However, like any other software product, they also depend on other work in open source and outside to support the product development. 

That was all from this interview, but keep an eye out for more. If you know anyone we should invite for this kind of interview session, please feel free to write me at ayan.pahwa@slashdata.co

Ayan