by David I | Feb 13, 2018 | Cloud Computing, Developer Community, Developer Relations, DevRelate |
It’s commonly thought that IT professionals and MIS Managers make the decisions when it comes to Cloud purchases, but a recent worldwide survey of software developers who are actively developing in and/or deploying to the Cloud shows that it is the software developer who is most likely to call the shots when it comes to Cloud infrastructure or tools. When asked about this, 58% said they are the primary decision makers, while another 22% are on a committee that makes those decisions. Only 20% have little or no influence.
When it comes to finding out about IaaS offerings, developers are most likely to go to search engines and search engine ads, however they most likely to gather information about PaaS offerings directly from vendors via websites, white papers, advertisements, etc.
“Developers absolutely have a great deal of influence in which Cloud platforms and technologies are being adopted,” said Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data Corp, “After all, they are the ones that will be using the tools and infrastructure and they always have strong opinions about what will work best for their circumstances.”
The biggest obstacle cited by 38% of these developers in their hunt for information to guide their Cloud purchases is that the technical information available assumes they already have Cloud knowledge. The next most often cited obstacle is that the technical content is often buried in marketing material (33% cite this).
The new Cloud Development survey is exclusively focused on developers who develop in and/or deploy to the Cloud. The 205 page reference covers topics such as; Motivations for Using Cloud, Building an Environment for cloud, Understanding Terms and Services, Approaches to Building in the Cloud, Cloud Services Evaluation and Implementation, Containers and Containerization, BlockChain, and other topics. Margin of error is 4.5%
See the complete Table of Contents and Methodology here: Table of Contents
Lessons Learned for your Developer Program
Using the results of the recent Cloud Development Survey report and other Evans Data developer focused research, you’ll know what to focus on for your developer program deliverables, “The Four T’s”, Technical Support, Technical Information, Training, and Tools & SDKs. Developers tell Evans Data that they stay in a developer program for the same reasons they joined. This also means that you need to ensure that you provide multiple entry points, based on experience level, for developers to learn how to use your tools, SDKs, APIs, devices, platforms and services.
About Evans Data Corporation
Evans Data Corporation provides regularly updated IT industry market intelligence based on in-depth surveys of the global developer population. Evans’ syndicated research includes surveys focused on developers in a wide variety of subjects.
Copyright 2018 Evans Data Corporation. All other company names, products and services mentioned in this document are the trademarks and property of their respective owners.
by David I | Aug 9, 2017 | APIs, Cloud Computing, DevRelate, Programming |
When a developer’s app is built using one or more remote services and a problem occurs, users will start reporting a problem. Users will not necessarily know what is causing the problem. It could be issues with a cloud based service’s API, a cloud storage system or a bug in the software. How can your app know what the problem? Developer programs that provides services and APIs should also provide a live, frequently updated status page. Providing status APIs and pages allows the software, developers, partners, ISVs and even end users to track down problems. Ultimately the solution to any problem is the responsibility of the app developer (and company) regardless of where the fault is. Well designed and implemented developer programs should provide an API to check status and receive notifications for apps to fail-over, recover, fail gracefully and display problem information and solutions to users.
Developer System Status Pages
Here are a few developer program system status pages that I’ve found in my research and assessments. Some sites also provide APIs, feeds and subscriptions to program and API status information.
Status Page Hosting and API services
Altassian, for example, provides to customers a status page hosting service and API. You can find details of the developer service at https://www.statuspage.io/. Here is a list of some of the companies that use the hosting and API service:
3rd Party Status Check Sites
There are several 3rd party status check sites that monitor popular sites and provide an edit box to input a URL. You can use these services to see if another site/service is up or down. Some, like DownDetector, provide APIs (for a fee) to check on service status.
Do you provide a service status page and status API as part of your developer program?
If you have your developer service status and API, send me an email with additional information and the links to the status page and API.
David Intersimone “David I”
Vice President of Developer Communities
Evans Data Corporation
davidi@evansdata.com
Blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Skype: davidi99
Twitter: @davidi99
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidi99/
by David I | Feb 14, 2017 | Cloud Computing, Developer Outreach, Developer Relations, DevRelate, Education, Machine Learning, Outreach |
I was in San Francisco yesterday at the Galvanize Coding Camp and Workspace Location. Conjoined with the Galvanize location is the IBM Bluemix Garage. After drivng to the city and parking, I walked to the SoMa (South of Market Street) location and entered a wonderfully collaborative space full of engaged, excited and focused developers and students. There are many of these coding camp and workspace destinations all over the world. I’ve visited several schools and workspaces in my travels, but this one also included IBM’s Bluemix Garage. The combination created a Garage, Loft, and Hands on Lab all in one location. I went to the board room where I was part of a round table discussion lead by Willie Tejada, IBM’s Chief Developer Advocate.
The topic for the discussion was “How Cognitive Intelligence and Cloud are Reshaping App Development”. My thoughts during the discussion will have to wait for another blog post. For me, it was visiting the combination of the Galvanize location and the IBM Bluemix Garage. It was a marriage of learning, programming, design thinking, Watson cognitive development, and more. I didn’t want to leave.
As I drove back down the coastal Highway 1 to the Evans Data office in Santa Cruz I had time to look at the Pacific Ocean and think about the combination and what it can mean to Developer Relations Programs around the world. Combining the educational environment, the startup vibe, the real world tools, and the spirit of adventure into a workspace conducive to real breakthroughs in application development. In one location you can combine students, professionals and executives learning Data Science, Data Engineering, Web Development, Cloud Native Essentials and Development, Data Science for Executives, and more. You’ll find meetups, happy hours, tech talks, and mentors.
Quoting from the Galvanize web site: “Traditionally, industry and education have existed in separate worlds. At Galvanize, we’re bridging this longstanding gap by bringing industry partners, ambitious students, world-class education, and passionate founders under one roof.”
If you can’t afford to have your own dedicated popup loft, hands on lab or garage, find a partner in your town (and in cities with companies and developers you want to reach out to) that has a Coding Camp and/or co-location development space. You’ll find that combining their business with your developer outreach will create an intoxicating, practical, beneficial, efficient and fruitful environment for students, start ups and enterprises.
Here are a few links to additional information for the Galvanize and IBM BlueMix Garage location that I visited at 44 Tehama Street.
It was great to be able to spend a little time with Willie who is one of our keynote presenters at the 13th Annual Evans Data Developer Relations Conference. Willie Tejada‘s keynote (Monday, March 27 at 1:15pm) is titled “Developer Advocacy in the Cognitive Era”. The keynote description is “Developers are the primary catalyst for today’s business disruption, defining the future of technology and transformation. IBM’s mission is to help developers realize their potential and identify the tools for success in three key areas: AI & Cognitive, Cloud Infrastructure, Data Security & Privacy. To achieve leadership in this space will mean harnessing the power of cognitive to redefine the way we solve today’s business, world and human challenges.”
It’s not too late to register for DRC 2017. You’ll also hear Guy Kawasaki’s keynote “The Art of Evangelism” on Monday morning.
Does your Developer Relations Program Hook Up with Code Camp and Workspace Locations?
Send me an email if your developer relations program partners with code camps and/or workspace locations. I’d like to hear how you combine your outreach and leverage the entrepreneurial environment for the benefit of both companies.
