VSHN.timer

VSHN.timer #70: The Business of Software

23. Nov 2020

Welcome to another VSHN.timer! Every Monday, 5 links related to Kubernetes, OpenShift, CI / CD, and DevOps; all stuff coming out of our own chat system, making us think, laugh, or simply work better.
This week we’re going to talk about the many changes that the business of software is undergoing in 2020.

1. As our world grows in complexity, experts become more and more important, and sometimes, controversial. But because of the Dunning-Kruger effect, critics do not always realize their own limitations. This article explains this fact with an analogy based on the game of chess, where the difference in skill between a normal players and Grand Masters can be quantified in the hundreds of times. The same happens with expertise; in short: common sense is no replacement for it.
https://didyouknowfacts.com/a-chess-analogy-shows-the-difference-between-expertise-and-common-sense/
2. The current pandemic has brought tremendous change to businesses all over the world. Dropbox decided to adopt a new strategy for its workforce, going “Virtual First.” What does this mean? In short, it means privileging asynchronous communications, and setting small shared working spaces for their employees, wherever they are in the world.
https://blog.dropbox.com/topics/company/dropbox-goes-virtual-first
3. How are workers reacting to “the new normal”? Atlassian has published a research about the impacts of COVID-19 in remote workers, highlighting the dangers it brings for innovation, recognition, gender biases, inequalities, and group dynamics. A fascinating study.
https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/new-research-covid-19-remote-work-impact
4. The world of Open Source software has evolved into major business models, like “Open Core” and “Stable Release” (aka “The Red Hat Model“). Which one works best? It turns out that for MongoDB, currently the Open Source company with the highest market capitalization (over 12 billion USD), the Open Core model has worked perfectly well. This article explains it all in detail.
https://www.moritzplassnig.com/saas-and-moving-downmarket-mongodbs-transformation/
5. Did you know that in VSHN there are 3 Finns? We have two people in the team with a Finnish passport… and then there’s our dear colleague named, well, Finn. But hey! You can also be Finn for 90 days. An interesting response to the current crisis, opening up new opportunities; live and work in Helsinki for a few months, discover a new life, and maybe even start the next big thing!
https://www.helsinkibusinesshub.fi/90-day-finn/
Will your company pivot to a “Remote First” strategy when the pandemic is over? Would you move to Finland and work there for 90 days? Have you watched The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix? Get in touch with us through the form at the bottom of this page, and see you next week for another edition of VSHN.timer.
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PS3: check out our previous VSHN.timer editions about business: #15, #26, #35 and #41.

Adrian Kosmaczewski

Adrian Kosmaczewski is in charge of Developer Relations at VSHN. He is a software developer since 1996, a trainer, and a published author. Adrian holds a Master in Information Technology from the University of Liverpool.

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