The best way to understand the challenges women leaders in tech face? Ask the ones already in position.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s no denying the power of diverse teams, particularly in the tech industry. But the reality is not enough women are making it to senior leadership positions. Lack of role models, support and confidence are just some of the reasons cited for the depleted number of women leaders but there&rsquo;s a passion to change that. We dig into the topic and find out what some of the women leading the way have to say.&nbsp;
<h2>The power of diversity</h2>
The wealth of research citing the benefits of diverse teams is growing all the time. Diverse teams perform better, are more productive, more creative and ultimately more profitable. It&rsquo;s no surprise that the tech industry is recognising that they need to start getting serious about diversity. &nbsp;
That&rsquo;s led to many large tech companies including VT, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone have publicly committed to improving their gender diversity with many setting defined goals and timeframes to monitor progress.&nbsp;
But talking the talk isn&rsquo;t enough. For real progress to be made there needs to be more action to empower women to take on the top jobs in tech firms. The total of women in big tech roles actually <a href="https://explodingtopics.com/blog/women-in-tech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decreased by 2.1% between 2020 and 2022</a>. With the number of women holding CEO or senior leadership positions at just 10.9%. What&rsquo;s clear is, more needs to be done to truly harness the power of diversity.&nbsp;
<h3>Women leading the way&nbsp;</h3>
The issue of gender diversity in tech is an industry wide problem, but for women seeing other women in the roles they covet and forging a path is essential. Kiki Oniwinde, Founder &amp; CEO of the BYP Network said &ldquo;Being a woman in tech means breaking barriers so that those who come after me won&rsquo;t have to struggle the same way.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp; Research has found there isn&rsquo;t an ambition gap - in one survey roughly <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/benefits-of-women-in-tech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">62% of women and 67% of men were trying for promotion</a>. The gap comes in the confidence and success of achieving the promotion. &nbsp; &nbsp; With women holding so few leadership roles within the industry. It&rsquo;s even more important that part of a woman&rsquo;s learning and development within a tech firm includes some form of mentorship to help them navigate the challenges they face and overcome them.&nbsp;
In the Woman in Tech study more than 50% of respondents stated seeing women role models in senior roles helped their career satisfaction. It&rsquo;s demonstrating what&rsquo;s possible, and then helping others to get there that&rsquo;s key to achieving some level of gender equality. Ashley Rose, CEO and Founder of Living Security, said &ldquo;Set an example by building pathways for women. Also, mentor others when you can and be that encouragement for others who are behind you.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; The goal is that gender doesn&rsquo;t come into question, and that&rsquo;s something Cristina Ivanciuc, Lifecycle Manager at Global App Testing is pushing for &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had the great opportunity to be supported, guided and helped by wonderful people, regardless of their gender and at some point, I stopped seeing myself as a &ldquo;women in tech&rdquo;, but a &ldquo;leader in tech.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h2>Breaking down barriers&nbsp;</h2>
Ultimately for the tech industry to enjoy the benefits that come with a diverse team more needs to be done to break down barriers, support women and nurture gender diversity within the field. For those looking at how to do just that there are some fundamentals to look at:&nbsp;
<h3>Promotion timings&nbsp;</h3>
For <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/benefits-of-women-in-tech">women their most influential promotions tend to come early in their careers</a>, pushing them into management roles and encouraging them to take chances. But for men, those most important promotions came as late as their third or fourth opportunities. This discrepancy shows that tech firms need to be encouraging women and empowering them to put themselves forward for promotions right at the start of their careers.&nbsp;
<h3>Technical proficiency&nbsp;</h3>
When looking at what technical skills are needed for promotion there&rsquo;s a difference of opinion. <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/how-women-in-technology-can-succeed-infographic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More women than men think advanced technical skills</a> are the most important factor in receiving a promotion. &nbsp;
This highlights two issues - firstly, women&rsquo;s confidence in their own skills and talking about them. Secondly, whether there&rsquo;s a discrepancy between wanting proof of women&rsquo;s technical skills vs mens in the hiring process. Assessing your own hiring practices to ensure this isn&rsquo;t the case and then providing opportunities to upskill or refresh technical skills will help give women the skills they feel they need for promotion.&nbsp;
<h3>Confidence and self-belief&nbsp;</h3>
As Susan Stone, CEO of Ubiquitous Energy, said &ldquo;Nurture your strengths instead of apologising for your weaknesses.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Women believing that they&rsquo;re good enough, putting themselves forward for promotion and seeking out exciting opportunities is key to creating successful women leaders in tech. This area can sometimes be overlooked as an individual&rsquo;s problem. But mentorship schemes and access to leadership courses can help give women confidence in their own abilities.&nbsp;
Setting gender aside, leading the way but helping those behind you and working on your self-belief are just some of the great pieces of advice existing women leaders in tech would pass on. The challenge is for tech firms to take those tips and put them into practice to help entice more women into tech and then to retain and nurture them into great tech leaders, irrespective of their gender.&nbsp;
Source Technology are dedicated to discovering technology talent to drive your business forward. We can help you discover your next leaders to drive your organisation forward. Find out more <a href="../../../../../source-technology/">here</a>.&nbsp;

The Power of Diversity in Tech: Insights from Women Leaders 

When we talk about women in the tech industry it&rsquo;s normally focus on the number of them, pay gaps, and gender discrimination. While we absolutely should be talking about that there&rsquo;s so much more to women in the tech industry.&nbsp;
Women are killing it. They&rsquo;re forging ahead, creating new ways of working, new technologies, new policies, new institutes. So it&rsquo;s time to remember that and celebrate some truly incredible women in tech.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h2>Slow but steady&nbsp;</h2>
There&rsquo;s no hiding the fact that there&rsquo;s a gender issue within the tech industry. Women make up about 25% of all workers in the tech sector, and only hold 11% of leadership roles. But despite this underrepresentation they&rsquo;re still making a difference. &nbsp;
Our economy needs women in tech, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/women-in-tech-the-best-bet-to-solve-europes-talent-shortage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis by McKinsey</a> shows a tech talent gap of 1.4-3.9 million people by 2027 across EU-27 countries. This shortfall could be worth a GDP increase of up to &euro;600 billion. Increasing the percentage of women in tech roles to 45%, so not even at gender parity, would plug that gap.&nbsp;
The number of women in tech is slowly but steadily increasing. For the tech industry that means more viewpoints, more diverse teams, more creativity, more productivity and more profits. It&rsquo;s that foundation which is helping women to transform the tech industry. &nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h2>Influential women in tech&nbsp;</h2>
There are different ways to be influential. You could be championing diversity, you could be outstanding in your job, you could be uncovering new tech and how to use it. We&rsquo;ve decided to focus on a few women who are setting the industry on fire, with the huge caveat that there are so many amazing women, and men, in tech that we couldn&rsquo;t possible include them all.&nbsp;
<h3>Kate Crawford, co-founder of New York University&rsquo;s AI Now Institute&nbsp;</h3>
With a research background that delves into the benefits and dangers of AI, Crawford is championing a mindful and respectful development of AI. She co-founded the AI Now Institute in 2017 which aims to change how researchers look at AI and their interpretation of it from a technical, historical, sociological and legal standpoint. &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Ellen Pao, co-founder and CEO of Project Include&nbsp;</h3>
As an advocate of women&rsquo;s rights Pao banned revenge porn and unauthorised nudes on Reddit which inspired other social media platforms to follow suit. She then founded Project Include whose mission is to address and prevent sexism and gender discrimination in Silicon Valley to improve diversity in the tech industry.&nbsp;
<h3>Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of SpaceX&nbsp;</h3>
Having started her career on military space research contracts, Shotwell became the chief engineer of an MLV-class satellite program. This led to her being hired by SpaceX as the vice president of business development. Since then Shotwell has progressed to become the president and COO.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h2>Levelling the playing field for the future&nbsp;</h2>
The biggest way that women are transforming the tech industry is by forging a path for other women to follow. Because for women, a decision to pursue a career in STEM starts much earlier than many think. To encourage more women to join, and stay in, the tech industry we need to be looking at education initiatives and then at what opportunities can be created.&nbsp;
<h3>Education&nbsp;</h3>
There are two points where participation in STEM drops - moving from compulsory education to university and then from university to the workplace. The drops are fairly significant. An <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/women-in-tech-the-best-bet-to-solve-europes-talent-shortage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">18% decline going into university</a> and then a 15% decline entering the workforce. &nbsp;
Employers that are serious about creating gender equality in the tech industry need to start working with schools, colleges and universities to create educational initiatives that encourage and support women to succeed. Inspiring girls to be curious, to be technical and to be whatever they want to be.&nbsp;
<h3>Opportunities&nbsp;</h3>
For women to transform the tech industry, they need to be in the tech industry and not just working in administrative roles. Navisite found that 75% of women in tech are consistently asked to complete more administrative tasks than their male counterparts. That&rsquo;s simply not good enough. &nbsp;
We&rsquo;ve seen examples of women who are trailblazers in the industry, and then are so many more excelling at their chosen career and making waves - literally in some cases. But the opportunities have to be there to help them succeed. Women are less likely to put themselves forward for promotion, this isn&rsquo;t about positive discrimination or measures to give women a boost. It&rsquo;s about creating a supportive environment that nurtures talent and empowers everyone to succeed. &nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Women need to see amazing women doing amazing things in the tech industry, and then have the education and opportunities to get there themselves. We need to keep showcasing women who are transforming the industry and changing technology to help everyone remember that women are incredible and the tech industry is a better place for them being in it.&nbsp;
Source Technology are dedicated to discovering technology talent to drive your business forward. If you&rsquo;re passionate about building an inclusive future for your organisation then speak to our experts today. Find out our process and how we can work with you, <a href="../../../../source-technology/our-process/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. &nbsp;
&nbsp;

Making a Difference: How Women in Tech are Transforming the Industry

In today's ever-evolving digital landscape, the demand for cyber security experts is soaring globally. However, when it comes to a thriving industry and an excellent quality of life for tech workers, Switzerland stands out as a top destination for tech professionals.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s explore three compelling reasons why cyber security is not only a lucrative sector in Switzerland, but also what makes it such an attractive place for ambitious tech expats looking to conquer their next career defining challenge. 
<h3 dir="ltr">Why Cyber Security is Thriving in Switzerland</h3>
Strong Economy &amp; Innovation Hub: Switzerland boasts a robust economy known for its stability and innovation. This environment fuels the growth of the tech sector, including cyber security. According to recent statistics, the Swiss economy has consistently ranked among the top 20 largest economies globally, offering a solid foundation for tech companies and professionals to thrive.
Cyber Security Investment: Switzerland takes cyber security seriously, with significant investments in protecting its digital infrastructure. In 2020 alone, the Swiss government allocated over CHF 300 million to strengthen its cyber defense capabilities. This commitment translates into a growing number of cyber security jobs in the country.
Global Presence: Switzerland is home to numerous multinational corporations and international organizations, making it a prime target for cyber threats. This demand for top-notch cyber security experts and software engineers has led to a surge in job opportunities, with companies actively seeking talent to safeguard their operations. 
<h3>Swiss based Tech Companies that are Ideal For Expats</h3>
UBS Group AG: UBS is a leading Swiss financial institution with a strong emphasis on cybersecurity to protect its financial assets and customer data.
Credit Suisse Group AG: Similar to UBS, Credit Suisse is a major player in the Swiss banking industry and places a significant focus on cybersecurity to ensure the safety of its operations and clients.
Swisscom: As Switzerland's largest telecommunications provider, Swisscom requires robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard its network infrastructure and customer information.
Nestl&eacute;: This multinational food and beverage company, headquartered in Switzerland, places a high priority on cybersecurity to protect its intellectual property, supply chain, and consumer data.
ABB Group: ABB is a multinational corporation specializing in robotics, power, and automation technologies. Given its global reach, ABB invests in cybersecurity to safeguard its industrial and manufacturing processes.
There&rsquo;s a laundry list of top companies based in Switzerland that are looking for the best talent in cybersecurity to help them reinforce their systems and data management.
<h3 dir="ltr"> Why Switzerland is Ideal for Tech Expats</h3>
High Quality of Life: Switzerland consistently ranks high in quality of life indices. With a strong focus on work-life balance, stunning natural landscapes, and a clean environment, it's an ideal place for tech expats looking to balance a rewarding career with an excellent lifestyle.
Cultural Diversity: Switzerland is renowned for its cultural diversity, with four official languages and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. This diversity fosters a welcoming environment for expats, ensuring a smooth transition to life in the country.
Job Opportunities: Switzerland has a thriving job market, not only in tech but also in various other sectors. The unemployment rate remains low, and the country's strong economy ensures job security for tech professionals, making it an attractive destination for those looking to relocate. 
Are you considering a move to Switzerland for your tech career?&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Join Our Upcoming Webinar&nbsp;</h3>
On October 4th, our award winning recruitment team will delve deeper into the thriving tech job market, and the opportunities it offers in the field of cyber security. Get all the information you need to make an educated decision about relocating to Switzerland with confidence.
<h3 dir="ltr"> IamExpat Webinar: Relocating As a Tech Professional To Switzerland</h3>
🗓️ Date: 4th October
🕒 Time: 5pm CEST
📍 Where: <a href="https://www.bigmarker.com/iamexpat-media/IamExpat-Webinar-Tech-Freelancing-in-Switzerland-for-Beginners">https://www.bigmarker.com/iamexpat-media/IamExpat-Webinar-Tech-Freelancing-in-Switzerland-for-Beginners</a>
For more information on working in Switzerland, speak to our expert team:&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../ch/contact/technology-recruitment-switzerland/">https://www.sourcegroupinternational.com/ch/contact/technology-recruitment-switzerland/</a>
Don't miss this chance to explore a prosperous and fulfilling career in the heart of Europe.

Unlocking Ambition with Cyber Security Jobs in Switzerland

What&rsquo;s it like to be a woman in tech? There&rsquo;s no one answer because there are so many factors that impact your experiences. From speaking to women in the industry it can be a lonely place. &nbsp;
With around 25% of jobs in tech held by women, they&rsquo;re in the minority in the workplace and that makes their understanding and view of the industry very different to their male counterparts. &nbsp;
<h2>Lessons for women, by women&nbsp;</h2>
It&rsquo;s hard to understand a situation fully until you&rsquo;ve experienced it yourself. That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;ve spoken to women in tech to find out their advice on navigating the tech industry and what they&rsquo;ve learned about themselves, their careers and their challenges.&nbsp;
<h3>Build your community&nbsp;</h3>
Getting to know others in the industry is a great starting point. They might be your peers or senior leaders but fostering good relationships will give you flexibility to take advantage of new opportunities as well as being able to seek out a mentor. It&rsquo;s not just building those connections but nurturing them to ensure you&rsquo;re front of mind should a new project or role come up. &nbsp;
<h3>Celebrate your success loudly&nbsp;</h3>
Typically, women don&rsquo;t celebrate their success. Instead they pat themselves on the back and move on to the next thing. Why shouldn&rsquo;t you celebrate your accomplishments loudly? Why shouldn&rsquo;t people know what you&rsquo;ve achieved or how hard you&rsquo;ve worked? If you don&rsquo;t tell people what you&rsquo;re capable of then they don&rsquo;t know you can do it and you may be overlooked because of that. Let everyone know how incredible you are and how talented you are on a regular basis.&nbsp;
<h3>Banish negative talk to yourself&nbsp;</h3>
For many women their own worst enemy is themselves. We constantly belittle ourselves or tell ourselves off about silly mistakes. Eventually that negative talk seeps into our internal narrative and we believe those things. Stop. Talk to yourself like you would a friend or respected colleague and channel positive internal talk. Build yourself up instead of knocking yourself down.&nbsp;
<h3>Support other women&nbsp;</h3>
Collaboration over competition, every single time. Women have to look out for other women. Encouraging junior team members to go for promotions, sharing advice and expertise, celebrating wins and commiserating losses. It&rsquo;s easy, particularly in the tech industry to get caught up in working in a &ldquo;man&rsquo;s world&rdquo;. But it doesn&rsquo;t have to be like that. After all women need others who have been there before them and can show them how to succeed. Be that woman for those that come after you.&nbsp; 
<h2>Best practices for employers&nbsp;</h2>
We can&rsquo;t put the emphasis solely on women to solve the problems they face alone. Employers have to do their part too. So here are a few examples of best practices that employers can implement to do their bit.&nbsp;
<h3>Don&rsquo;t make assumptions&nbsp;</h3>
Perhaps the most important piece of advice employers can receive is don&rsquo;t make assumptions about what the women in your organisation need. Ask your female employees what they need, what challenges they personally face and work with them to find a solution. Create an ongoing dialogue with them to truly understand and engage your female employees. &nbsp;
If you take this approach though you need to make sure you&rsquo;re committed to change and willing to act on the feedback you receive, otherwise you risk alienating the women in your organisation.&nbsp;
<h3>Identify bias and strive to change it&nbsp;</h3>
Employers need to accept that there will be unconscious bias within their organisation, particularly in a male dominated industry like tech. For those that are serious about challenging gender discrimination they need to be on high alert, waiting to identify bias and then taking steps to eradicate it. &nbsp;
This isn&rsquo;t a quick solution, and requires a long-term commitment from senior leadership, but acknowledging there&rsquo;s an issue is the first step to solving it.&nbsp;
<h3>Create opportunities&nbsp;</h3>
When we say opportunities we don&rsquo;t just mean promotions, though they&rsquo;re always a good one to start with, but opportunities to learn, develop, connect, network, progress. Ensuring there&rsquo;s a robust career plan complete with development opportunities for the women in your employment. Establishing a mentoring program or providing access to senior leadership for more junior roles. Investing in leadership and confidence training for female employees. They&rsquo;re all great examples of how an employer can create meaningful opportunities that really help.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Communities, networks, mentors. They come up time and time again when we talk about women in tech. Maybe it&rsquo;s because they help women feel less isolated, more connected and more supported. So they&rsquo;re more likely to remain in the industry and have someone to turn to for advice when it&rsquo;s needed.&nbsp;
We want women to thrive in the tech industry, because then the industry thrives. But in order to do that we all need to play our part to support and encourage women to fulfil their potential. &nbsp;
Source Group International are passionate about evolving the recruitment industry, and we&rsquo;re looking for talent to join us on our discovery. Find out more about our internal practices contributing to building an inclusive workforce <a href="../../../../../../discover-sgi/diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.&nbsp;</a>

Navigating the Tech Landscape as a Woman: Lessons Learned and Best Practices 

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<h3>Embracing the Seeds of Change</h3>
In January 2022, we partnered with <a href="https://ecologi.com/">Ecologi </a>as part of our CSR promise. SGI made the bold pledge to plant a tree for every successful placement made with you, our customers. This commitment has led to establishing our very own SGI Rainforest, symbolising our dedication to combating climate change, restoring ecosystems, and giving back to communities.
Today, we are thrilled to announce that we have planted an impressive 1910 trees in the SGI Forest! This achievement is a testament to our customers' invaluable support and trust.
<h3> What is Ecologi?&nbsp;</h3>
UK- Based start-up Ecologi, is on a mission to reduce half the world&rsquo;s projected greenhouse gas emission by 2040. With Ecologi, businesses and individuals can fund planet-positive projects and offset carbon through subscriptions. Since they formed, Ecologi have helped to plant over 60 million tree in reforestation projects around the world. They have offset over 2 million tonnes of CO2, which is the equivalent of taking 400,000 cars of the road. Ecologi have helped over 19,000 businesses taken climate action.
<h3> Tracking Progress and Making an Impact</h3>
We invite you to join us in tracking the growth of the SGI Rainforest on our <a href="https://ecologi.com/sourcegroupinternati">dedicated Ecologi page</a>.&nbsp;
So far, we've planted trees in:
<ul>
<li>Madagascar&nbsp;</li>
<li>Ethiopia</li>
<li>Kenya</li>
<li>Mozambique</li>
<li>Morocco</li>
<li>Tanzania</li>
<li>Nicaragua</li>
<li>Uganda&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h3>Going Beyond Tree Planting</h3>
The SGI CSR promise extends beyond tree planting. It encompasses our commitment to working with communities and driving measurable change. Through our partnership with Ecologi, we also support the Eden Rainforest Project, which enables people in rural communities worldwide to earn a consistent liveable income whilst restoring the environment and improving fisheries, agriculture, and carbon sequestration. For many people, this is their first chance at earning a reliable income, which is transformational, enabling them access to clean water, food security and education for their children.
<h3> Proud Partners of Ecologi&nbsp;</h3>
So far, the Ecologi community of 40,723 members has funded the planting of 66.1 million trees, which has avoided 2.7 million tonnes of Co2. It's incredible to see the impact we can have when we work together!
Thank you to all our customers for their support of our CSR initiatives. Together, let's keep planting trees, embracing sustainable practices, and building a brighter tomorrow for future generations.&nbsp;
If you want to learn more about how we are giving back to our community, please check out our Source Talks Community page, we are hosting a <a href="../../../../../../events/women-in-tech-leading-the-way-to-a-more-inclusive-future/">Women in Tech webinar</a> soon to promote diversity across the technology community.

Embracing Sustainability

Despite only being around for 13 years, Kotlin has made quite a splash. Attracting large companies to adopt it as their primary programming language, getting Google on side to crown it the official Android app language and taking on the established giants such as Java.
That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s no surprise that an increasing number of companies are making the move to Kotlin for their development needs. But is it a passing trend or will we see more companies making the move?
<h3>What makes Kotlin so great?</h3>
When it comes to Android app development there&rsquo;s no doubting that Kotlin is the golden child. It&rsquo;s easy to use, reduces errors, and has a huge community of support so it&rsquo;s easy to understand why it&rsquo;s had such a boost in popularity. (If you want to dig deeper into Kotlin&rsquo;s functionality check out our previous blog.)
What&rsquo;s clear is that Kotlin has firmly established itself as the language of choice for Android app development, and is starting to spread its wings even further.
<h3>Who&rsquo;s made the switch already?</h3>
A whole myriad of companies have already made the switch, with Google explaining their support for Kotlin is because it&rsquo;s more efficient, produces safer code and is 100% interoperable with Java. Not only that but back in May 2017 it announced Kotlin as the official Android development app.
Since then multinational companies such as Netflix, Uber, Twitter, Pinterest and Trello have all switched to Kotlin. At the end of 2022 it was announced that Meta is moving its Android apps away from Java to Kotlin. Their move isn&rsquo;t a small one, with thousands of developers and a multi-year effort to convert their apps. The scale of Meta is a milestone for Kotlin and could be the start of even more companies choosing to shift allegiances.
<h3>Why switch and what are the alternatives?</h3>
With the rise of mobile first technology it&rsquo;s no surprise that many businesses are prioritising mobile and app development. Kickstarter and Uber migrated to Kotlin for that very reason.&nbsp;
The second reason why bigger companies are deflecting to Kotlin is for its flexibility. Both Evernote and Trello cited its adaptability and flexibility as primary reasons for switching to Kotlin for their development needs.&nbsp;
Its scalability, stability, security and overall performance often trump Java and are a real draw for many when evaluating their programming languages.
For the most part when evaluating which language to use, it comes down to Kotlin vs Java. Both are strong contenders and both have their advantages and disadvantages. But there&rsquo;s a definite shift away from Java with more businesses embracing the flexible, speedy nature of Kotlin.
Let&rsquo;s take a look at why that might be.
<h3>Java</h3>
A highly established programming language, Java has history. It works on pretty much any device, operating system and server as well as JVM. It&rsquo;s packed with features, experience and ways of working that just make sense.&nbsp;
● &nbsp; &nbsp;It&rsquo;s open source ● &nbsp; &nbsp;It&rsquo;s community driven ● &nbsp; &nbsp;It&rsquo;s easy to learn ● &nbsp; &nbsp;It&rsquo;s statically typed ● &nbsp; &nbsp;It&rsquo;s object-orientated ● &nbsp; &nbsp;It supports functional programming
And that&rsquo;s just some of its advantages. But for some that&rsquo;s no longer enough.
Compared to Kotlin, Java&rsquo;s coding is lengthy. What Kotlin can do in a line of code might take a paragraph in Java. The succinct nature of Kotlin, and the knock-on benefits of being more productive and quicker are definite draws compared to sticking with Java.
What&rsquo;s more Kotlin&rsquo;s null safety requires you to explicitly define whether a variable can be null. Preventing &ldquo;the Billion dollar mistake&rdquo;. You never can be too careful.&nbsp;
Will Kotlin replace Java? Never say never but it&rsquo;s highly unlikely. There will always be those that prefer the breadth of Java, particularly when it comes to general-purpose programming where Java is still ahead of Kotlin.
<h3>What&rsquo;s the future for Kotlin?</h3>
Any change in technology isn&rsquo;t a decision taken lightly by a business. Switching programming language has to have clear business benefits and make life easier. Since Google&rsquo;s partnership with Kotlin in 2017 it&rsquo;s obvious that Kotlin has a strong future, and it&rsquo;s got the backing to grow even further.&nbsp;
The future is bright for Kotlin, with such influential backing and a strong developer community, this agile language is sure to attract more users and challenge Java for its top programming language crown.
Are you ready to empower your development team with Kotlin? Unlock productivity, code maintainability, and scalability by adopting Kotlin as your go-to programming language. By embracing Kotlin early on, you position your company at the forefront of technology, attracting top talent and demonstrating your commitment to innovation. Speak to our Kotlin experts today about starting your <a href="../../../../../contact/technology-recruitment-switzerland/">digital transformation.&nbsp;</a>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Why companies are switching to Kotlin for their development

Kotlin has increased in popularity over a relatively short time period. But it&rsquo;s not the only programming language around. And with other languages more established, more robust and maybe better suited to backend development, can Kotlin really stack up?
<h3>Why is Kotlin rated so highly?</h3>
With demonstrable success being used in front-end development it&rsquo;s only natural that the shift to backend development will happen. It&rsquo;s short and easy to maintain code makes it a friendlier language for developers.&nbsp;
But where it really shines is its compatibility with Java, meaning you can create additional functions in Kotlin within Java code. This interoperability gives developers access to Kotlin features and speed but Java libraries creating a whole world of potential.&nbsp;
Its null safety, one of the biggest issues in Java, means Kotlin has created a powerful feature that developers will be thankful for time and time again.&nbsp;
As the new kid on the block, Kotlin takes a fresh approach to backend development and what it lacks in power or speed it more than makes up for in productivity and time savings.
<h3>What other options are there for backend development?</h3>
When it comes to languages for backend development you can take your pick. With around 10 options, each with their own pros and cons, it can be tricky to make sure you&rsquo;re selecting the best language for the job.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s take a look at the most popular alternatives.
<h4>Java</h4>
As the second most used backend technology today, Java is a force to be reckoned with. It&rsquo;s features make it the language of choice for many developers and it&rsquo;s commonly used for creating mobile apps.&nbsp;
But its hardware requirements make it expensive and it can be a labour of love. There are definite positives to Java - it&rsquo;s multiple threads, open source libraries and high security but it&rsquo;s not all roses.
<h4>Ruby</h4>
Used by global companies such as Airbnb, Shopify and Etsy to manage backend tasks this highly flexible and scalable coding language is a popular choice. With external libraries, meta programming and with quality testing tools it&rsquo;s also a robust language.
It&rsquo;s not all roses though. Debugging Ruby can take time and many report its runtime is sluggish compared to other languages.
<h4>PHP</h4>
Easy to use and easy to integrate, it&rsquo;s an oldie but a classic. With new development frameworks, &nbsp;codebases and an active community it&rsquo;s easy to see why PHP makes the cut. Without the online libraries of newer languages it&rsquo;s more time consuming and requires a greater level of knowledge. It&rsquo;s also open source based which raises the risk of substandard coding.
<h4>C#</h4>
One of, if not the most, prevalent language for backend development. With a reputation for running code faster than its competitors, it&rsquo;s a strong choice for game development platforms and command-line interface tools.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s main drawback? It can only run on Windows OS, limiting its use. But it is compatible with older frameworks, making it a handy language to have in your arsenal.
<h4>Python</h4>
Often complimented for its neat and readable code, Python is a great option for writing scripts to execute backend functions. With its coding syntaxes reading more like English than its counterparts, it&rsquo;s an easy language to learn and to read. Helped, in part, by the vast online Python libraries where you can find ready-made codes for basic development tasks.&nbsp;
Free to download, able to support IoT functions there are many reasons why Python is a strong contender for backend development.
<h4>C++</h4>
The ability to code all operating systems is what makes C++ different. This low level programming language can communicate directly with embedded hardware devices making C++ a valid option for creating multi-platform apps. This direct communication with embedded hardware is a blessing and a curse as it means a malicious coder can create an exploit that causes a malfunction.&nbsp;
<h4>JavaScript</h4>
The most well known, and prominent programming language. Allowing both the backend and frontend coding, it allows mobile and web apps to be developed far quicker. Due to this it can also be more cost-efficient. Since JavaScript is open-sourced, there are always improvements to the tech making it a flexible programming language.
JavaScript backend developers can find the workability of middlewares confusing and the procedure for using MySQL is complex. But there&rsquo;s a reason that JavaScript has remained the most popular programming language across the last 10 years.
<h3>Which language is best for backend development?</h3>
This is one of those questions that you&rsquo;re never going to get a cohesive answer on. The best language is the one that&rsquo;s right for the project, your knowledge and the objective. But that being said there are definite advantages of Kotlin over the other languages.
With its null safety, compatibility with all Java written frameworks, functional programming and concise syntax Kotlin is a robust, easy to use option that can create a smooth backend development process.
Are you looking to move your backend development to Kotlin? If you have any questions or need further guidance, feel free to reach out to the Source Technology team. Check out our recent interview with David Denton, <a href="../../../../../news/interview-david-denton/">exploring Kotlin &amp; the benefits of the language</a>.&nbsp;
We're here to support you on your journey to success!

Kotlin for backend development: How it compares to other languages

Switzerland. The land of chocolate, cheese and mountains, but also a thriving hub of tech and innovation.&nbsp;
With a highly-skilled workforce, a stable political system, and both venture capital and R&amp;D investment Switzerland is a melting point of ideas and development. But with so many opportunities there comes a risk that the talent pool won&rsquo;t be able to keep up with demand.&nbsp;
We take a look at Switzerland&rsquo;s tech industry to dig into the trends and the talent.
<h3>A world leader in innovation</h3>
For the last 12 years Switzerland has dominated the Global Innovation Index (GII), holding onto its first place ranking. The GII tracks global innovation trends and growth to identify which regions are charging ahead, and who&rsquo;s left trailing behind. An impressive 12th year at the top is testament to the commitment and value placed on innovation by Switzerland.&nbsp;
With the government a champion of R&amp;D, strong and stable economic climate, and a focus on technology it&rsquo;s clear to see why Switzerland remains a global leader in innovation.
Hand in hand with innovation is technology. Crypto AG, Dartfish, Logitech, Scandit, Coresystems, Vidby to name a few are all based in Switzerland. It&rsquo;s this thriving tech community that is pushing the boundaries and creating exciting employment opportunities for those looking for a career in tech.
<h3>Key areas of tech focus</h3>
<h4>Cybersecurity</h4>
With political stability, legal certainty and global neutrality, Switzerland is the ideal base for cybersecurity companies. Particularly, when those factors are combined with its high level of privacy protection.&nbsp;
For Switzerland, cybersecurity is also a tool for humanitarian good and there is a level of support and investment to work towards just that.&nbsp;
<h4>Blockchain and crypto</h4>
Having been involved in the development of blockchain, and with a pragmatic, business-friendly approach the emergence of blockchain and crypto tech is quickly becoming a mainstay of the tech industry within Switzerland. There are over 220 fintech companies in Switzerland, with around half of those operating in the crypto and blockchain industry and this is an area that&rsquo;s bound to grow over the coming years.&nbsp;
<h4>AI</h4>
With developments in AI over the last few years, it&rsquo;s no surprise that Switzerland is bursting with AI-based startups and businesses. AI radio programming, boarding passes and drone technology are just some of the innovations that are being rolled out in the country, making it an exciting time for those working in the AI industry.
<h4>Digital personalised health</h4>
You can&rsquo;t talk about Switzerland and technology without mentioning biotech. The most recent development coming out of biotech and life sciences is personalised health. With high levels of R&amp;D funding, world-leading life science research and first-class technology the digital personalised health agenda will create an efficient, patient-centric healthcare system.
<h4>Workforce need-to-knows</h4>
The foundations of its technological drive and knowledge comes from its outstanding education system. Home to some of the world&rsquo;s most prestigious research universities, like the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, The University of Basel and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland&rsquo;s education system produces graduates that are highly specialised in their fields.
With four official languages - German, French, Italian and Romansh, Swiss workers bring more than just their tech know-how to a job. Many universities also teach English, giving graduates an international edge.
Many of those graduates are choosing to specialise in technology, with over 155,700 registered software developers in 2019. That number still isn&rsquo;t enough to meet the high demand, with a report that by 2026 staff shortages in Switzerland&rsquo;s tech industry will exceed 40,000. Creating opportunities for those based elsewhere to capitalise on.
Switzerland&rsquo;s highly skilled international workforce has also topped the IWD World Talent Ranking for the sixth consecutive year. Demonstrating the breadth of talent in the country. But with an increase in the number of foreign workers in Switzerland of 26% during 2022, there are plenty of opportunities for those looking to move to the country.
What&rsquo;s apparent is that for those in the tech industry, Switzerland can give Silicon Valley a run for its money. Not only is it bursting at the seams with innovation, start-ups and research initiatives but it&rsquo;s got the talented workforce to match. The only fly in the ointment is whether there&rsquo;ll be enough talent to support the growing tech industry and all the opportunities that will come out of it. But maybe that just means more opportunities for those outside of Switzerland, who are willing to make the move.
Source Technology GmbH partner with forward thinking organisations across a range of industries. Have a look at our current opportunities across <a href="../../../../../source-technology/locations/jobs-in-switzerland/">Switzerland</a>. Or contact our specialist recruitment team in <a href="../../../../../contact/technology-recruitment-switzerland/">Switzerland </a>for expert advice and guidance.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Switzerland's tech workforce: A look at the country's talent pool and job market

Wherever you&rsquo;re reading this right now, you&rsquo;re probably no more than 50 cm away from an embedded system. Mobile phone? Embedded system. Laptop? Embedded system. Smart speaker? You guessed it.&nbsp;
They&rsquo;re an integral part of our lives but there&rsquo;s been development in the embedded system world, and that&rsquo;s the internet, or more specifically the IoT.&nbsp;
The possibilities the IoT brings and the practical uses of embedded systems means that there&rsquo;s new applications appearing every day. From wearable devices to machine optimisation, there&rsquo;s barely an industry around that hasn&rsquo;t been impacted. The exciting part? This is only the start.&nbsp;
The powerhouse of IoT enabled embedded systems is fuelling developments and innovation like nothing else and opening a world that we&rsquo;ve barely scratched the surface of.
<h3>A potted history of embedded systems</h3>
Dating back to the 1960s, embedded systems have become an essential part of our daily lives. From cars to mobile phones to sensors to medical equipment, the technology we rely upon wouldn&rsquo;t function without embedded systems.&nbsp;
Initially designed for collecting real-time flight data for the Apollo launch, its usage shifted into missile guidance and then fuel injection systems for vehicles. Intel then released the first commercially available processor in 1971 and since then, it&rsquo;s prominence in technology has grown.
But despite our dependence on them, embedded systems haven&rsquo;t developed much, until recently.&nbsp;
<h3>AI and embedded systems</h3>
The development of AI has opened a world of opportunities for embedded systems. With the systems themselves becoming more complex many are now able to supplement human decision-making or exceed human capabilities.&nbsp;
Embedded AI operates at a device level, rather than a data centre in the cloud. Helping industries like aviation, finance, manufacturing and healthcare through advanced analytics and business insights.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s made embedded systems smarter, and more responsive but that alone isn&rsquo;t enough. When AI embedded systems are combined with the IoT, that&rsquo;s where the magic starts to happen.
<h3>The impact of IoT</h3>
When embedded systems are connected to the internet there&rsquo;s no limit for their technological capabilities and practical applications. For embedded systems it&rsquo;s the biggest development in recent years and a game changer for the technical world.&nbsp;
This is a development that&rsquo;s been building for a few years and slowly the level of internet enabled embedded systems has been increasing.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s take a look at a few areas that have been impacted by developments in embedded systems.
<h4>Personal devices</h4>
Most of us don&rsquo;t realise that many of the devices we use on a daily basis combined embedded systems with the IoT. From smart home devices that control our thermostats to smartwatches and fitness trackers to smart speakers, embedded systems are embedded in every aspect of our lives.
<h4>Healthcare</h4>
Remote monitoring of patients frees up resources and empowers patients to track their vital signs which can then alert medical professionals if needed. Wearable devices including blood pressure, glucose and ECG monitors are all recent developments and this is an area which is going to continue to develop and make a positive impact.
<h4>Transportation</h4>
As embedded systems and vehicles have a history it&rsquo;s unsurprising that the transport industry is taking full advantage of IoT enhanced embedded systems. Used to track vehicles, optimise driving routes and reduce fuel consumption embedded systems are streamlining transportation, making efficiencies and optimising ways of working.
<h4>Manufacturing</h4>
The ability for IoT embedded systems to remotely monitor and alert based on set parameters makes them ideal for the manufacturing industry. This capability allows equipment to be controlled and operated to minimise downtime and maximise efficiency.
<h3>IoT and innovation</h3>
What makes this so exciting is there are developments and solutions that we haven&rsquo;t even thought about yet. The uses of current IoT embedded systems are solving everyday problems. We want to turn the heating up so our house is nice and cosy when we get home. We want to track our weight. We want to be alerted when something isn&rsquo;t working quite right.&nbsp;
But there are so many possibilities. So many uses that are still to come. It&rsquo;s these unknown possibilities that are fuelling innovation, not just across one area but across all industries.&nbsp;
The future is the IoT, and the future is embedded systems. When you combine the two together there&rsquo;s a wonderful, unknown space for research, development and innovation.&nbsp;
Are you ready to build the IoT dream team? Or perhaps you&rsquo;re looking for a <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new opportunity in IoT?</a> Contact our Source Technology recruitment experts today and let us help you find the skilled professionals who will drive innovation and success in your IoT projects. <a href="../../../../../contact/">Get started now!</a>

The future of IoT: How embedded systems are driving innovation

You&rsquo;ve been offered the job, congratulations! But don&rsquo;t accept it right away. Now you&rsquo;re into negotiation time.&nbsp;
But where do you start? How do you know what to counter offer with? You could just pluck a random number from your mind and hope for the best. Or you could adopt a strategic, researched approach that sets you up for success.
<h4> Tip #1: Do your research</h4>
 Would you walk into a shop to buy a new TV without knowing what size you can fit in and roughly what they&rsquo;re going for in other places? No, you wouldn&rsquo;t.&nbsp; But that&rsquo;s what so many of us do with salary negotiations. We don&rsquo;t know what the market rate is, or what benefits or perks are important to us and try to negotiate blindly. Don&rsquo;t.&nbsp; Do your research so you can confidently say &ldquo;The other positions I&rsquo;m interviewing for fall between &pound;XX and &pound;XX&rdquo;.
<h4>&nbsp; Tip #2: Do think about the whole package</h4>
 Your package isn&rsquo;t just your salary. Yes, that&rsquo;s a big part of it and it&rsquo;s definitely important. But when you&rsquo;re negotiating your salary and they&rsquo;re driving a hard deal, think about what else could be included in your overall offer to sweeten the deal.&nbsp;
That could be a pay review (agreed in writing), flexible working, pension, annual leave, there are so many components that make up your package, don&rsquo;t forget about them.
<h4> Tip #3: Don&rsquo;t rush to accept an offer</h4>
 When an offer is made it&rsquo;s like someone turns on the Countdown clock. You feel pressured and like you need to act right now.
The offer isn&rsquo;t going anywhere. You have time to breathe, think, and then act.&nbsp;
Take your time, as long as you&rsquo;re still in communication with the recruiter so they know you&rsquo;re still thinking about it you can take time to consider your options, and of course, negotiate.
<h4> Tip #4: Do negotiate&nbsp;</h4>
 Our last tip leads beautifully into this one. Negotiate. It&rsquo;s not rude. It doesn&rsquo;t make you look high-maintenance. It&rsquo;s expected.
Negotiating is your time to show that you know your worth, and you&rsquo;re going to make sure you get it. Start with your research, put it in writing, highlight what you bring and also what you&rsquo;d have to leave behind to accept this offer.&nbsp;
Negotiating isn&rsquo;t always quick but hold your nerve and you can come out on top.
&nbsp;
<h4>Tip #5: Do know your worth&nbsp;</h4>
 Armed with your research, you should know in the wider market what you&rsquo;re worth. But now it&rsquo;s time to dig deeper. What is it that you bring that others don&rsquo;t? Do you have specific knowledge of a niche area? Are you a graduate with up-to-date education? Have you rolled out a tricky tech solution?&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s those specific skills and experiences that will secure you the higher salaries, particularly in the tech sector.&nbsp;
<h4> Tip #6: Don&rsquo;t show your cards too soon</h4>
 Early on in the application process it&rsquo;s likely you&rsquo;ll be asked for your salary expectations. Generally speaking, that&rsquo;s too early to answer it. At that point you don&rsquo;t always know the full details of the role and you don&rsquo;t have enough information to form a valid opinion.&nbsp;
The truth is that you don&rsquo;t have to reveal it at this point. Informing the recruiter or interviewer that you&rsquo;d like to hear more about the role before you give an answer is a perfectly valid thing to say. As soon as you say a number you&rsquo;re making it harder to negotiate down the line. Hold that poker face and don&rsquo;t show your hand just yet.
<h4> Tip #7: Do think long term</h4>
 No future promise of promotion or progression should ever be taken in lieu of salary. But it is important to think about the opportunity and what you&rsquo;ll get out of it. Is it in a bigger company, will you learn a specific skill, is it a step up? All of those points and the longer-term impact on your career should be considered, particularly when it comes to how hard you want to negotiate.&nbsp;
For a role that&rsquo;s going to establish you on a niche path you might be happier to nudge back vs. a side step where you want to demand compensation.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Like all good tech projects, great salary negotiations start with research. Benchmarking yourself within the market is the best way to understand what&rsquo;s realistic. From there the key is to be confident and understand what it is about you that makes you such a great investment. Remember, a bit of negotiation is expected just make sure you&rsquo;re being polite and you get it all in writing.
Our Source Technology consultants can help you negotiate your salary, they will coach you throughout the process and ensure you get the best result. See our current live opportunities <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">here</a>.

7 tips for negotiating tech salaries

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<h3>Source Talks: The Tech Lab &ndash; Episode 1</h3>
In our first episode,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gusfirth/">Gus Firth</a> sat down with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsimaria/">Nuno Simaria</a>, former CTO at HelloFresh and now the CTO at TIER Mobility, for a fascinating discussion on scaling and hiring. We're thrilled to have Nuno as our first guest on the podcast, and we hope you enjoy listening to his insights as much as we did.
Throughout the episode, Nuno shared his insights on building high-performing teams and the challenges of retaining top engineering talent. He also discussed his experiences working in both the startup space and large enterprises, offering valuable advice on creating an environment for success.
One of the most interesting aspects of the episode was Nuno's journey into the tech industry. He shared how software captured his heart and offered advice to junior software engineers looking to follow in his footsteps. We even got his opinion on the new generation of 'Gen Z' hires, offering unique insights into what companies should look for in these up-and-coming tech professionals.
Source Talks: The Tech Lab will investigate numerous factors that contribute to building, growing, and maintaining effective engineering teams. Hiring trends we'll discuss throughout the podcast series include diversity &amp; inclusion, hybrid working, developing leadership, proactive candidate engagement, and preparing for the future workforce.&nbsp;
You can reach our podcast on the following streaming sites:&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNTIxNzI3LnJzcw?sa=X&amp;ved=0CAcQrrcFahcKEwiouMrvouj-AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA">Google Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://sourcetalkspodcast.buzzsprout.com/">Buzzsprout</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7rOF4CxOnlpjOj9KTo7iRi">Spotify</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/685697ab-0573-4b9c-81d9-9e50dcffe597/source-talks-podcast">Amazon Podcasts</a>.&nbsp;
To watch our visual podcast episodes, check out our YouTube channel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK-VJ2T5r9NVNt1utDuTuhw">here</a>.

Source Talks: The Tech Lab Podcast

Starting to think about hiring some new tech talent? It can be a minefield. After all the natural emphasis should be on their technical wizardry, right? Maybe.
There&rsquo;s no denying they need the technical know-how to do their job but there are also skills and qualities that will take your next tech hire from good to amazing. Here&rsquo;s the list that we&rsquo;d recommend you use.
<h4> Experience and expertise</h4>
 Note that we haven&rsquo;t said qualifications. Yes, relevant degrees and qualifications are a good indicator. But when you&rsquo;re looking for new tech talent experience and expertise, particularly in niche fields can trump a degree. Focusing on experience rather than qualifications can also widen your talent pool, particularly to those from a diverse background who may have gone straight into the workforce from school.&nbsp;
Interview tip: Move holding a degree or relevant qualification from your essential to your desired criteria, or if you&rsquo;re feeling brave remove it completely and see the results.
<h4> Diversity</h4>
Diverse teams breed innovation and creativity. Two vital skills for a great tech team. What&rsquo;s more, diverse teams also contribute to more profitable businesses. The challenge comes from how to find and attract diverse talent to join your organisation. Look at where you&rsquo;re advertising, the language used, the essential criteria and your interview process to create a more welcoming and inclusive experience.
Interview tip: Make sure that if you&rsquo;re hiring in a diverse manner your interview process is set up to allow everyone to succeed.
<h4> Curiosity and innovation</h4>
 We want to push the tech boundaries but the only way to do that is through curiosity and innovation. Being happy to ask questions, thinking creatively, trying new things and readiness to fail are all key qualities to a great tech mind. These skills don&rsquo;t have to be developed in another tech role, there might be other areas of their lives that they can demonstrate so think broadly when it comes to this criteria.
Interview tip: Put a question around a project that&rsquo;s had an innovative solution to them, or ask them about what puzzles them most about a certain aspect of technology.
<h4> Communication</h4>
 Even the most technical people need to be able to communicate with their wider team. Whether that&rsquo;s explaining a detailed concept verbally, or disseminating information via email. Communication is vital and shouldn&rsquo;t be overlooked. It&rsquo;s important to bear in mind that communication styles and preferences differ and this should be accommodated through the hiring process.
Interview tip: An awareness of the challenges when communicating is a good sign of great communication so ask about their communication style and how they make sure they get their message across.
<h4> Problem solving</h4>
 Working in the tech industry is one puzzle after another. Anyone coming into the industry needs to be a keen, and successful, problem solver. Whether they need to collect and analyse data to resolve program errors or identify what&rsquo;s causing a malfunction, there&rsquo;s always a problem to understand and solve. Those that lack problem solving skills will struggle to progress in a tech career.
Interview tip: Ask the candidate to explain the most complicated problem they&rsquo;ve come across and their role in solving it.
<h4> Passion</h4>
This one quality underpins all the others. You need to be looking for passion. This isn&rsquo;t something you can fake, or even something that grows at a later date. When you&rsquo;re interviewing you need to be looking for that glint in their eye, the excitement and the drive that&rsquo;s motivated them to get to the point they&rsquo;re at. You don&rsquo;t just want someone who ticks the boxes, you want someone who loves going to work because they love what they do.&nbsp;
Interview tip: Talk to the individual about what they love about working with tech or in the tech industry.
 A person is more than just their technical know-how. That&rsquo;s why looking at the softer skills will help you make a more accurate judgement of whether they&rsquo;ll fit into your team and organisation. Being confident that someone can communicate, innovate and problem solve then complements their technical skills and creates an all-rounder. Someone who can do the technical side while working well with the non-technical arm of your business.&nbsp;
Do those people exist? Of course, if you haven&rsquo;t found them yet then maybe you&rsquo;re looking in the wrong place.
Source Technology are dedicated to discovering technology talent to drive your business forward. If you&rsquo;re passionate about building an inclusive future for your organisation, then speak to our experts today. Find out our process and how we can work with you, <a href="../../../../../../source-technology/our-process/">here</a>.&nbsp;

What to look for when hiring tech talent

<pre><img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/7cu6xjs45ri1295pv00x6z6aw21x" alt="" width="350" height="127"></pre>
Ben Dale interviews Johnny from Bitbot Technology. They talk about the use of Kotlin in various companies and the frameworks used. They also compare Kotlin to other languages like Scala and discuss its benefits, including simplicity, readability and ease of adoption.&nbsp;
 Front end engineers are showing interest in Kotlin due to its aspects of functional programming and strong typing. This is bridging the gap between front end and back-end languages, with some engineers transitioning to full stack or back-end development using Kotlin.&nbsp;
 Ben:&nbsp; When do you first start working with Kotlin commercially?&nbsp;
 Johnny:&nbsp; 2017, it&rsquo;s been a few years now.&nbsp;
 Ben: And what frameworks have you used across the companies where you've used it?&nbsp;
 Johnny: For most of the clients, it's typically spring boot as it solves 90% of the use cases very well, and it's got very wide adoption where we've had scenarios or non-functional requirements for very fast startup times we have looked to Spring Native / Grail VM to solve that use case. Spring Boot is the most common back-end JVM framework I&rsquo;ve seen used, I have also seen Micronaut in action and heard of Ktor but predominantly it's Spring Boot.
 Ben: Were you quite heavily involved in the decision-making around framework selection?&nbsp;
 Johnny: Yes, Where clients or projects hadn't used Kotlin before I ended up recommending its use and adoption. It was always journey to attain buy-in, and needed to be the right time and place.
 Ben: Why did you decide to start working with Kotlin and implement them in those companies specifically?&nbsp;
 Johnny: Kotlin is how we wanted Java to be, It reduced boilerplate code so you ended up writing less code, and the code tended to be more highly readable and understandable, generally more of a joy to work with than for example, Java at the time.&nbsp; Productivity gains were quite high, for the adoption of Kotlin. And people really enjoyed working with it.&nbsp;
 Typically, when engineers did work with Kotlin, they wouldn't want to go back to Java. It was pretty much, from what I've observed across my clients, 100% adoption and not going back on it.&nbsp;
 Ben: When you first started working with Kotlin across your clients, did you consider any other languages at all?&nbsp;
 Johnny: There was of course Java. Scala was another option. However, Scala had issues of complexity and readability in terms of how it was used as a language because it allowed you to do so many different things in different ways, tended to become more complex to understand as a language. It was not favorable as an end state.&nbsp;
 Ben: Are there any other benefits that you saw to using Kotlin specifically over Scala?&nbsp;
 Johnny:&nbsp; Compared to Scala, the biggest difference with Kotlin is it's simpler, it's just simpler to understand.&nbsp; Scala allows you to do more in its framework of language. That ultimately means that the way it tends to get used is that you end up with more difficult-to-understand code. Scala is very powerful, however, Kotlin just made was simpler, I think for Java engineers and the wider community to sort of understand, and comprehend in terms of its end-state code that gets produced.&nbsp;
Ben:&nbsp; Java to Kotlin is the main transition that we've seen, but we are seeing more and more companies move from other programming languages now to Kotlin, like completely non-JVM-based languages, which is quite interesting.&nbsp; 
Johnny: Yeah, I'd imagine there might be a few, for example, Node JS applications. We've seen front-end engineers show great interest in Kotlin because it's got aspects of functional programming that they like, but also it's got strong typing, which they also like. And they feel that's a gap in many of the front-end languages today. So we are seeing a transition of certain front-end engineers moving into either full stack or in some cases moving on to the back end on Kotlin as well.&nbsp; 
Ben: That's interesting. So companies can benefit from adopting Kotlin, not just for hiring back-end engineers, but also to help get front-end engineers in writing more back-end code? 
Johnny: I think so because it's a language that is simple enough in terms of its readability. It's got a crossover with many front-end engineers enjoying functional-style programming, and that's possible to do in Kotlin. It&rsquo;s bridging the gap there in terms of the desire and needs for languages where with previous versions of Java there was quite a bit of resistance to learning it as a FE engineer.&nbsp;
 The stability that the JVM provides on the back end makes it an interesting choice for server-side development. If you're thinking about Node JS applications, then, sure, it's an option for engineers that are using Node JS to move to a JVM back end because the familiarity with that sort of functional style is ticked. There is a learning curve however, with any backend engineering to consider that might be new for pure FE developers like threading models, IO / compute and security considerations that they may not have come across before so that needs to be taken into consideration. However, you've got a vast framework, very strong and stable framework for back-end development.&nbsp;
Ben:&nbsp; What type of applications have you been using Kotlin to build?&nbsp; 
Johnny: From the back-end perspective, it tends to be cloud platforms comprised of microservices.&nbsp;
 These have varied from real-time data monitoring, and data science insight platforms to financial platforms.
 Ben: Roughly how much of the company's code base would you say has been written in Kotlin?&nbsp; 
Johnny: I'm seeing probably somewhere adoption of around between 20 and 100% for the server side depending on the client. If we look at a company in terms of just the server-side languages, it varies from like 20% to 100%.&nbsp;
 20% where they're probably using Java from a legacy perspective, perhaps they've got Scala or using other languages.
 A number of companies are moving 100% to do Kotlin on the back-end as well, across all the disciplines that might vary.&nbsp; If you're looking at the front-end and data science, then it might vary between 10 to say 80%.&nbsp; 
Ben: Have you seen any real barriers to adopting Kotlin to wider organizations and anyway you've overcome them? 
Johnny: I think it comes down to buy-in, and buy-in ultimately comes down to knowledge and taking the clients on a journey to understand the benefits of Kotlin, highlighting the advantages of the language allows the client to take a decision to adopt.&nbsp;
 I think ultimately that the greatest barrier is really the exposure of the language across other technology leaders. But I'm seeing that become less and less of a hurdle to overcome. So how we've overcome it is generally taking them on the journey and that's proven successful as an approach.&nbsp;
Ben:&nbsp; Are there particular nuances in terms of how you would influence different stakeholders?&nbsp; 
Johnny: Yeah, I think it's important to ensure to everyone that there's visibility of what we're doing. For example, that might be VPs or whether it's CTOs, depending on the size of the company or heads of engineering, it comes down to sharing the aspiration or the intention to open up and discuss options of technology and the benefits. But then it comes to the ground up.&nbsp;
 I found that going bottom up is very powerful because it lets the engineers see and explore the language and therefore fall in love with it and then want to adopt it. Then the question really comes down to when the appropriate time to do that is if that makes any sense, and ensuring that the right people are a part of that decision.&nbsp; 
Ben: And just going back to benefits and advantages slightly, is there any data that you've tracked to demonstrate the advantages of using Kotlin to help influence stakeholders? Johnny: I've got a PowerPoint which has the benefits listed out. And typically, that can be a part of the whole discussion around it and framing around it that we do, but even before a brown bag. So, yeah, we can list them out.&nbsp;
 Ben:&nbsp; In the clients that you've consulted on, do you know roughly in each of those how many Kotlin developers now work in those companies? Johnny: It's difficult to say across the entire client. Typically I can speak for the projects I've worked on, and that might be by slightly because of the consultant aspects, but anywhere between 70% to 30% freelance to permanent. Ben:&nbsp; And what locations has it all been in the UK or not?&nbsp;
Johnny:&nbsp; Seeing engineering teams across the US, London, and Europe, but typically what I'm seeing is clients are looking at hubs where there's centered around cities, where there's the ability to commute because I'm seeing predominantly remote but also face-to-face meetings are also being encouraged within companies, whether it's one or two days a week.&nbsp;
Companies are tending to offer remote. Obviously always by exception, there's people that work remote 100%. But I think there's an encouragement to also do a mix and certain engineers also enjoy that too.&nbsp;
Ben: What challenges have you faced hiring Kotlin engineers?
Johnny: Not many.&nbsp;We tend to take on engineers with JVM knowledge, and knowledge of the frameworks that we use tend to really go for the quality of the engineer versus just the knowledge of the language. Because Kotlin is easy to pick up, we found it straightforward to hire.&nbsp;
Ben: Any context on how straightforward it is to pick up, what sort of timelines?
Johnny: Any really good engineer picking up a language like Kotlin, I would say within hours they'll be running code.&nbsp; Once you translate the semantics of the language, usually most engineers would know more than one language anyway. You'll be writing code within hours. Within days, you'll feel fairly comfortable enough to be locking out parts of an application, typically within two weeks. You'd consider yourself well versed on the language enough to be able to get through most deliveries of most of the things you think you need to as part of your day-to-day job. That's the sort of time frame I'm seeing. So very low barrier to entry in terms of the language. If you've got familiarity with Java or Scala. Ben:&nbsp; What about if you didn't, and were coming from a completely different language? Johnny: If JVM is new to you, then that might take longer.&nbsp;Let's say you're coming in from typescript again. You'd be knocking out code within hours, I think. Then at that point, the proficiency is more about understanding the JVM, how that works, and the actual frameworks like Spring, how to wire those together.
 That would take longer, and it might depend on the depend per engineer you could see it taking probably, I'd imagine it's twice to three times as long, depending on what type of programming you're doing. If there are aspects on the server side, there are additional aspects that sometimes need to be considered, like threading that some front-end engineers may not have experience with or need to think about.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Thank you Johnny for your time and insight into Kotlin as a programming language at Bitbot Technology.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Interview with BitBot Technology

<pre><img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/ghqzfljdejn1vpoepoew7eid96f7" alt="" width="350" height="165"></pre>
Fluro is a technology-led consumer lender, offering unsecured personal loans via their white-label platform.
They have lent more than &pound;250m of loans since launching in 2014. Fluro transitioned from PHP to Kotlin due to its larger talent base and better support for concurrency. They considered Java but found Kotlin to be more productive, and with great interop with the Java ecosystem. Fluro has used Kotlin for multiple projects, including customer portals, pricing, external data integration, and payout automation.
Currently, 20% of their codebase uses Kotlin, with a goal of reaching 100%. The biggest challenge was getting PHP developers accustomed to the new language and approach to development and operations techniques needed for Kotlin compared to interpreted languages like PHP. The conversation is about hiring Kotlin engineers and the challenges involved.
The company looks for candidates with strong coding skills and project ownership but has had difficulty finding enough qualified candidates. They have tried a pair programming exercise as part of their interview process, but some candidates struggle to complete it within the allotted time.
Tom Wood interviews Jason de Carvalho and explores the journey Fluro took when moving to Kotlin.&nbsp;
Tom: When did you start using Kotlin?&nbsp;
 Jason: 2021. Previously we had a PHP monolith, we wanted to pick a JVM language or a language that's got a larger talent base of people that can build distributed systems.
So PHP, you've got two types of engineer, one that builds that sort of system, but ones that just do WordPress or Drupal and that sort of stuff as well. We felt there was a bigger market there. And also there were a few issues we'd have with using PHP in the particular framework, like in terms of concurrency or some libraries not there are some quirks in there that haven't been seen in enterprise-ready libraries in the Java ecosystem. Just sort of the types of use cases not being fought about by the people writing those libraries. So there's an aim to do that.&nbsp;
 Tom: In your previous company you were using JVM, weren't you?&nbsp;
 Jason: Yeah, it was mainly Java. Some teams were using Scala and including one of the groups in my area, around 30-40 people there.
 Tom: And then the transition from PHP to Kotlin seems to be there are at least two of the fairly similar businesses to you. Lendable is on a similar journey and Personio is as well, so it seems to be an interesting route there. And, what framework are you using?
Jason: It's http4K. We liked its simplicity and functional style, which is a common theme to many of our tech choices. Despite focusing on developer experience and simplicity, it's also super performant despite the simplicity. And the default way of using it isn't with explicit concurrency unlike Ktor that uses coroutines, it's just threads and it's still super performant. With Project Loom coming out eventually, then this is going to be sort of a non-issue and we don't need even the complexity overhead of coroutines.&nbsp;
 Tom: In terms of the applications that you're using Kotlin for within your business, what is it across the whole business or what applications are you using it for?&nbsp;
 Jason: It's going to be across the whole business in due course. The first project we launched was a rewrite of our customer portal, Kotlin on the back end and Typescript/React on the front end. But since then we've built a new pricing service and external data integration service. We're building a service to automate payouts in the reusing Kotlin. Essentially building in Kotlin as much as we can.&nbsp;
Our new work is done in Kotlin, and we'll make some smaller changes to the monolith tactically, but the broader strategy is to be working in Kotlin now.&nbsp;
 Tom:&nbsp; How much of the company's code base is in Kotlin would you say?
 Jason: I think we're up to about 20% now. It's maybe a two-to-three-year goal to be near 100%. There are probably going to be some laggards, but that sort of time frame is.&nbsp;
 Tom: Okay, fine. And do you think there are barriers that might prevent you to get into that 100% number?&nbsp;
 Jason: One of the early ones was getting people from a PHP background to be able to write Kotlin code, its easier for people from a Java background. They picked it up super quick. But it's the bigger change for PHP and it's not just the language, there's the frameworks we use and there's just kind of the approach to development that's different.
 Tom: Okay, and in terms of your engineering team, what is the balance between the PHP and Kotlin now?&nbsp;
 Jason: It's about 50:50 in terms of people's backgrounds with a couple of React engineers.
&nbsp; Tom: Did you manage to find any PHP and Kotlin people or did you just have to upskill everyone?&nbsp;
 Jason: I don't think we hired anyone with Kotlin experience before they joined us. This has been a non-issue with people from Java backgrounds. I imagine it'd be almost a non-issue from C# as well, but in general, we're open to literally any other background. Our main focuses are their fullstack development skills and their test-driven development skills.&nbsp;
 Tom: What are the three top three benefits you've experienced from adopting Kotlin?&nbsp;
 Jason: Part of our modernization has been rewrite the system with better quality code. And so it's not just been because of the language shift, you can build high-quality systems in PHP as well, but in general we're finding more concise code that does end up being better quality and more performant systems.&nbsp;
 Tom: How many people in your business are doing Kotlin?
&nbsp; Jason: Our team is around 16 people, and essentially all of them can do some Kotlin now.
&nbsp; Tom: And do you have any freelance or contractors or is everyone permanent within the business?&nbsp;
 Jason: It's all permanent.&nbsp;
 Tom: And specifically on the hiring side, then, what are the kind of main challenges you faced when trying to hire Kotlin engineers?&nbsp;
 Jason: We've been focusing on really great coding skills, which is a very narrow subset of the whole skillset. We ask for what sort of level of project ownership. Level of project ownership is more how progressed in their career are they rather than the hard criterion. Whereas for everyone, we're looking for really strong coding skills like being able to write really good code in our programming coding exercise and finding people that really double down into that coding skills has maybe been a challenge.&nbsp;
 Tom: How long do you expect the pair programming exercise to take?&nbsp;
 Jason: It's an hour of pair programming. We &nbsp;have 30 minutes of talking about it. But we are working on a revised edition of it where we give more of a skeleton. So that all of that time can be focused on one part of that, the most tricky high-signal part of it. If a candidate does that well, then you would have probably done the rest of it well as well. We've made sure the candidate definitely has enough time to be able to do that part of the interview or of the exercise. Whereas before they got there, they often ran out of time just because you were, ironically, putting more effort into the quality of the rest of it.
&nbsp; Tom: Have you interviewed anyone since you've made the slight nuances changed?&nbsp;
Jason: I'm not sure whether it was in place for the last couple of hires that we made but quite possibly it was okay.&nbsp;
 Tom: And what is the full process before the pair programming you have? Is there an initial call first?&nbsp;
Jason: Yes, we're doing an initial call and the latest revision was try and then offer either a take-home or pair programming interview. But it might be more valuable to insist on the pair programming even though that maybe pushes some other candidates away just because we get more information about why they're making the decisions, though we don't want to take people's time up unnecessarily either. Also, lots of people say they do the take home but they're not find the time to actually do it. If you book in a pair programming then they turn up and do it.
&nbsp; Tom: Yeah, I think my experience is obviously on the other side of this and you definitely get a bigger drop-off rate, there's drop-off rates on both sides right, whether it's a live pair programming or a take-home. But the take-home tests do seem to be bigger drop-off rates. Not drop-off rates always but certainly the time that they take to complete the exercise as well. It might take them a couple of weeks and typically if they're interviewing at more than one of the place, that kind of process gets pushed to the side and they focus ones where they can work through the process a little quicker. So my experience tells me that homework and exercises do slow processes down and reduce chances of success.&nbsp;
Do you give the candidates much context as what to expect prior to the interview? Are they kind of coming in fairly blind?&nbsp;
Jason: We give them a little bit of heads up on what the exercise is but weren't giving the full brief ahead of time, like maybe 30 minutes ahead of time.&nbsp;
 Tom: Have you had lots of interviews with people with Kotlin experience and they've just not hit the bar?
&nbsp; Jason: No, it hasn't been that, it's been availability. So, you are working in Kotlin space and giving Kotlin engineers, but the other agencies I don't think find them. Maybe there's just not very many and you need to really focus on finding them to be able to find them. A couple of the salary reports I read suggest that trying to be thinking around why this is, but they have a different line entry for Kotlin Engineer versus Java engineer with a higher salary band. And I'm not necessarily sure it's because they know Kotlin because we hire someone that doesn't and they learn it quickly and that's Java typically.&nbsp; But my hypothesis at the moment is that companies that are using Kotlin are more likely to have a higher bar for recruitment and so many Java shops do have a high bar for recruitment as well. But there's probably more a higher proportion of Java development places that have a lower bar than Kotlin places that have a low bar. There's probably fewer Kotlin places with a low bar.&nbsp;
 Tom: Why do you think that is?
 Jason: The sort of group that thinks about how they should be writing code to the extent that they've thought about Kotlin rather than just going with a default have probably been thinking of other aspects of writing code and development. The difference between Kotlin and Java isn't giant, but there's probably a lot of other practices that come along with someone that's looked into it and thought, &ldquo;ok, we're going to use Kotlin&rdquo;.&nbsp;
 Tom: Do you find a lot of the Java engineers that you spoke to that was quite an interesting selling point and incentive for them to come and join yourselves because they would get the opportunity to work with Kotlin commercially?&nbsp;
 Jason: Yeah, it definitely is. There's a selection bias about who wants to put themselves forward for our roles. There's definitely people that want to learn Kotlin and haven't had the experience the opportunity before and that includes PHP engineers as well. We're happy to have people from PHP backgrounds and being able to read our existing code is useful. We absolutely need them to be willing, or even more than willing: wanting, to learn Kotlin and be enthusiastic about it. So it's good when we see that coming through from a candidate.
 Tom: And how long do you think it takes someone, an engineer from a different background to upskill themselves and become proficient in Kotlin?&nbsp;
 Jason: I think it's three months to be writing good idiomatic Kotlin.
&nbsp; Tom: And do you do anything practically to help them upskill? Is there any courses that you put them on or is it just kind of learning on the job and from other engineers?&nbsp;
 Jason: Yeah, we've got a lot better at this recently. There's a gap where I knew that we needed to come up with something a bit more structured rather than just pair programming and feedback. We've created a more curated learning path for our team, what's going to be useful for working at Fluro and then we're organizing workshops for people to learn together.
&nbsp; Tom: Do you tend to hire people that have been to university and computer science backgrounds? Do you have any thoughts on that?&nbsp;
 Jason: Yes, in the past and in general, and this comes back to being language agnostic and stuff, I care about skills, and when it comes to the interviews, we're only going to judge someone on skills. We're not going to say, well, they seem better on skills, but they didn't have the degree. That's not what we're going to ever do. But in practice we find that people with that background are more likely to have the skills necessary. I've said before, very open to from any background as long as they have the skills because there's many ways to develop those skills and you do see it all the time. For example, I did a maths degree, but went into software engineering. More recently we've been discussing whether should we hire a grad intake this year.
 Tom:&nbsp; It's a tricky one, isn't it? Because it does kind of depend on your infrastructure internally and what support you can give to these people. Because it's all well and good hiring these people, but if you haven't got the resources, people available to help upskill them and give them the development and that they need, then you kind of just set them up to fail a little bit anyway.
&nbsp; Jason: Yeah. We&rsquo;ll learn from creating our new learning path at the moment, that we can be in a place where we can take a less experienced person and get them productive in our stack faster and that we've got a high enough skill density that they can learn from everyone. Whereas right now they'd also need to learn a few languages to be truly productive. So the more we condense our stack into very lean tech stack, the easier that will be.&nbsp;
 Thank you for your time, Jason, it was great to chat with you and learn more about Kotlin as a programming language at Fluro.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Interview with Fluro

&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/7i1d2jl8oicicj67ltvjbg8bijeh" alt="" width="350" height="41">
Ben Dale and Max discuss the adoption of Kotlin at lastminute.com, which began in late 2018 for both server-side and Android development.&nbsp;
 The main benefits lastminute.com have found from using Kotlin are its functional style programming capabilities, reduction in lines of code with no change to programming styles, and improved developer experience. Barriers experienced include compiler speed when using TDD practices, as well as a lack of ID support compared to Java.&nbsp;
 Lastminute.com use Spring Boot as its framework due to legacy applications already running on it but they are starting to experiment with co-routines. Max discussed the progress of moving to Kotlin for JVM applications, noting that it may take an average developer a month to become proficient in the language.&nbsp;
 Ben:&nbsp; When did lastminute.com start to use Kotlin?
Max: We started in late 2018, mostly for server-side development and for Android development, of course, when Google adopted it first.
 Ben: Did you adopt the language for of both server-side and android at the same time, or did one come before the other?
 Max: When Google made Kotlin a first-class language, it was a natural progression because both languages were quite similar in syntax and developer experience.&nbsp; We were looking for a tool that was more suited for us for implementing functional programming but we were reluctant to use Scala, which was the only option five years ago.&nbsp; We decided to get full steam on Kotlin, and in the end, proved to be a very successful choice.&nbsp;
 Ben:&nbsp; You said you didn't want to use Scala and opted for Kotlin instead. Can you provide more context on why you made that decision?
 Max: There were mainly two reasons.&nbsp; Scala was quite fragmented in terms of it having different communities and some were quite temperamental, the Kotlin community has proven much more inclusive in terms of communication with people that join this world for the first time.&nbsp; Secondly, we have always good support from our standard IDE. &nbsp;At that point, we moved out from being just let's say a single company project to a wider one.&nbsp; 
Ben: What are the other key benefits that you've found from using Kotlin?
 Max: The possibility to implement somewhat functional style programming languages, there is an ecosystem that also allows you to do functional programming. It has been one of the most appreciative features of the code.&nbsp; The same code written with Java, when converting to Kotlin was approximately 30% of the original lines of code.&nbsp; This is very important for us because there is less code to maintain, meaning fewer bugs and a more productive approach to more focus on the business rather than the ceremonies of the languages.
 Ben: What applications are you using Kotlin for?
 Max: We are mostly creating a backend application. We have a microservice architecture, with 150 more or fewer services in production. At least one-third of those are written in Kotlin or contain a significant amount of Kotlin in a source code basis. We use it mostly for everything that requires Java.&nbsp;
 Ben: Are there any barriers to adopting Kotlin?&nbsp;
 Max: The first one is the compiler speed since most of our developers were using TDD practices. So, they compile feedback. The feedback cycle is important and the speed of having things compiled and tested is vital.&nbsp; Kotlin has added a significant overhead in terms of computational speed. Mostly it doubled the compiled time, especially on larger core base, and this was the main barrier for some teams to adopt it.&nbsp;
 Ben: What framework or frameworks do you use with Kotlin and why?
 Max: We are using a customized version of Spring Boot.&nbsp; We haven't tested things like Ktor, we are starting to experiment a little bit more with co-routines but we are quite happy with Spring Boot.&nbsp;
 Ben: When you made the decision to work with Spring Boot, did you consider other frameworks as well, or was it kind of just a no-brainer to use?
 Max: It was a no-brainer because we're coming from a legacy, we were using Spring Framework as a foundation for that application. And there were no significant major alternatives at the time, around 2015.&nbsp;
 Ben: When you make a hire within the team, do you hire developers no prior Kotlin experience?&nbsp;
 Max: Our main language is still Java. So, we require proficiency in Java and then with the option to learn Kotlin, and Kotlin is considered as a plus. There is a discussion on progress, and whether to move to have Kotlin as a main language for JVM applications across the business.&nbsp;
 Ben: And how long, in your experience, on average, would you say it takes an engineer, with Java experience to become proficient in Kotlin?
 Max: It depends on what you mean by proficient. It's easy to start with the basics and to write decent Kotlin code. In one month, an average developer can write and read without too much assistance to, say, Kotlin code that uses the same basic function.&nbsp; Kotlin is quite simple as a language. To master more advanced features, you need a little bit more knowledge, and you need also to work on a project that requires it. I think it's a great language, a great tool. It's very productive. I love it. I really hope that the Kotlin space will broaden and continue to grow. &nbsp;
Thank you for joining us, Max. It was great to hear your story and how lastminute.com have adapted to using Kotlin as a main programming language.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Interview with Lastminute.com

Too often the kneejerk reaction to someone questioning the level of diversity in your organisation is to claim that there&rsquo;s not a problem. You&rsquo;re definitely diverse because your team has 3 women and you work with an agency in Singapore.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s an uncomfortable subject. People get touchy and don&rsquo;t know the right way to handle the topic. If that all sounds familiar then it&rsquo;s time to get serious about diversity and inclusion.&nbsp;
The tech industry needs to be diverse, not only to reflect society but also to embrace the creativity, innovation, ideas and productivity that comes with a diverse team. Without it, there&rsquo;s a chance you&rsquo;ll be left standing still while your competitors all race past you.
<h4> Diversity in technology</h4>
 When we think about diversity in the tech industry it&rsquo;s not overly positive. There has been some progress but overall it&rsquo;s a sector dominated by white men. Take a look at these statistics from the <a href="https://mydisabilityjobs.com/statistics/diversity-in-the-tech-industry/#:~:text=Your%20Job%20Ads-,Diversity%20in%20Technology%20Statistics%3A%20Editor's%20pick,share%20is%20under%205%25%20only.">2023 Diversity in Tech</a> report.
<ul>
<li>Only one in five tech students is female</li>
<li>The total of women in tech isn&rsquo;t even 30% and for black women that&rsquo;s under 5%</li>
<li>67% of respondents have between 0 - 25% black executives in their leadership teams</li>
</ul>
It&rsquo;s not a great picture.&nbsp;
The imbalance goes across racial diversity as well as gender diversity. In the US, only <a href="https://www.zippia.com/advice/diversity-in-high-tech-statistics/">7% of jobs</a> are held by Black Americans, 8% by Latin Americans and 20% by Asian Americans.&nbsp;
Diversity and inclusion is a growing area within tech, with mounting pressure to address the diversity imbalances that exist within the industry. But there&rsquo;s a long way to go. The good news is that some of the big players in the industry have publicly committed to improving their diversity. Google lists focusing on equity in their hiring process as one of their <a href="https://about.google/belonging/diversity-annual-report/2022/hiring/">5 action points </a>for the year and can show an increase in the number of women recruiting globally, along with Black and Latin hires.
Despite mounting pressure there&rsquo;s still a long way to go to achieving a greater depth of diversity.
<h4> What&rsquo;s the impact of diversity on the tech industry?</h4>
 The impact of a diverse workforce goes way beyond what you might initially expect. When you think of a diverse workforce you think about the individuals and how their lives and careers might benefit. That&rsquo;s absolutely true and once the door is opened, the level of diversity in that organisation increases every year.&nbsp;
But there are benefits for the business too.&nbsp;
Real, tangible benefits that improve the bottom line, the services or products on offer, the working culture and the level of innovation.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/diversity/managing-multicultural-teams">Studies </a>show that the more diverse a team is, the better its performance. It&rsquo;s more innovative, creative, productive and for tech companies those three elements are crucial to success. Being able to draw on a range of experiences, backgrounds and demographics brings different viewpoints into the mix. Helping to expand markets, reach new markets and create products and services that are designed for everyone.&nbsp;
Traditionally the tech industry is male dominated. In fact, the <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/201905/women-in-tech-statistics-the-hard-truths-of-an-uphill-battle.html">ratio of females to males</a> in tech roles has declined in the past 35 years. But women control around $20 trillion of consumer spending. If women aren&rsquo;t included in developing products targeted at them, there&rsquo;s a real risk it&rsquo;s not going to land right and you&rsquo;re limiting your shot at a slice of that $20 trillion.
Increased revenue is also a direct result of a diverse workforce, particularly when your management teams are diverse. Research by <a href="https://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/McKinseyDivmatters-201501.pdf">McKinsey </a>found that companies who are more diverse are 35% more likely to outperform their competitors. With <a href="https://www.nonprofitalliance.com.au/a-study-finds-that-diverse-companies-produce-19-more-revenue/#:~:text=A%20Study%20Finds%20That%20Diverse%20Companies%20Produce%2019%25%20More%20Revenue,-By%20Jane%20Ferrier&amp;text=A%20study%20by%20the%20Boston,innovation%20and%20improved%20financial%20performance.%E2%80%9D">BCG </a>finding that diverse management teams result in 19% higher revenue.&nbsp;
<h4> Simple ways to start conversations around diversity</h4>
 Diversity in tech is an issue. And it&rsquo;s one that we need to address, which sometimes seems easier said than done. Here are some starting points to generate discussion in your organisation about the right approach for you:
<ul>
<li>Understand your starting point. How diverse are you as an organisation? What&rsquo;s your current employee make-up?</li>
<li>Look at your hiring strategy, everything from where you advertise to how you interview to your onboarding process. Is it accessible and what bias exists within it?</li>
<li>What&rsquo;s your working culture like? Is it late nights, long hours, are you flexible, can people work from home, is it inclusive?</li>
<li>Do you talk about being diverse or do you live and breathe it? Don&rsquo;t just talk the talk, walk the walk too.</li>
<li>Talk to your employees, particularly those from a diverse or minority background, what support do they need, what attracted them, what barriers are there and really listen to what they have to say.</li>
</ul>
 There&rsquo;s never been a better time to reaffirm your commitment to diversity within the tech industry. With so many positive outcomes to both the business and an individual, there are no excuses.&nbsp;
The Source Technology team are experienced in helping your organisation build a diverse workforce. Our expert consultants can build and deliver a strategy right for your team and help you get the best talent from all backgrounds.&nbsp;
Our consultants have extensive experience in recruitment, talent acquisition, and HR strategy. We can help you identify potential barriers to diversity and inclusion within your current recruitment process and implement effective solutions to overcome them. Connect with the team today:<a href="mailto:hello@source-technology.com"> hello@source-technology.com&nbsp;</a>

The importance of diversity in tech recruitment

With the great resignation and the shift to a candidate&rsquo;s market it&rsquo;s no wonder the emphasis has shifted from recruitment to retention. With an estimated cost of <a href="https://www.centrichr.co.uk/what-is-the-true-cost-of-replacing-an-employee/">6-9 months</a> salary to replace an employee, making sure you keep the best talent within your tech team is essential.&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s often forgotten is that retention starts right from the recruitment process.<a href="https://learning.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/learning/EMW/lil-guide-leverage-learning-onboard-top-talent.pdf"> 33% of employees</a> know within the first week whether they&rsquo;ll be staying long term or not. That&rsquo;s a lot of pressure to get it right first time. But what then. If you do get it right how do you keep your employees engaged and motivated so they want to be stay.
Let&rsquo;s take a look.
<h4> Up your onboarding game</h4>
 First impressions count. And nowhere is that more true than in your onboarding process. Without a solid plan you&rsquo;re never going to be able to consistently and successfully onboard your new tech recruits, instead you&rsquo;ll scattergun and depending on the hiring manager the result will vary.&nbsp;
The other variable to add to the mix now is in-person vs remote onboarding. While the foundations are the same they need treating differently to engage your new starter.&nbsp;
 In person
<ul>
<li>Engage early and often: stay in contact with your new hires before they start, keep communication open, allow them to ask questions and give them a solid plan early so they know what to expect on their first day.</li>
<li>Be clear with expectations: the unknown causes anxiety, whether that&rsquo;s an unknown plan, unclear guidance or uncertain expectations. Be clear, and realistic.</li>
<li>Create moments of magic: your onboarding process is about building a relationship. To help, create special personal touches whether that&rsquo;s a welcome gift, a team lunch out, an early finish on their first day. Small gestures that will help build a positive relationship early on.</li>
<li>Be prepared: there&rsquo;s nothing worse than turning up on your first day and your IT isn&rsquo;t sorted, your password isn&rsquo;t created and you end up reading old marketing materials. It doesn&rsquo;t exactly set a welcoming tone. Show you&rsquo;re expecting them and excited about them starting by making sure everything is ready for that person to start right away.</li>
</ul>
Remotely
<ul>
<li>Make it easy: if this is their first remote role they might be unsure about how it works. Check with them about their set-up, their tech, what they need from you. Create a comprehensive plan where they can do some parts at their own pace and others are scheduled for them.</li>
<li>Talk often: when you&rsquo;re working from home you can&rsquo;t just ask the person sitting next to you an odd question so the chances of struggling in silence is real. Make sure you&rsquo;re in constant communication, whether that&rsquo;s via Teams or Slack or a quick call.</li>
<li>Don&rsquo;t forget the social side: just because you&rsquo;re not in the office doesn&rsquo;t mean you can&rsquo;t be social. Have a team lunch, set up some informal chats, send them a welcome gift, make sure you get to know them in a personal way, without every conversation focusing on work.</li>
<li>Be transparent: you learn a lot about who&rsquo;s who from being in the office that you miss out on with remote work. Provide your new starter with organisational charts, lists of key stakeholders, and explain how everything works and who will be useful for them to know.</li>
</ul>
<h4> Tips to retain</h4>
 You&rsquo;ve onboarded your new tech talent, great. Now you need to keep them engaged and happy so they stay with you. Here are our top 3 tips.
 Flexibility &amp; trust
 60% of employees say trust has a direct impact on their sense of belonging. Without trust and empowerment employees can feel treated like a child, micromanaged and frustrated. You can show you trust your staff through flexible and remote working, shifting to monitoring outcomes rather than monitoring actions.
 Culture and values
 In this post-pandemic era, culture and values have never been more influential. 45% of UK employees believe a &lsquo;great&rsquo; culture is the most important factor when looking for a new role. When thinking about retention that means you can&rsquo;t oversell what the business stands for, and you need to be able to follow through on anything you do say. Words aren&rsquo;t enough, it&rsquo;s actions that matter.
 Support growth
 The best advice we can give you when you&rsquo;re thinking about your retention strategy is to develop your employees. There&rsquo;s always the fear that if you upskill your employees, particularly your most talented ones, then they&rsquo;ll depart for pastures new. By supporting your employees growth you&rsquo;re showing that you&rsquo;re invested in them and you care about their career, whether that&rsquo;s with you or not.
 If you&rsquo;re looking at your retention strategy, go back a few steps. Start looking at how you engage your new starters through your onboarding process and then how you keep them engaged. After all, if you&rsquo;re looking at trying to keep tech talent once they&rsquo;re starting to get itchy feet it&rsquo;s probably too late. Instead look to create truly engaged employees from day 1.
 At Source Technology, we understand that employee retention is essential for the long-term success of any organization. Losing valuable talent can be costly in terms of both time and money, and it can also lead to decreased morale and productivity among remaining employees.
 Our team of expert consultants can work with you to develop a retention strategy that is tailored to your specific business needs and goals. We can help you identify areas where you may be losing talent and develop effective solutions to address those issues. Find out more about how we can work with you <a href="../../../../../../source-technology/about/">here</a>.&nbsp;

How to onboard and retain tech talent

<pre><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ff5scnnwbBw" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> </pre>
Join Ben Dale, Manager at Source Technology, as he interviews David Denton. This interview explores http4K, the web library written in Kotlin, why it was developed, and the key benefits of using the library.&nbsp;
David Denton is a London-based Engineering Lead, Trainer, and Open Source fanatic. He's been tippy tapping for about two decades, building software and teams delivering projects working in Finance, Publishing, Internet Provision and the COVID-prevention business. He is the co-creator of http4k, a functional toolkit for building HTTP applications in Kotlin, and spends far too much time thinking about Lego.
<h4>Interview Highlights:</h4>
<ul>
<li>Simplicity</li>
</ul>
From an applications angle and back-end perspective, microservices are the most popular.
<ul>
<li>Front-end</li>
</ul>
Kotlin has seen a lot of interest from front-end engineers because it has aspects of functional programming and strong typing.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Developer Experience&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
One of our key beliefs is to keep it as simple as possible, with no magic. Every piece of code you can click through and trace exactly what's happening.
<h4>About http4k:</h4>
David created http4k in 2017 as a lightweight, functional alternative to the more heavyweight HTTP frameworks that were available at the time. Since then, the project has gained a following in the Kotlin community and has continued to evolve with contributions from other developers. Today, http4k is maintained as an open-source project on GitHub and is used by companies and developers worldwide to build high-performance, scalable HTTP services in Kotlin.
Http4k is a lightweight, type-safe HTTP library for Kotlin, designed to make it easy to build HTTP services in a functional style. It provides a simple and expressive API for handling HTTP requests and responses and supports server and client-side development.
Interested in learning more about Kotlin? <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.meetup.com/source-talks-on-kotlin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Join our Meetup community</a>&nbsp;for upcoming events like&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="../../../../../../events/source-talks-on-kotlin-6/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Talks: On Kotlin #6.</a>
&nbsp;

Interview with David Denton

<pre><img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/l6qm1097yxl2nbcp0g9lskpytifd" alt="" width="350" height="109"></pre>
The interview is about Personio's use of Kotlin in their microservices architecture. They started using Kotlin around 2021 when they moved to a more microservices architecture, initially dabbling with it before fully committing. They transitioned from PHP Laravel monolith and are now predominantly using Kotlin for microservices communicating across their stack. They chose Kotlin as an industry standard, with support from big players such as Jetbrains, Google, Facebook, and Netflix.
The main challenges they faced were upskilling engineering teams and ensuring good infrastructure support for running the stack on JVM through Kubernetes and Docker. They primarily use SpringBoot framework but also have other services that don't require it depending on the use case.
Ben speaks to Luke Curtis, Engineering Manager in the Personio Team.&nbsp;
Ben: What language did you transition from?&nbsp;
Luke: We transitioned from PHP to Kotlin.&nbsp;
Ben: Why did you decide to start working with Kotlin? Luke: I think there was a good alignment there in terms of its verbosity compared to Java as well. We looked at Java for obvious reasons, but Kotlin kind of made more sense for us as it moves into the more mainstream and gives us more of an opportunity to write a bit more flexible code, shall I say. Ben: Is there any particular challenges that you have faced going from a non-JVM language to Kotlin? Obviously, the more typical route is moving from Java to Kotlin rather than PHP, although we are seeing sort of other languages pop up more and more. In terms of transition, are there any particular challenges that you feel you have faced outside of that because you haven't transitioned from Java?&nbsp;
Luke: I think the main challenges we've kind of faced really are from an operational perspective.&nbsp;
I'd say from a technical perspective, there have been no real roadblocks per se. I think the only thing that may have been like less what's the word I'm looking for, maybe more of a challenge, is just around that infrastructure side of things.&nbsp;
Ben: And you said you looked at Java. Were there any other languages that you also considered when you were looking to make that change?&nbsp;
Luke: Not so much. I think were pretty happy with the JVM world, to be honest. But we still use Golang in Personio, so it's just kind of whoever feels which language facilitates their use case best.&nbsp;
Ben: What framework do you use with Kotlin?&nbsp;
Luke: We're currently using Spring Boot, currently moving all of our services to Spring Boot 3.
Ben: It's definitely the most popular, although there are of course, others which seem to be growing in popularity, like Http 4K, for example, seem to be picking up as well.&nbsp;
Ben: So, in percentage terms, roughly how much do you say of the code base across Personi is written in Kotlin?
Luke: I'd say probably right now, today it's about 40% in Kotlin, maybe 10% in Golang, and the rest is still currently in our PHP monolith. But that number goes down every down the PHP side as we move to Kotlin.&nbsp;
Ben: Yeah, makes sense. And in terms of the future state, where do you see that percentage eventually landing? What's the goal?&nbsp;
Luke: I think in general, obviously the goal right now is to just remove PHP entirely from one stack. Whether or not it's in Kotlin in the future, I don't know for sure. But that's not to say we're married to Kotlin in any sense of the word, we're just enjoying what it's doing for us right now and we'll probably keep with it.&nbsp;
Ben: What would you say are the top three benefits that you've experienced from using Kotlin?&nbsp;
Luke: I think as an engineering manager you want to make sure there's a good pool of talent out there to hire. That's first and foremost the main reason why I believe it to be a good choice for us. Second of all, I think that piece around the clear and very wide-reaching documentation and support online is fantastic.&nbsp;
I'm looking for some of the more fiddly bits of Java with regards to things like the null patterns and things like that. So it kind of allows us to move quite quickly, but with a very tried and tested underlying foundation of software in the Jvm world. So it helps me quite quickly with a lot of safety. We're now in good hands, as it were.&nbsp;
Ben: You mentioned sort of the verbosity of Java earlier as well. Are you finding that you have to write less code than you would with Java and any sort of numbers around that?&nbsp;
Luke: Perhaps 100%? Yeah, definitely. Having to write less code. I couldn't give you explicit numbers, but in terms of a like-for-like representation of some of our code in Java versus what would be the Kotlin equivalent, you could easily suggest in terms of actual raw line count, I mean, it goes down, 30% probably just because of the safety involved and all that kind of fun games. In general, it's been totally fine. We're happy with the verbosity of our Kotlin services.&nbsp;
Ben: Do you know roughly how many Kotlin developers work at Personio?&nbsp;
Luke: I would say around the 300 mark.
Ben: And, do you know roughly how that would be split between freelancers contractors, and permanent members of staff?&nbsp;
Luke: Let's see, we did have a lot of freelancers last year, but we've since started to move more into the permanent employee world. So I think right now I don't know the exact numbers, but there are not many freelancers.&nbsp; Ben: And what are the primary locations for the talent?&nbsp;
Luke: Yes, so predominantly our engineers are based in Munich and Dublin. We have offices in Amsterdam where we are also getting engineers at as well. There are three main places for engineering.
Ben: Now, one of the main reasons that you said you've used the language is because of the accessibility of talent. But are there any particular challenges that you found in trying to hire?&nbsp; Luke: Yeah, I think from my side, this is kind of more of a personal opinion, but from what I've experienced so far when having to hire Kotlin engineers it's not so much about the language, it's more about applying the patterns, and the frameworks that we use within Personio to facilitate that. We do a lot of event logging, event sourcing, event-driven development, etc. For me, it's more around ensuring that the talent that we're bringing into the fold actually has a solid understanding of what the technical horizons look like for the actual way to build a distributed system, rather than what the languages in particular. I'd say the other piece of the puzzle is obviously Java to Kotlin is a transition, right? That's not a pick-up-and-play type situation. You still need to kind of put a bit of graft in.&nbsp;
Ben: And our final question is, would you consider hiring someone with no commercial experience?
Luke: I think as long as the developer that's being interviewed has an awareness of maybe just the basics of Kotlin before they go into the coding challenge, then that's okay. It's just about ensuring that they can kind of get to grips a little bit with that Kotlin world, but using their hopefully already well-versed approach to software development in general.&nbsp;
Thanks for your insight into the use of Kotlin at Personio, Luke.&nbsp;

Interview with Personio 

Source Technology, part of Source Group International, are proud to be sponsors of KotlinConf&rsquo;23. KotlinConf is the world&rsquo;s largest event devoted to the Kotlin programming language. Organized by JetBrains, it is the place for the community to gather and discuss all things Kotlin.
&nbsp;
KotlinConf&rsquo;23 is set to return for its fourth edition this April, taking place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on April 12&ndash;14, 2023. It will feature a variety of sessions and workshops from industry leaders and provide plenty of networking opportunities at the expo hall.
&nbsp;
In July 2011, JetBrains unveiled Kotlin, a multi-purpose language for multiplatform development, including Android, iOS, backends, and other targets.450+ independent contributors are improving the core language, and thousands are contributing to the broader Kotlin ecosystem. Kotlin has more than 4.8M users globally.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
How did we get here?&nbsp;
In November our&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.meetup.com/source-talks-on-kotlin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meetup community, On Kotlin</a>,&nbsp;became members of the&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.jetbrains.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JetBrains&nbsp;</a>user group support program. Our most recent meetup welcomed&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAAAsuOABPaEnUYmTMeqpP1DKRVrIUP0cgi8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Denton</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAAB98woBWzR4hoZRJBUs19R4WpMJDIQLONM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrey Breslav</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;as our keynote speakers. You can find the recording of this event&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgmzgsNYgXg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
On Kotlin is organically growing with a community of 300+ since we launched in late 2022. Our next meet up will be announced soon, look out for updates and how to sign up here.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Back to the Conference
As a conference partner, Source Technology will be supporting the event by contributing to its success through various means such as sponsorships, promotions, and networking opportunities. We are excited to be a part of this esteemed conference and contribute to the advancement of Kotlin globally.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The Source Technology team will see you at KotlinConf&rsquo;23. For more information about KotlinConf&rsquo;23 please visit the conference&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://kotlinconf.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website.</a>
&nbsp;

We’re Partners at Kotlin Conference 2023

The tech industry looks completely different to how it did 20 years&rsquo; ago. Yes there have been fantastic advancements in technology itself, but let&rsquo;s focus on the culture and the gender make up of the workplace.
Tech has always been male-dominated, but that&rsquo;s starting to change. There&rsquo;s a recognition of a need to change. A want to change. And change is beginning to happen. Female leadership numbers have increased, the number of female workers has increased and the spotlight on gender equality has never been stronger. There&rsquo;s more to do, that goes without saying, but there are businesses and initiatives driving forward the transformation of the industry in a truly exciting way.
<h2><a name="_ygi811ysw0cn"></a>Pushing the boundaries</h2>
The tech industry is bursting with options, ideas and opportunities. The size of the industry alone demonstrates the impact it can have on wider society and tech firms are starting to sit up and notice that.
It makes sense then that women are pushing the boundaries from within the industry. According to <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/industry/technology/women-tech-leadership.html">Deloitte</a> the percentage of female workers in the overall global tech workforce has increased by 6.9% since 2019. With the fastest growth area, with a gain of around 20%, in the number of women in leadership roles.
Many tech companies have publicly pledged a commitment to improving gender diversity within their workforce both in technical and leadership roles. HP have set their ambitions at 50% gender equality at director level and above by 2030. Intel wants to double the number of women and underrepresented minorities in leadership roles by 2030. With big players in the industry making such public promises it shows that change is happening and women are becoming more prominent in the industry.
<h2><a name="_8udbn955ibyp"></a>Broadening horizons and ideas</h2>
Recently more and more studies have been published which prove the tangible benefits to a business from having women in senior leadership positions. The most gender-diverse businesses see a <a href="https://www.getsmarter.com/blog/career-advice/4-business-advantages-of-female-leadership/#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20most%20gender,their%20profitability%20by%2021%20percent.&amp;text=Moreover%2C%20a%20McKinsey%20%26%20Company%20study,between%2010%20and%2030%20percent.">21% increase in profitability</a>.
With women firmly established in a tech business, they bring with them a fresh perspective and insight. For those tech companies focused on products and services for women that insight is invaluable and you can see how they start to become more profitable.
Beyond that the rise of women in the tech industry also impacts the overall diversity of a firm, helping improve the representation of all minority groups. Female leaders are generally better communicators, more empathetic and handle crises better than their male counterparts. All of which shifts corporate culture and opens the industry up even more for women in both technical and leadership roles.
The transformation of the industry for women comes from those pioneering women who have managed to break through the glass ceiling and are paving the way for future generations of young women.
<h2><a name="_cri9lik7bq10"></a>Game changing women</h2>
While tech firms are moving in the right direction, there&rsquo;s a long way to go. That&rsquo;s why initiatives that drive forward gender equality are so important. Right now only <a href="https://www.bcg.com/diversity-inclusion/women-in-tech">20%</a> of those studying technical subjects are women. That has to change for the industry to transform. Thankfully, there are specific projects targeting women in tech looking to change the game.
<a href="https://www.23codestreet.com/">23 Code Street</a> |&nbsp; A London based coding school for women and non-binary people who want to launch their career in tech or simply to upskill. Their mission is to tackle gender disparity and create a tech workforce that reflects our society.
<a href="https://www.browngirltech.world/">Brown Girl, Tech World</a> | This organisation&rsquo;s focus to create a safe space for women and girls of colour to advance in the tech industry. By providing scholarships, grants and real life examples they inspire and create an accessible path for success.
<a href="https://codefirstgirls.com/">Code First Girls </a>| Provide coding training to women at no cost to them. Helping them gain the training and knowledge they need to succeed in a tech role at some of the world&rsquo;s biggest companies.
<a href="https://gapsquare.com/">Gapsquare</a> | This Bristol based initiative help employeres to become more inclusive and work with them to solve challenges around gender inequality and pay gaps. Their tech tool produces recommendations to create a fairer, more diverse workplace.
<a href="https://stemettes.org/">Stemettes</a> | Inspiring the next generation of female and non-binary people into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths by providing diverse role models of those succeeding in a STEM career.
That&rsquo;s just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many great initiatives that are campaigning for change, and helping put the wheels in motion to transform the tech industry and to help establish women in that transformation.
The industry is changing, but there&rsquo;s so much more that needs to be done before the tech industry is a safe and successful sphere for a woman&rsquo;s career. The great news is that the big players are recognising the positive role women can play and making public commitments so they can be held to account. Now it&rsquo;s time to pull everything together and to make that transformation happen.
Source Technology are dedicated to discovering technology talent to drive your business forward. Our platform Source Talks community drives change &amp; collaboration across the technology industry. Find out more about how we can work with you <a href="../../../../source-technology/about/">here.</a>
&nbsp;

Making a Difference: How Women  in Tech are Transforming the Industry

Unless you&rsquo;ve been living under a rock you&rsquo;ll have heard of the gender pay gap. You might also have heard the date 20 November - after which women are effectively working for free. There&rsquo;s a slim chance you might know that businesses with over 250 employees need to report their gender pay gap annually.
It&rsquo;s a real issue, with real implications. How do we close it? That&rsquo;s the question everyone is asking.
Recruitment sits in a unique position of influence, without any closing influence. What do we mean by that? Recruitment teams can play a part in which candidates are put forward for a role but they don&rsquo;t determine who&rsquo;s successful. But that sliver of influence means there&rsquo;s a lot that recruitment can do to promote equality and move towards closing the gap.
<h2><a name="_joujeec3j7o9"></a>What is the gender pay gap?</h2>
In 1970 the Equal Pay Act came into law, making it illegal to discriminate between men and women when it came to terms of employment, i.e. pay. Despite that law being in place for over 50 years there&rsquo;s still a stark contrast between men and women when it comes to their earnings.
The gender pay gap is the difference in average gross hourly earnings between men and women. In the UK the gender pay gap at age <a href="https://www.thatworksforme.co.uk/guides-and-tools/careers-after-babies">30 is 1%</a>, this rises to 14% by the time workers are aged 40.
Covid-19 has played a part in worsening the gender pay gap over recent years, so it&rsquo;s difficult to say whether there&rsquo;s been an improvement over the years. Amongst full-time employees the pay gap was <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2022">8.3% in April 2022</a> compared to 9% in April 2019. This does follow the overarching trend that the gap is slowly declining, but there&rsquo;s still a great deal more to be done.
<h2><a name="_qvsw5y8bdl4s"></a>What role does recruitment play?</h2>
As a recruitment agency it would be easy for us to pass the blame to other people. It&rsquo;s our clients that interview and set the salaries. It&rsquo;s the candidates who don&rsquo;t push for more, or accept low offers. But the truth is for society to close the gender pay gap we all need to take responsibility and all need to play our part.
There are many ways that recruiters, whether external or in-house, can help to promote equality throughout the recruitment process.
●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Encourage women to apply for senior roles
●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Include more women in referral networks
●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Be aware of gender bias
It&rsquo;s the last point that is the most critical. We all hold stereotypes about gender. Whether that&rsquo;s believing that women are suited to certain roles, or the style of working men and women prefer and the impact on their careers.
<h3><a name="_yw1eoubwzopw"></a>Job adverts</h3>
Understanding, and eradicating, gender bias is the foundation to closing the gender pay gap. This starts with the job advert itself and looking at what recruitment channels you&rsquo;re using, the language in the advert and the essential requirements. Are they accessible to both male and female candidates? It&rsquo;s important to examine the language in job adverts as in an <a href="https://www.equalsalary.org/10-hr-tips-to-prevent-gender-bias-in-recruitment/">analysis of 77,000 job adverts </a>- 478,175 words carried gender bias which is an average of 6 male or female-coded words per advert.
<h3><a name="_nxbbrpbw72tv"></a>Anonymous applications</h3>
It&rsquo;s amazing the impact a name can have. Removing personal details from an application or CV such as name, education details and dates levels the playing field instantly. There&rsquo;s no time for your brain to calculate that Sarah is a 35-year-old woman applying for a Senior Manager position and what if she goes on maternity leave. Instead you have to make a decision based on the information you have, not the bias in your mind.
<h3><a name="_m96jqra7klen"></a>Diversity in action</h3>
Women need to see women in the roles they aspire to have. Including senior women in the interview process and demonstrating a commitment to diversity and inclusion is a surefire way to attract and secure more female candidates. It will also help reduce gender bias on a panel through a wider range of experiences and opinions.
<h2><a name="_e6qpwwu63k8t"></a>What more could recruitment do?</h2>
There is always more that can be done by everyone. While the overall trend of the gender pay gap is decreasing, there&rsquo;s still too much of a disparity. The role that recruitment plays in promoting equality is simple.
It&rsquo;s to take the steps they can to level the playing field, through job adverts, language, accessibility. But it&rsquo;s also to champion lesser represented candidates, approaching female candidates to apply for roles, pushing for equal remuneration packages for all candidates and using their position of oversight to help level the playing field.
We can close the gender pay gap, but it requires us all to play our part. To be aware of our bias and to take whatever steps we can to equalise our working environments.
Source Technology are dedicated to discovering technology talent to drive your business forward. If you&rsquo;re passionate about building an inclusive future for your organisation then speak to our experts today. Find out about our process and how we can work with you, <a href="../../../../source-technology/our-process/">here</a>.
&nbsp;

Closing the Gender Gap:  Promoting Equality in Recruitment

We could start this article by explaining all the ways that a business benefits from a truly inclusive workplace. Increases in productivity, bigger talentpool, broader perspectives. But the hope is, that if you&rsquo;re reading this you&rsquo;re already sold on the why. You&rsquo;re struggling with the how.
How do you create an inclusive future? How can the tech industry support and encourage more women to take on roles in the sector? What else can we do? We don&rsquo;t have all the answers, but we definitely have a starting point.
<h2><a name="_e8ls4e9sx8ip"></a>Current state of the tech industry</h2>
With a surge in demand for tech jobs the sector has seen an incredible recovery from the pandemic, with the number of tech jobs <a href="https://technation.io/jobs-and-skills-report-2021/">42% higher</a> in June 2021 then in June 2019. But what role do women play within those jobs?
As of 2022, women held just <a href="https://explodingtopics.com/blog/women-in-tech">26.7% of technology jobs </a>globally. That&rsquo;s not to say progress hasn&rsquo;t been made. Research by <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/2022/statistics-show-women-in-technology-are-facing-new-headwinds.html">Deloitte </a>shows that the 20 largest tech companies have maintained their momentum in gender inclusivity over the past two years. With overall female representation up just over 2% from 2 years prior.
The tech industry has always been male dominated. A <a href="https://www.pwc.co.uk/who-we-are/women-in-technology/time-to-close-the-gender-gap.html">PwC study</a> found that only 3% of women say a tech career is their first choice. That&rsquo;s something the industry is aware of and taking steps to address. But what&rsquo;s also clear is that more needs to be done to create a truly inclusive future and to make sure that women are front and centre in that future.
<h2><a name="_pxbej9valf8j"></a>How to create a more inclusive future?</h2>
For tech companies that are serious about creating a more inclusive workplace, workforce and future there are basic steps that can be taken. Focusing on supporting your employees, opening doors and leading by example tech firms can start to create a working environment that welcomes and supports women.
<h3><a name="_js7qn3ru2zkn"></a>Recognising the issue</h3>
The starting point is to be truly honest about your company's current situation. What&rsquo;s your gender balance? What&rsquo;s your gender pay gap? What&rsquo;s your flexible working policy and is it adhered to? How are you supporting women&rsquo;s career progression? Have you spoken to women in your workplace about their needs?
Taking an honest look at your inner-workings allows you to make informed decisions that help achieve an inclusive future, rather than guessing about what might help.
<h3><a name="_g8dw4hh97w6k"></a>Working culture</h3>
The tech industry is notorious for burnout and long-hours. For many women who take on the bulk of caring responsibilities that&rsquo;s simply not an option. After having one child, the <a href="https://www.thatworksforme.co.uk/guides-and-tools/careers-after-babies">Career after Babies report</a> found that 89% of all working mothers leave the full time workforce within 3 years of having children. Showing that full time work and long hours simply isn&rsquo;t sustainable with having a young family.
Tech companies need to build flexible working, whether that&rsquo;s compressed hours, working remotely, part time, job shares or any other measures into their working culture. With senior managers fully supporting and enforcing flexible working to make it a success.
<h3><a name="_qr9vk62z9c2d"></a>Support</h3>
With so few female leader role models, it makes it difficult for women to forge a path to the top, or have the belief that they can do it. That&rsquo;s where mentoring comes in.
Being paired up with a mentor helps women have a safe space to discuss any challenges they&rsquo;re facing, and navigate through them. In companies with established mentoring schemes they&rsquo;re found it helps develop leadership skills, increase self-confidence and navigate career obstacles. The results speak for themselves, with <a href="https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcast/knowledge-at-wharton-podcast/workplace-loyalties-change-but-the-value-of-mentoring-doesnt/">25% of mentees</a> advancing up a pay grade compared to 5% of non-mentored women.
From an employer&rsquo;s perspective mentoring can improve employee retention rates. With 49% of those surveyed in a case study by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/07/14/driving-employee-retention-through-mentorship/?sh=5500159e11b6">Randstad </a>less likely to leave after participating in a mentoring program.
A mentoring program is a clever way not only to keep those in the tech industry engaged, but also to attract and support more women into the sector.
<h2><a name="_pxwvv2ysc5ab"></a>Investing in women</h2>
Creating a more inclusive future for women in the tech industry starts early. We need to look at initiatives that create interest from school years in STEM subjects and then keep girls interested throughout their further studies.
That requires investment, it requires forward thinking and it requires commitment.
There&rsquo;s no quick fix to creating a more inclusive future. But the tech industry can be the ones to pioneer change, to flex to support women and to create an environment where women thrive alongside their male counterparts.
Listening, flexibility and mentorship might not be the only things needed but they&rsquo;re a great starting point for any business to show their commitment to inclusivity and to start to move forward.
Source Technology, as part of Source Group International are dedicated to discovering technology talent to drive your business forward. If you&rsquo;re passionate about building an inclusive future for your organisation then speak to our experts today. Find out more about how we can work with you <a href="../../../../discover-sgi/diversity/">here</a>.

Women in Tech: Leading the way to a more inclusive future

Java enthusiast but wondering what the future is for the language?
Looking to move your career into developing android apps?
Heard of Kotlin but not sure whether it&rsquo;s any good?
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s time to examine Kotlin&rsquo;s reputation for android development, and to find out whether it&rsquo;s deserved. Ready to get started? Let&rsquo;s go.
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>The rise in popularity of Kotlin</h2>
&nbsp;
Developed by JetBrain in 2017 Kotlin was originally designed to make coding in Java more productive. But with support from Google it was introduced as its own official programming language and introduced as an alternative to Java for mobile development.
In just 3 years, 7.7% of industry experts use Kotlin and it&rsquo;s among the top 3 languages that most businesses are planning to migrate their apps to (SOURCE). That&rsquo;s a phenomenal rise in popularity in such a short time.
With such an increase in popularity it&rsquo;s easy to see why many in the android community are championing Kotlin. Netflix, Trello, Uber, Twitter and Pinterest all use Kotlin to develop their Android apps and many others will follow suit.
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>Kotlin vs Java</h2>
&nbsp;
Java was always the norm. It was the go-to for developers and everyone was happy with that status quo, until Kotlin arrived. Now the debate has turned to Kotlin vs Java, which is better.
Both languages have their own strengths and weaknesses. So there is no overarching rule on which to use, instead it&rsquo;s a case of choosing the right tool for the job. If you&rsquo;re looking to develop large applications packed with features and functions and they need to work across all platforms, then choose Java.
If you&rsquo;re looking to develop an android application then it&rsquo;s going to be Kotlin.
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>What&rsquo;s so special about Kotlin for android development?</h2>
&nbsp;
With <a style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/17/15654988/google-jet-brains-kotlin-programming-language-android-development-io-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google</a> declaring Kotlin as the preferred programming language for Android app development, it&rsquo;s clear that the weight of the programming world is behind Kotlin. But what is it about Kotlin that makes it so good for android development?
&nbsp;
<h3>Easy to learn, easy to apply</h3>
As a modern language Kotlin has some major advantages over Java for creating faster and higher quality android applications. As a result, it&rsquo;s much easier to use, and to learn thanks to its straightforward syntax. Those with Java knowledge will pick up Kotlin with no issues and as Kotlin is 100% interoperable with Java you&rsquo;ll be bale to call Kotlin code from Java and Java code from Kotlin.
&nbsp;
<h3>Reduced errors</h3>
As an expressive and concise programming language Kotlin reduces common code errors. For a start, Kotlin reduces the number of code lines by an estimated 40% compared to Java, providing less opportunity for errors to be made. But it has also eliminated the danger of null references to avoid costly mistakes.
&nbsp;
<h3>Data Classes</h3>
Data classes within Kotlin replace common classes, but with one big difference. Data classes contain a huge amount of self-generated code, eliminating lines of code and acting as a store for data properties. They save developers from creating a lot of boilerplate code that has to be manually generated in Java.
&nbsp;
<h3>Extension functions</h3>
Unlike Java which doesn&rsquo;t support extension functions. Kotlin gives you the ability to extend a class by adding new features, without having to inherit it. These extensions let you add functions to a class without needing to modify it and you can then use the functions as if they were part of the original class.
&nbsp;
<h3>Community support</h3>
Despite its relatively young age, the online support and communities for Kotlin developers is staggering. Whether you&rsquo;re looking for a Kotlin library or simply to check a line of code there are active communities full of helpful developers waiting to be of assistance.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s clear that compared to Java, Kotlin&rsquo;s features and style makes it a great partner for Android development. When you throw into the mix Google&rsquo;s endorsement and the names that are already championing it as the language for android applications and it&rsquo;s easy to see why it&rsquo;s gained its reputation. But it's a reputation that&rsquo;s well deserved. It&rsquo;s quick, it&rsquo;s easy to use, it reduces errors and load times and it&rsquo;s quickly received the backing of the developer community.
&nbsp;
Source Technology have a growing global Kotlin Community, and our Kotlin meetup
supported by Jet Brains, connect with the team today to find out more. hello@source-technology.com

Why is Kotlin good for android development?

With big companies adding Kotlin to their tech stack there&rsquo;s no doubt that it&rsquo;s a force to be reckoned with. For developers that brings the question, should they take the time to learn it?
As far as programming languages go, it&rsquo;s easy to learn and easy to apply. There are large communities out there willing to share their knowledge and a wealth of resources to help you along the way.
Not only that, but it could be the factor that advances your career. Can you afford to miss out? For us, it&rsquo;s not worth the risk. Let&rsquo;s explore Kotlin and why it should be your next career move.
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>What is Kotlin used for?</h2>
&nbsp;
Designed to work with Java, Kotlin is an open-source programming language used by some of the biggest apps today. Want some examples? Trello, Tinder and Pinterest all benefit from Kotlin&rsquo;s clear and concise coding architecture.
One of the perks of Kotlin is its concise nature, saving time, particularly when compared to writing boilerplate code in Java. It can run on multiple platforms, handles nulls and has a large support community. Making it the coding language of choice for Android developers.
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>Is Kotlin the future?</h2>
&nbsp;
Within the next few years we predict that Kotlin will become the next big programming language. Its popularity in emerging fields such as mobile, web and cloud development is increasing and that&rsquo;s set to continue.&nbsp;
For programmers now is the time to add Kotlin to your repertoire and use that knowledge to boost your career prospects. 
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>How can Kotlin put you ahead of the competition?</h2>
&nbsp;
<h3>You&rsquo;ll be more efficient at your job</h3>
Why create 10 lines of code when one will do? Java has ruled the programming language world for a long time but you can accomplish the same tasks with Kotlin, only quicker. Kotlin is a concise language that uses abstractions without impacting the readability of the code. As a developer, that means you can write more code and spend less time reviewing code.
&nbsp;
<h3>You&rsquo;ll create higher quality apps</h3>
There are features built into Kotlin to reduce the number of bugs and system failures. Improving the quality of your apps and making it easier for developers. You won&rsquo;t be making the &ldquo;billion dollar mistake&rdquo; like Tony Hoare, as in Kotlin by default variables can&rsquo;t be null. You can also reuse code making it easier to maintain.
&nbsp;
<h3>You&rsquo;ll become multilingual</h3>
Kotlin has been developed to work alongside Java. Apps you&rsquo;ve created in Java can be migrated to Kotlin, it&rsquo;s interoperability allows seamless integration where you&rsquo;re already using Java. It&rsquo;s not a case of stopping using one and starting with the next, it&rsquo;s about picking the right solution for the job. If you&rsquo;re a Java developer and add Kotlin to your skillset you&rsquo;ll be one step ahead of everyone else and your work will benefit.
&nbsp;
<h3>You&rsquo;ll be more versatile</h3>
While Kotlin is the go-to for Android development it can also be used for web applications. Kotlin can generate JavaScript and native code and its multiplatform fluency allows you to be diverse. Flitting between languages and platforms depending on the project. That type of flexibility makes you an incredible asset to any team.
&nbsp;
<h3>You&rsquo;ll be in demand</h3>
There&rsquo;s no denying it, Kotlin experience is in demand. If you take a look at many Android Developer roles Kotlin is an essential requirement. Failing to upskill in Kotlin may result in you ruling yourself out of certain careers. It&rsquo;s a high risk strategy and not one that we&rsquo;d advise.
&nbsp;
<h2>What are the career options for a Kotlin developer?</h2>
A solid understanding of Kotlin programming opens a world of possibilities to work on leading projects in a variety of fields. Some of those opportunities are:
●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Android app developer
●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Data science projects
●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Web developer
●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Back end developer
●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Software analysis
&nbsp;
Kotlin isn&rsquo;t a passing trend. Something that might hang around and then disappear. It&rsquo;s here to stay, and it&rsquo;s going to shake up the industry. If you learn Kotlin now, there&rsquo;s no doubt that it will boost your career prospects. It&rsquo;ll set you up to work on different projects, different platforms and in a different way to many of your peers. What&rsquo;s stopping you?
&nbsp;
Are you a skilled developer looking to add Kotlin to your tech stack? Want to join our
growing Kotlin Community? Reach out to our Source Technology team today. hello@source-technology.com

How can Kotlin boost your career?

<pre><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JgmzgsNYgXg" width="300" height="168" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></pre>
Event Infomation:
Smash Your Adapter Monolith With The Connect Pattern
Server-side code is regularly broken down into manageable chunks, based on endpoints. As a result, it tends to be nicely factored. But over several projects, we noticed that the same was not true of adapters that talk to 3rd party systems. These pieces of code tended to grow uncontrolled and were not given the same level of attention.
We can use the power of Kotlin and take advantage of language features such as Data Classes, Companion Objects, Operator Overloading and Extension Functions to easily do this - but the pattern concepts themselves are applicable to any technology choice or programming model.
&nbsp;
Speaker Information:
Andrey Breslav
Andrey Breslav led the design and development of the Kotlin Programming Language at JetBrains for 10 years.
Andrey will be talking about the languages Kotlin learned from and will have plenty of time for Q and A - so prepare questions you'd like to ask the lead language designer of Kotlin.&nbsp;
David Denton
David is a London-based Engineering Lead, Trainer and Open Source fanatic. He's been tippy tapping for about two decades, building software and teams delivering projects working in Finance, Publishing, Internet Provision and the COVID-prevention business. He is the co-creator of http4k, a functional toolkit for building HTTP applications in Kotlin, and spends far too much time thinking about Lego.
&nbsp;
Thank you to <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAAAsuOABPaEnUYmTMeqpP1DKRVrIUP0cgi8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Denton</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAAB98woBWzR4hoZRJBUs19R4WpMJDIQLONM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrey Breslav</a>&nbsp;for their talks, everyone in the community who came along and the&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/source-technology-ltd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source Technology</a> team.
We're proud to announce that our community is now supported by&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/jetbrains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JetBrains</a>. Thank you to everyone who entered our raffle. The winners of the&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/jetbrains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JetBrains</a> 1-year subscription licenses have now been announced. Congratulations all!
You can find the video recording here if you would like to re-watch it or could not make it to the event in person.
Remember to<a href="https://www.meetup.com/source-talks-on-kotlin/"> join our Meetup community</a> to hear about our future events!

Source Talks: On Kotlin #5

Application security is facing more and more threats than ever, and companies and organisations are keen to get safe measures in place. That means hiring cyber security experts who can put these measures into place that offer superior protection. The only problem is that cyber security has a major skills gap.
&nbsp;
Here at Source, we&rsquo;ve also noticed a lack of cyber security talent ourselves. Today, we&rsquo;re here to talk about why this is and how to fix it.
&nbsp;
Cyber Skills Gap
Why is there a cyber skills shortage? There are multiple reasons. The main one is that cyber security is constantly changing. You could say this about all technology jobs, but it&rsquo;s particularly true with cyber security because of the need to keep up with hackers.
&nbsp;
The speed that software is being developed and delivered is speeding up, meaning there is a divide between developers and cyber security experts &ndash; they don&rsquo;t have enough time to learn the new software.
&nbsp;
Another reason is that there appears to be a lack of university courses that specialise in cyber security. If people can&rsquo;t get the training they need, there&rsquo;s no chance of them becoming cyber security professionals.
&nbsp;
Bridging the Cyber Skills Gap
So, what can we do about bridging the cyber skills gap?
&nbsp;
Apart from creating more training courses (that are also accessible), the challenge lies mainly with organisations and companies &ndash; they must give developers the tools to be able to keep their software safe and secure.
&nbsp;
What are these tools? One type is security test tools that are automated, meaning they are there at the beginning of the development process, helping to ensure that security is an inbuilt part of the development from the start. These types of testing tools allow developers to address threats in a way that means they don&rsquo;t have to be cybersecurity experts.
&nbsp;
This is about the simple fact of using tools that developers can easily understand. The tools need to be integrated into developers&rsquo; everyday work processes. Unfortunately, this doesn&rsquo;t happen enough.
&nbsp;
Software developers should have a basic understanding of cyber security, but this often gets overlooked in interviews, almost like an annoying afterthought &ndash; cyber security professionals are needed to turn this into a forethought. Successful cyber security needs to be implemented at
&nbsp;every stage of the development journey.
&nbsp;
Do you work in cyber security?
There&rsquo;s a skills gap to bridge, and we want to make the cyber world a safer place. If you&rsquo;re a cyber security professional, you can imagine that we would want to hear from you. Apply for one of our jobs, send us your CV, or give us a call, and we&rsquo;ll get the ball rolling right away.
&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re interested in moving into cyber security, we want to hear from you as well. As you long as you have software and developer skills, we may be able to find a way for you to move in the cyber security direction. Take up the call and help out the struggle against cybercrime.
&nbsp;
When you contact us, we&rsquo;ll start the process off by getting to you know a bit better. We want to know about your previous experience, your career goals, and your aspirations. That way, we can put you forward for better job matches. Not all recruitment agencies do this, and we found that they were treating their talent like a commodity to be bartered with. This is something that we&rsquo;ve always felt passionate about.
&nbsp;
Get in touch with us now, and we&rsquo;ll help you take the next step in your career. We&rsquo;re looking forward to hearing from you.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Bridging Skills Gap Cyber Security

Our 1st in-person Source Talks: On Kotlin Meetup was a great success!
&nbsp;
Thank you to our guest speakers, Michele Sollecito and Aditya Sofat&nbsp;for their interesting talk on Coroutines and flows in Kotlin, and for delivering a fantastic live coding session. As well as Duncan&nbsp;McGregor&nbsp;and Dmitry Kandalov on Refactoring from Spring Boot.
&nbsp;
We love bringing our community together for events like this, which is why we launched our On Kotlin Meetup page as part of Source Talks Community.
Remember to<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.meetup.com/source-talks-on-kotlin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&nbsp;join our Meetup community</a> to hear about our future events!&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Event Information:
Michele Sollecito and Aditya Sofat - Coroutines and flows in Kotlin.
Overview of Coroutines theory/Why? - Implementation of Continuation - Light weight Threads - Suspension Points
Use Case - non blocking/async programming
Practical Use Demonstrating - Coroutine Builders - ( DefaultDispatcher and how to change Thread Pool) - async/await use case
suspend fun loadAndCombine(name1: String, name2: String): Image { val deferred1 = async( loadImage(name1)) val deffered2 = async( loadImage(name1)) return combinedImage(deffered1.await(), deffered2.await()) }
Using Job and SupervisorJob to show the difference as well as Job Cancellation
Coroutine Structured Concurrency
Flows - Hot vs Cold - Built-in back pressure handling - Changing Dispatcher - MutableSharedFlow example
&nbsp;
Duncan&nbsp;McGregor&nbsp;and Dmitry Kandalov - Dependency Injection: Refactoring from Spring to Kotlin
Dependency injection libraries and frameworks seem to be so common these days that even the simplest projects start with introducing a DI framework. There are some good reasons to use DI frameworks, but in general, they can be less useful than expected. In this live coding session, I will take you on a refactoring journey moving a small web application from Spring to pure Kotlin. You will see how using modern language constructs can help achieve most benefits of DI frameworks without the need for reflection or compiler plugin magic.

Source Talks: On Kotlin #4

As we enter the final stretch of 2022 our thoughts naturally turn to what 2023 might bring. The world of tech is constantly changing with new developments constantly happening. It’s exciting to think about what the future will bring and what technological advancements will be made that by this time next year will have directly influenced the way we work. Let’s take a look at the 7 technology trends we think will be the ones to watch in 2023. AIAI has been playing a large part in technology for longer than most realise. Smart algorithms used in online shopping, travel navigation and entertainment rely on AI technology. But it’s not going to stop there. AI is going to continue to embed itself into the fabric of our technological world, becoming more accessible and adaptable. For some industries this could lead to AI taking on some human jobs, but other roles will be created to navigate those changes. It’s an exciting time for AI and 2023 will see it reach new heights. METAVERSEIdeas around what the metaverse is are so varied that it’s best to think of an immersive digital world. 2023 should bring further clarity and development around the opportunities, available tech and its value through broadening the reach and use beyond early adopters and tech enthusiasts. This presents an opportunity for businesses to think about how they engage with the Metaverse - whether that’s targeting customers or training and virtual learning environments to connect remote workers together. Embracing and resourcing these opportunities could be a challenge for the business community. BLOCKCHAINCurrently blockchain is primarily used in the financial sector but throughout 2023 we’ll see this secure technology extended to healthcare, government and education. The ability to decentralise trust and security away from a specific organisation in a way that can’t be tampered with will drive innovations in security and data exchange. Whether that’s in storing and transferring personal data - like health records, or to create long-term authentication of high-end products the applications for blockchain will be endless. ACCELERATED DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONCOVID-19 saw a rapid acceleration in the adoption and development of technology and that’s not set to slow down anytime soon. Investment in technology and online expansion will continue to increase to accommodate the change in user behaviours and usage. Remote working, cloud technology and online shopping have been transformed over recent years and it looks like 2023 will be another year of accelerated digital transformation. HYPERCONNECTIVITYAn app to turn your kettle on is just the start. Hyperconnectivity - or how devices connect and communicate, will be a trend for 2023. The Internet of Things is set to ramp up and work more effectively across a broader range of tasks. Developments in 5G, and in the not too distant future 6G, mean communication will be faster than ever and you’ll be able to slice communication so it exists in isolation. CLOUD ALTERNATIVESThe cloud has existed since XX and through COVID-19 we’ve seen more businesses adopt cloud working. But now the focus has shifted to alternatives. Edge computing and fog computing have appeared recently, offering faster and easier data processing. Throughout 2023 not only will we see more viable alternatives to cloud computing emerging and working their way into mainstream technology working but we’ll also see hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure emerging. HYPER AUTOMATIONTechnology adds so many possibilities to the world, particularly with the ability to link devices, technologies and platforms together. That’s where hyper-automation comes in. It’s taking automation and putting it on steroids to help automate as many IT and business processes as possible. Doing so reduces human error, increases accuracy and productivity and frees up working time from replicable tasks. Developments in process mapping tools, RPA, AI and machine learning will create more opportunities to hyper automate and that will generate more benefits for businesses. The exciting thing about technology is that something new is bound to make its way onto that list and blow us away with its capabilities. For now, we’re going to keep our eyes on those 7 technologies and see if our predictions come true. Are you looking for talent solutions for your technology organization, or searching for your next opportunity in tech? Reach out to our Source Technology team today. hello@source-technology.com

7 Technology Trends for 2023

When you have the best security staff around your priority needs to be on how you retain them. Recruiting staff takes time and is an extra process you don’t always need to go through when you have great staff already in-house.&nbsp; The good news is that there are some simple measures you can put in place to keep your security staff happy where they already are. Work/life balanceWorking remotely, alternate hours, office location or a mixture of all three go a long way to cultivating loyal staff. Particularly in the security sector where working hours can be longer than in other roles, the ability to logon at home or start later and finish later depending on the project they’re working on is seen as a massive benefit. Not only that but empowering staff to have responsibility for their own working style and hours helps them to feel in control of their work life. That ownership is particularly important when it comes to preventing burnout. With employees able to work from home if they need to protect their time from interruptions, or flex their working hours puts them firmly in the driving seat and you’ll see an increase in the retention and loyalty of your security staff. Skills development &amp; opportunitiesDevelopment is part of any role but particularly for those working in security keeping abreast of current developments is an essential part of their role. Building in opportunities and support for development at all levels is a surefire way to not only ensure you have the best staff but also to keep them.&nbsp; If your security staff are all up-to-date with their training then it also provides a pool of candidates for any promotion opportunities. Rewarding staff for their loyalty, dedication and expertise by creating a culture of promoting from within rather than looking outside first. Companies that take time to understand an individual’s ambitions and help them achieve them - even if they’re outside the “normal” route will also feel the difference in an employee's loyalty. Working cultureWhen candidates are looking for a new position, working culture is so important, and that’s true for existing staff too.&nbsp; An employer that has strong values which it embodies in daily practices, puts employee wellbeing first and encourages collaboration will always retain employees over other employers.&nbsp; Wellness is something that’s come to light particularly during the pandemic, with many employees raising awareness around burnout, mental health and work/life balance. Employers who can be seen to take this seriously through in house initiatives, leave packages and healthcare bonuses become a desirable place to work - particularly for those in stressful or high-risk roles like security staff.&nbsp; Rewards &amp; recognitionBeing adequately rewarded for the work we do is a motivating factor regardless of our industry or profession. But for those in the security world dealing with potentially high value threats it’s even more important. Whether that’s benchmarking salaries and ensuring new starters aren’t coming in on higher bands than existing staff, bonuses or incremental pay increases - money really does talk and is one of the most obvious ways to retain key security staff. Recognition for the work done and the impact of that work, whether that’s verbally, financially or through a reward scheme, helps instill a culture of feedback and support. Work isn’t done in silos or behind closed doors and never spoken about again, instead it’s held up as an example of a job well done.&nbsp; Staff need to feel appreciated, particularly in highly competitive, in-demand areas such as security and reassuring staff that they’re valued and their contribution has been seen is at the heart of retaining staff. ChoiceAt the end of the day empowering your employees so they feel they have choice is key. That might be over their IT equipment - whether they have a standing desk, how many monitors, whether they have a trackpad or mouse.&nbsp; When it comes to the equipment security staff use day in and day out giving them choices over the budget allocated to their set-up create a more comfortable working environment and as a result, a more productive and happier one. Listening to your security employees and understanding what they're asking for, whether that’s flexibility, equipment, recognition or balance goes a long way in retaining your staff. Helping your security staff feel empowered, in control and appreciated are all straightforward methods to ensure they have a long, fulfilling career with you. Using a recruitment expert like the team here at Source will help take some pressure off you so that you can focus on the other areas of your business. Why not give us a call today and find out what we have to offer – you will be glad you did.

5 Ways to Retain Your Security Staff

Building an agile workforce can be a great asset to your business. Bringing together different disciplines, people and working styles can make a more profitable and productive business.&nbsp; Recruiting the right people for your agile business can be tricky, particularly when it comes to your tech department. When it comes to finding agile tech workers many businesses struggle to find the right people for their opportunity. That’s a trend which is unlikely to change over the coming years. But why is it so hard to find agile tech workers? Let’s look at some of the reasons. SHORTAGE OF TECH TALENTTo recruit agile tech workers you need to be able to recruit tech talent in the first place. A study by Gartner found that COVID-19 accelerated the scale of digital transformation leaving many companies with a tech skills shortage. With a widening gap between demand and supply of tech workers, recruiting new talent to your business may become even more challenging. LENGTHY HIRING PROCESSTech is a field that thrives on speed, new developments and streamlined activities. Sadly, many recruitment processes don’t work in the same way. If you’re looking to attract the best agile tech workers then your process shouldn’t take longer than 2-3 weeks, any more than that and you’re at risk of losing great candidates.&nbsp; INNOVATION &amp; DEVELOPMENTThe tech industry is filled with new technology, innovations and developments. Staying at the forefront of all those changes is difficult. This becomes even trickier when you have an agile workforce spread across different time zones or locations as it puts the pressure on the individual. Too often creating an environment to facilitate learning and agile workers' development is hard to find but it’s something that makes you stand out from the crowd. PROACTIVE RECRUITMENTWith such a highly competitive market many of the best agile tech workers already have roles that they’re happy in so traditional recruitment methods don’t work. Relying on an advert and applications are outdated methods, and instead companies need to become proactive in their recruitment - seeking out the best candidates directly. RIGID BUSINESS MODEL&nbsp;Work location and remote working are quickly becoming the cornerstones of tech working. But if your business model doesn’t reflect these or fully embody the ethos of agile working then this can quickly drive talent away. If agile working is only in one area of the business it can cause friction between areas of the business and undermine the principles of agile working. WORK FROM ANYWHEREAt the heart of agile working is the idea that location doesn’t matter. But the reality is without the right digital collaboration and management tools such as Slack, video conferencing or Asana, you’ll end up with isolated team members working independently. Establishing your infrastructure and being able to explain to candidates your expectations and the reality is essential to recruiting agile tech workers. RECOGNITION AND REWARDSOut of sight, out of mind is a big worry for agile workers. There’s a perception that without adequate face time they won’t get the recognition they deserve and could be passed over for promotion opportunities or recognition. Being able to demonstrate how your workplace culture extends to remote workers or part-time staff will help to reassure and soothe those concerns. BURNOUT&nbsp;There can be a misconception that an agile worker is available whenever they’re needed. This can particularly be seen in start-ups where there’s a huge level of work to be done, and often redone at short notice. When the boundaries between work and personal time become blurred, and agile working becomes more taking than giving that creates issues for recruiting other agile tech workers to the business. RISING POPULARITY OF FREELANCE WORKThe world of work is changing and taking on freelance or contract work is becoming an increasingly popular way of working. For many, it’s the ultimate in agile working and the potential instability is outweighed by other benefits. It adds an extra layer of competition when recruiting for an in-house role and means the package on offer needs to be even more irresistible. CHANGING PRIORITIESAgile working is more than simply where you work. For many, it also refers to workplace culture and the values it embodies. Increasingly tech talent is looking at the wider context of an employer - what their priorities are, whether they’re culturally and socially responsible and using that information to make a decision. It’s no longer all about salary or other traditional perks. A highly competitive marketplace and a shortage of tech workers are without doubt hampering your ability to find the agile tech workers you need. But there are a whole host of other factors at play that you should be aware of. From your culture to your set up to your package if you’re struggling to find the right talent you need it’s worth reviewing your recruitment process and identifying areas to improve. Are you looking for talent solutions for your technology organization, or searching for your next opportunity in tech? Reach out to our Source Technology team today. hello@source-technology.com

10 Reasons Why It's Difficult To Find Agile Tech Workers

Java is one of the most commonly used programming languages, which makes a Java developer a huge asset to your team. A 2021 report by Statista states nearly 65% of software developers worldwide use Java as a programming language. With no formal benchmark of qualifications or experience needed to call yourself a Java developer you often end up with a wide pool of candidates at different experience levels. One disparity we often see with Java developers is a gap around their JVM knowledge. JVM grants applications the "Write once, run anywhere" principle making them platform independent, and while it’s not an essential skill a robust understanding enables developers to write and test high performing code. Why JVM?For any job understanding the essentials is key. You might not need to use that knowledge to complete your daily tasks but they provide a solid foundation for you to progress. The same applies to Java developers understanding the heart of Java - the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Having a strong grasp on JVM, its parts and how they function helps any developer to write high-performing code and indicates that they take their role, and their development seriously. It’s tempting to skip the fundamentals and focus on the newer developments. But as a developer it's helpful for you to learn and understand the layer of software below that you’re working at. For instance, if you’re a C++ developer then you should learn assembly language to understand what the compiler is generating for you. For Java developers, that level is JVM. Historically, JVM only supported Java. Over time other languages such as Scala, Kotlin and Groovy has been incorporated into the Java platform. Fundamentally, a deep understanding of JVM will enable you to write better code while avoiding pitfalls relating to stack and memory errors. Assessing JVM SkillsIt’s not essential to understand JVM as a developer but a solid understanding marks that individual out as a cut above the rest, not only in their rounded technical know-how but also in their desire to develop themselves and their knowledge.&nbsp; Without an understanding of an individual’s current JVM skill level it’s challenging to establish their gaps in knowledge. Their current competency could be assessed via a proficiency test or through a conversation with a Java developer well versed in JVM, asking questions related to Just-in-Time compilation, multithreading, JVM options, class loading, concurrency handling, compile-time and runtime errors.&nbsp; Once their existing level of competency has been established you can then develop a plan to increase their understanding of JVM.Learning JVM The best methods for learning about JVM and bridging the skills gap is through independent learning. There are many courses out there that cover aspects of JVM in more depth including: ●	Oracle university●	Udemy●	Great Learning●	Data Flair Training●	Pluralsight It’s best to identify the specific area of learning you want to focus on then find a course that supports you to do just that. Alternatively, online resources and books like “The Definitve Guide to Java Performance” by Scott Oaks, which covers JVM in-depth. If you’re someone who prefers to take a hands-on approach they may help you learn through doing.&nbsp; The future of JVMJVM now incorporates possibly the biggest collection of languages of any bytecode making it still a crucial part of development connecting older and younger generations of coding languages. It’s not going anywhere in the near future and that’s why it’s still an essential skill for any serious developers.&nbsp; JVM is an essential, but often overlooked skill for developers to have. For developers it can be tempting to focus on newer developments without fully understanding the basic building blocks. Overcoming this requires either a change in recruitment processes to fully evaluate a candidate’s competency or a commitment by that candidate to dedicate time to upskilling their knowledge. This is something an employer can support through training courses, dedicated learning time or working with experienced colleagues to learn on the job.&nbsp; With a wealth of courses and learning available online, a supportive employer and a keen developer then overcoming any skills gaps in JVM should be relatively straightforward.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you need advice on your job search, contact the Source Technology team today. Our recruitment consultants are on hand to help you discover your dream role. hello@source-technology.com

Bridging the skills gap in JVM

If you have been offered and accepted a job in Switzerland, then you will probably be feeling both excited and nervous at the same time. If this is your first time working in this amazing country, then we have some tips to help you make it an absolute success &ndash; read on to find out more!
&nbsp;
First Impressions Count
The business world in Switzerland is fast-paced and highly professional, meaning that your first impression will be lasting. From using good non-verbal communication to dressing well for work, the effort you put in will reap the rewards for a long time to come. If you are going to work in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, then it is important to remember that air-kissing is a standard custom, but this is not the case in the German-speaking part of the country so make sure not to get this mixed up!
&nbsp;
Follow the Hierarchy
Another key to success in Switzerland is not to disrupt the hierarchy. You may be tempted to always greet your employer first, but if there are clients in the room, then custom insists that you greet them first, followed by your boss, followed by the rest of the team. Failing to follow this strict hierarchy can cause offence which will harm both your reputation and your success. It is also important to note that when you are introducing your boss and clients to each other, you should always introduce your boss to the client first rather than the other way around.
&nbsp;
Enjoy Gender Equality
The Swiss workforce offers full equality between the genders so that everyone is treated equally and everyone&rsquo;s input is valued. This is in contrast to the social scene where women are expected to introduce themselves first. In the workplace, all genders are free to approach each other and work together.
&nbsp;
Find Out How to Address People
When working in Switzerland, it is important that you find out how to address colleagues before choosing to call them by their first name. In most places, the boss will talk to people using their first name, and many colleagues will speak to each other on a first-name basis. However, it is not usually acceptable to call your boss by their first name without having been invited to do so first.
&nbsp;
Maintain Your Reputation Outside of Work
When it comes to maintaining a professional reputation, you are expected to do this in all aspects of your life. This means that no matter where you are or what you are doing, you should remember that you are a representative of your company and behave in a way that would make them proud to associate themselves with you. It is worth remembering that the Swiss population are generally very reserved and like people to behave accordingly at all times.
&nbsp;
Arrive on Time
Being punctual is also incredibly important when you work in Switzerland, and even if your meeting has not yet begun, if your client arrives before you, then you are seen as being late. A standard rule for meetings is that you should arrive at least ten minutes early so that you are ready to work when the other party arrives.
&nbsp;
Get a Job in Switzerland
Switzerland is a great place to live and work, with many lifestyle and financial benefits. Most people love the strong work ethos and clear structure as it allows them to thrive and follow a clear path. If this sounds like a place you would like to live and work, then get in touch with Source Technology today and let us help you find your next step!
&nbsp;

Top Tips on Working in Switzerland

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Our 1st Kotlin Virtual Meetup of 2022 was a great success!
What a great session; thank you to our speaker&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaccioly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Accioly</a>! We're excited about continuing to build this webinar into a series for our community.
&nbsp;
Event Information:
Anthony is the founder of 7RTC and an experienced Software Engineer with tons of experience building scalable enterprise applications for top companies such as Ericsson, JP Morgan and Comply Advantage using a wide range of JVM (and non-JVM) languages.
He has recently taken an interest in Kotlin and is using the language to build blockchain-enabled supply chains and payment solutions to one of his clients.
Anthony is passionate about giving back to the community and has spoken at several events, mentors junior developers, contributes to open source and is a trusted user Stack Overflow for his contributions.
In this talk, he explores some interesting aspects of Kotlin, including Generics + declaration-site variance, destructing declarations, extension functions and standard scope functions.
&nbsp;
Remember to<a href="https://www.meetup.com/source-talks-on-kotlin/"> join our Meetup community</a> to hear about our future events!

Source Talks: On Kotlin #3

The hiring process, stages conducted and combined to identify and recognize the best talent for your recruitment needs. The stakes between good recruitment and bad recruitment have never been so high. You’re probably familiar with some of the stats: <ul><li>losing a great employee can cost the company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-much-does-employee-turnover-really-cost_us_587fbaf9e4b0474ad4874fb7?guccounter=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);">5 to 2 times the employee’s annual salary</a>;</li><li>for competitive markets like IT in Europe, over&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/digital-skills" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);">500,000 jobs are currently unfilled</a>;</li><li>and there’s an increasing trend in people&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inc.com/robbie-abed/more-people-are-quitting-their-jobs-than-ever-before-heres-why.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);">leaving jobs voluntarily</a>&nbsp;without a job lined up after.</li></ul>These are only a few of the trends that are making it hard to identify, attract, and retain great talent even when you have a well-oiled recruitment machine. Time to weed these common hiring mistakes out of your processes! Here we’ll give you a brief overview of 5 common mistakes in technical recruitment. Looking at the CVs before the technical interview The technical interview in the recruitment process, needs to be the priority, after all the technical interview is there to measure ability. Don’t fall into a honey pot of unconscious bias; the technical interview will provide the skills necessary for your vacancy requirements. Not having an interview plan Not having a clear interview plan can be detrimental to your recruitment process. Think about the interview and allocate interview area and focus to each interviewer, in advance of the interview, understand what matters for you and your processes. By concentrating the skill areas and planning in advance, you will build a collective view of your interviewee. Letting interviewers see feedback Don’t let your interviewers see one another’s feedback during the interview process, an independently formed judgement from each interviewer is far more valuable and effective for successful interview results. Giving an open-ended take on assessment Within the technical recruitment process there’s generally an assessment provided. Ensure you provide a time limit for your assessments; you want and need the interviewee to perform at their best potential within the given time period. Make an informed decision from your process and assessment and identify the right candidate, a time constraint creates pressure, but also quality. Don’t forget the CV review Include the CV review in your recruitment, the CV review needs to be the first step of the hiring process. We are all aware, CV reviews are biased, CV’s don’t necessarily stand out, and top of the funnel is the biggest problem you have in recruitment.The CV review needs to be included in the process – no matter what experience your interviewee has. There is the inkling to just rely upon the technical stage of the interview, especially with General Software Developer roles, new grads, early talent etc – but ensure you do both. Senior candidates are generally little less eager to complete assessments as the first stage of the process, utilize their CVs, don’t just jump to the rejection letter.Our skilled recruiters are always on hand to provide guidance and suggestion with your recruitment processes to achieve the most from your interviewees. If you have a query about your technical interview processes please get in touch today :&nbsp;<a href="mailto:hello@agreatersource.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);">hello@</a>source-technology.com&nbsp;&nbsp;check out our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.agreatersource.com/group-news/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);">news and blogs</a>&nbsp;for more recruitment tips, industry news and Source Expertise.

The Top 5 Mistakes in Technical Recruiting

Recruitment careers are in high demand right now, especially in the UK. According to Linkedin, &ldquo;Demand for recruiting professionals is at [an all-time] high. Recruiting the right talent is increasingly mission-critical in today&rsquo; tight labour market. And their data shows the demand for recruiting professionals has increased 63% globally since 2016.&rdquo; All over, graduates are choosing a career in recruitment for several reasons. We&rsquo;re sharing the most popular six in today&rsquo;s blog.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
FLEXIBILITY&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Core to the recruitment field is the built-in flexibility. This comes from the one on one relationship you build with your clients and candidates. There is no one looking over your shoulder per se. And no one will tell you exactly what you need to do each day. Everyone in recruitment must manage their clients to ensure the correct contact frequency is in place.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
UNCAPPED COMPENSATION&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Recruitment consultants can still earn a lot of money. In general, commission structures do not have a cap at recruitment firms. Because of this commission structure, recruitment consultants can earn significantly more than other entry-level job roles.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
SKILL BUILDING&nbsp;
&nbsp;
When you become a recruitment consultant you will build sales skills. That is not all. You&rsquo;ll also develop communication skills, relationship management skills, time management skills and project management skills. You&rsquo;ll become familiar with the systems required in the recruitment field including CRM, email, telephone and other tech-based skills.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
SPECIALIST UNDERSTANDING&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Depending on your degree you may find it easy to join as a recruitment consultant for a specialist field. Even without direct workplace experience, university or college-level training may provide you with a solid foundation to make determinations about the skills and experience of others in a similar field.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
FAST PROGRESSION&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Expect fast progression as it&rsquo;s not uncommon for recruitment consultants to earn promotions in under a year. There are several levels to progress within the industry and most recruitment firms have clear and defined job roles.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
ENHANCED BENEFITS&nbsp;
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s also common for recruitment roles to boast attractive benefits packages. Graduates are choosing a career in recruitment often for these soft rewards. Think pensions, reward schemes, corporate cars, private healthcare and more.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Considering a graduate placement in recruiting? Let&rsquo;s talk about that.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

6 reasons why graduates are choosing a career in recruitment

Even since before the pandemic, cybersecurity was a major issue for both businesses and individuals, however the current world situation has made it even more of an important issue with so many people having to connect digitally instead of face to face.
&nbsp;
You can be sure cyber scammers have not let this change go unnoticed and the number of cyber threats has rocketed in the past 18 months. Now more than ever before it&rsquo;s important for companies and the general public to be aware of the various types of threats to the security of their digital devices, and here we&rsquo;ll take a look at the five most common ones to prevent you from falling into the trap.
&nbsp;
Ransomware
The clue is in the name, holding data to ransom for a price. Ransomware is a program that encrypts data on your system and effectively locks it up unless a key is used to unlock it and regain access. This type of attack is becoming more commonplace and is usually targeted at companies and larger organisations such as universities and hospitals due to the sensitive and vital information they may hold on customers, and their ability to pay the large sums requested to unlock the data.
&nbsp;
However, millions of individuals are targeted each year too on their personal computers, with important files, videos and photos locked away and unable to be restored.
&nbsp;
Phishing
Aimed at both small businesses and individuals, phishing is a technique that tricks users into performing a certain action which gives power to the attacker, such as filling in details on a fake website or disclosing sensitive banking or security information. This can come in the form of an email where the phisher takes the form of a trusted person and ushers them to click a link or to download a file which then executes software to steal sensitive data.
&nbsp;
Most of the time these attacks are easy to spot for the trained eye, but many times the scam works when the recipient&rsquo;s guard is let down, and it only takes a second for the wrong action to be taken.
&nbsp;
Malware
A wide-ranging type of attack that can be anything from computer code which acts in a malicious way on your system to viruses and hacks that can happen when you download items from the internet or open infected emails. Malware has the purpose of damaging entire systems, and crippling networking infrastructure, and oftentimes this can be very costly to repair or replace.
&nbsp;
During this kind of attack, the system is wide open to the hacker and they are able to steal all kinds of valuable information from an organisation or individual. Most of the time, a good virus detection and malware sweeper is enough to detect, isolate and eliminate the threat, however these threats are becoming more and more sophisticated.
&nbsp;
Hacking Weak Passwords
Let&rsquo;s face it, the average person who is signed up to multiple websites and uses passwords to gain access to everything from their email to their work accounts will have more passwords than they can possibly remember. Due to this, most people choose a simple password such as a name and a set of numbers which is then repeated across all of their devices with little variation. This makes a hacker&rsquo;s job very easy, as once they are able to crack on password, they will have instant access to the rest of the accounts using the same one.
&nbsp;
Some websites and applications now demand stricter protocols, such as using capitals, multiple numbers and special characters, and this is then stored in password memory by our devices so we don&rsquo;t have to remember them. Once a hacker has gained access to your account, they can take any number of decisions to steal your personal data and banking details to use maliciously.
&nbsp;
Denial of Service (DoS)
This attack works by flooding a system with multiple requests so that it cannot process them all, and as such is unable to function properly. The ensuing attack leaves your computer very vulnerable and at this stage the attacker is able to inject malware to damage your system and steal valuable data.
&nbsp;
Another term for this is distributed denial of service where the attack is started from a network, but there are also botnets and so-called zombie systems which do the same thing, but from a wide range of locations which makes tracing the attack virtually impossible.
&nbsp;

A Look At The 5 Most Common Cybersecurity Threats

What are the most in-demand Cloud Development Jobs, and how do you enter a job in Cloud Development?
Our world today is full of fast technological advances. Cloud Development is pivotal to these. A job in Cloud Development is as exciting as it is lucrative. Data from&nbsp;<a style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);" href="https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3979204" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner Talent Neuron</a>, states that a median Cloud Salary is $146,350 per year. Despite this healthy remuneration offering, there is a distinct shortage of Cloud Development professionals out there. There is a huge demand for professionals and talent across this industry, and the industry is predicted to grow to 300 billion in 2021.
&nbsp;
We&rsquo;d first suggest familiarizing yourself with the prevalent Cloud platforms. Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Employers that leverage these platforms are actively looking for experts to deploy applications and analyze data. Highlighting and demonstrating that you can successfully use these platforms will give you a competitive edge against the other candidates.
Let&rsquo;s look at the most in-demand Cloud Development jobs out there. What skills do you need for these jobs? Do you need additional qualifications? How do you transition into a Cloud Development job?
&nbsp;
CLOUD SALES MANAGER
Our first hot Cloud job is the Cloud Sales Manager. Do you enjoy marketing? Are you a good salesperson? Got a passion for the cloud, but perhaps not the IT qualifications to match? To get a Cloud Sales Manager job, you only need a strong academic background in any discipline, related IT knowledge, and sales and marketing ability. The Cloud Sales Manager is responsible for selling the solution. Did you know, a Cloud Sales Manager can take home an impressive salary. &nbsp;Cloud Sales Managers pocket between $120,000 and $140,000 per year.
&nbsp;
CLOUD ARCHITECT
Cloud Architects are responsible for developing and implementing cloud setups. The Cloud Architect ensures that the systems are reliable, secure, and scalable, and overall supportive to achieve the best business performance.
This role requires an educational background in computer science, as well as knowledge of Linux and Windows. Technical experience in Python, Shell, and VBScript is an added advantage.
Cloud Architects earn between $140,000 and $150,000 per annum.
&nbsp;
CLOUD COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR
Cloud computer system and network administrators (CCSNA) optimize network software, support operations, and maintain cloud infrastructure. In some organizations, they are also in charge of implementing and maintaining communication and hardware connections.
To jump into a career as a CCSANA you will need a background education in Computer Science or Engineering, and you must know your way around Python, Perl, and Shell. Cloud Computer Systems and Network Administrators take home about $110,000 per year.
These are our top 3 Cloud Development roles to mention, but there are plenty more, and they&rsquo;re on the increase and demand as more businesses transition towards Cloud operation. Over the past three years, job searches that included keywords related to the top cloud providers, such as &lsquo;Google Cloud,&rsquo; &lsquo;Azure,&rsquo; or &lsquo;AWS,&rsquo; have increased by 223%, and job listings that included these terms in the description rose by 101% over the same time frame.
&nbsp;
<a style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);" href="https://www.source-technology.com/the-future-of-cloud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Future of Cloud</a>
&nbsp;
TALK TO SOURCE
When it comes to Cloud Development, Source Technology are the experts. We understand Cloud and provide the best guidance and advice on your job search.
&nbsp;
By using Source Technology, you will gain access to some of the best consultants across Cloud, to offer you the best advice for your career search. We will work through your CV, get to know you, and only put you forward for vacancies that interest and inspire you.
&nbsp;
<a style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);" href="https://www.source-technology.com/job-category/cloud-development-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cloud Development Jobs</a>
Talk to Source today &ndash; our expert teams are waiting to hear from you.
&nbsp;

The Most In Demand Cloud Jobs Out There 

With more and more people using the internet to carry out basic daily tasks that were once done in person, such as banking and shopping, then the need for secure systems and technology has never been more essential. Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing markets within the technology and security sectors, due mainly to people understanding more about the rise in threats to their privacy and security online. This of course means that there will be a huge increase in jobs available for those who wish to pursue a career in cybersecurity, so if that’s you, but you’re still not sure if this is the right career path for you, then keep reading to find out why cyber security is more important now than ever. A Breach Is Expensive BusinessAs a business that operates online, which to be honest, most people do today, then the cost of having a breach of data can be extremely costly. Of course, it depends on the type of business they are. A multinational bank that holds very sensitive information about their customers, such as mortgage details and bank account numbers is going to be hit much harder than a family-run bakery in your local town. When customers buy anything from a business or even do something as simple as signing up to a mailing list for marketing purposes, this is data that the business holds on them and they have a legal and moral obligation to ensure it’s used correctly and held safely away from hackers.In the UK, the average cost of a data breach is around £20,000. However, even if this is just a drop in the ocean for them, the damage to their reputation can be far more costly - especially in the age of social media. Hackers Are Becoming More SophisticatedIf we look back 20 years, the hackers we think about are some college kids in their parents’ basement. However, nowadays, hacking is completely different. In fact, there are even full organisations dedicated to hacking into security systems around the world. Even the government isn’t immune from these. It seems like for every step that a company takes to protect themselves against a hacker or for every new anti-hacking programme that’s created, the hackers come along with something more sophisticated to make it harder to beat them. So, hiring more dedicated people into cyber security is so important these days to help continue the fight against these hackers and keep people and their data protected. Regulations Are Tighter Than EverOver the last few years, GDPR has been making waves across the business world. The often-confusing regulations brought in by the European Union to help protect people’s personal data online is just another thing that shows how much people are really starting to take this seriously.As mentioned above, when so much of our daily lives are now being conducted online, it only makes sense to want to protect the most sensitive data that we’re giving out to companies. So, even if it’s not just criminals that businesses need to protect their customers against, over the next few decades, we’re going to see even more tighter regulations to help ensure that we can keep up with fighting the battle against hackers and those who want to steal and do bad things with our personal data. A career in cyber security is not only one that will be interesting, but it’s a lucrative one, because companies take this seriously now more than ever as you can see from the examples above, and is a career that will never be lacking in exciting opportunities as the market continues to grow.

Why Cyber Security Is More Important Now Than Ever

The job market in Germany has been flourishing in the last few years. It&rsquo;s well known that, due to the country&rsquo;s efficiency and seriousness, when it comes to work there&rsquo;s nobody like the German people.
&nbsp;
But there might be some false myths on the subject, some lies that we&rsquo;ve been telling ourselves for a long time. And if you are considering moving to Germany for work, or even if you&rsquo;re just curious about the subject, you should definitely consider these tips first.
&nbsp;
You&rsquo;ll Need To Be Punctual
This isn&rsquo;t a myth. German people really care about punctuality in the workplace. And their workday starts very early as well. It&rsquo;s not so rare to find people already working at seven in the morning, or even at six-thirty.
For many British people this would be crazy, but in Germany it&rsquo;s considered quite usual. This probably has to do with the fact that all schools open very early, and German people are used to getting up at sunrise since a very young age.
Also, part of it can be explained by assuming that many workers drop their kids at school on their way to work. Since schools open so early, there&rsquo;s no need to wait around for all the parents. They will start getting some work done as soon as possible, and, again, they will always be punctual.
&nbsp;
The Dress Code In The Office Is Different...
While German men can dress more casually than British men for work, it&rsquo;s not always the case for German women. And actually, in many cases they have to dress up in a more formal way than the British women.
But it&rsquo;s quite common to see men wearing jeans at meetings, or casual shoes even when they are on sales. For some reason, we&rsquo;ve always been used to imagining German employees in the workplace wearing formal clothes all the time, but this is clearly just a myth.
&nbsp;
&hellip;But People Are Actually More Formal
Employees in the office behave in a very serious way. They don&rsquo;t like joking around when it comes to work topics. They generally have the tendency to completely divide their personal life from their work life.
Most of the time, they&rsquo;re out of the office by three o&rsquo;clock, and this leaves them the rest of the day for nice afternoons and evenings with friends. Usually, people in Germany don&rsquo;t go out for drinks with their co-workers, which could be an enjoyable surprise for all the introverts out there.
Many German people have a small, closed circle of friends that they like to go out with, and they leave all of their work life behind as soon as they get out of the office.
&nbsp;
Open-Plan Offices Are Rare
It&rsquo;s not so common to see open-plan offices in Germany &ndash; it&rsquo;s typically easier to find separate office rooms, or at least cubicles. Germans care a lot about their privacy, and they don&rsquo;t like to be distracted when they&rsquo;re working. They&rsquo;re fully committed to what they&rsquo;re doing, and even an overheard conversation could bother them. That&rsquo;s how they manage to work generally less than the average British employee, while keeping their productivity per person usually higher. There&rsquo;s a time for playing, and a time for working.
&nbsp;
German Efficiency Isn&rsquo;t Real
This is a myth as well. We&rsquo;ve been believing all of our lives that German people are the most productive, while in reality their bureaucratic system is really slow and complex. There is a lot of paperwork to do every time you want to book holiday, or if you need to make an unplanned expense.
&nbsp;
Bottom Line
This is the way work life goes in Germany, and these are our tips on how to survive it. If you have any questions or comments, don&rsquo;t hesitate to get in touch with us.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Top Tips On Working In Germany

Scalability is about capability and capacity, and successfully scaling your business means getting it to a stage to enable and support the growth within the company effectively. For a business to be successful long-term, it has to have the ability to grow without jeopardizing the running of the business. This will require planning, funding, staff and putting certain processes in place.
&nbsp;
If your business has been doing well, and you feel it is the right time to scale up, then these techniques will help you do this successfully. Here, we will go through the main five critical techniques that will allow you to be successful in scaling your business.
&nbsp;
1.PLANNING AND EVALUATING
&nbsp;
Firstly, look at you&rsquo;re your business to see if it is really ready for growth. Make a detailed sales growth forecast. Your forecast should include the number of customers, orders and the revenue you want to create. Use a spreadsheet that breaks up the numbers down into months. Similarly include an expense forecast looking at adding technology, people, infrastructure and systems which will be needed to handle the new sales orders.
&nbsp;
2. RESOURCE YOUR MONEY
&nbsp;
It can be expensive to scale a business, as you may need to hire more staff, add equipment, upgrade your facilities and deploy new technology. However, there are ways such as small business investors you could apply to for assistance. Or, you could put some effort into identifying loans, grants or credit that can be used.
3. SALES
If you&rsquo;re scaling your business, then you need to look into your sales structure to make sure you are able to sell at higher volumes sustainably. Make sure you check you have sufficient leads, enough sales representatives, and a robust system that manages sales orders and billing.
&nbsp;
4. TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT
&nbsp;
Investing in technology could allow you to save time and money and at the same time, accommodate higher volumes of sales. You can minimise manual work and lower cost through automation. Look at and evaluate a range of software products that allow sales management, inventory, manufacturing, accounting, shipping etc. In this evaluation also include networks and hardware servers. Or, consider whether a cloud-based service could work for you, negating the need for you to have as much IT hardware on-site.
&nbsp;
5.MANAGEMENT OF STAFF
&nbsp;
Though technology can be utilised effectively, it can&rsquo;t replace people. Look at your staffing structure and focus heavily on these areas, ensuring you are well-staffed to avoid employee burnout. However, do not overstaff if you&rsquo;re unsure whether your business will sustain the level of growth. It may be wise to consider outsourcing some parts of your business, until such time as the work is sufficient for an in-house staff member. Consider all roles within your business that could be affected by growth, including customer service staff, manufacturing staff, those responsible for inventory, the delivery of products or services and more. Also, look into growing your management team. As your business grows, you will not be able to oversee everything personally.
&nbsp;
These techniques should have given you a starting point for scaling your business. With the right planning and processes put in place, your business should have the building blocks in place to sustain your future growth. As always the Source Team are at hand to support you, if you need advice about Scaling your Organisation reach out to the team:&nbsp;<a style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);" href="mailto:hello@agreatersource.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hello@</a>source-technology.com
&nbsp;

Scaling Technology Start-Ups for Success

Over the last 10 years, cloud storage platforms such as iCloud, Dropbox, and even Google have continued to soar in popularity. This is in part due to the space it saves on devices and prevents a loss of data in the case of phones or computers being broken or stolen.
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However, a big part of it is the security aspect; cloud storage providers have highly secure encrypted servers that make it very difficult, near impossible for hackers to reach, so people feel more secure putting their data in the hands of these trusted companies as opposed to simply leaving it lying around on a hard drive or server that can be accessed by someone who wants to use their data for malicious purposes.
&nbsp;
When deciding how to store your company data &ndash; especially things like employee files, salary details and other sensitive information &ndash; then you need to know that the platform you use is one that&rsquo;s going to meet your needs now and as you grow.
&nbsp;
There are so many platforms out there already that it can be hard to decide which one to go with, so to help you reach a decision easier and quicker, we&rsquo;re going to list some of the things you should be looking for when considering if cloud data storage is for you, and what features to look out for when selecting a provider.
&nbsp;
Make Sure They&rsquo;re Encrypted
If you use a messaging service such as WhatsApp, you&rsquo;ll see that it tells you when you first message a new contact that all your conversations are encrypted. What does this actually mean? Basically, it means that nobody can access your files, conversations or any data you share other than you and the person you&rsquo;re having a conversation with - this includes the people who run WhatsApp (or Meta) themselves.
If you&rsquo;re ever in doubt about this, don&rsquo;t be afraid to reach out to the provider before signing up with them as not all providers offer end-to-end encryption, but it&rsquo;s so important to ensure that all your data stays safe - especially when you&rsquo;re dealing with the data belonging to others, as this could cost you massively as a business.
&nbsp;
Read Those User Agreements
We&rsquo;ve all seen them, especially the ones from Apple and Google that appear to have you scrolling for a few minutes, and that nobody ever bothers to read, but just clicks accept at the end.
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That&rsquo;s not a smart move, especially when it comes to something as sensitive as securing data. If you wouldn&rsquo;t sign a contract without reading it in its entirety, then don&rsquo;t do the same with a user agreement, as effectively they&rsquo;re contracts between you and the company providing the service.
Just as you would with a contract, you need to know what the provider is offering and what your rights are. You&rsquo;ll potentially find some clause or waiver in there that will deter you from handing your files and data over to them.
&nbsp;
Make Your Passwords Strong And Change Them Often
It&rsquo;s still quite baffling that, in today&rsquo;s online-driven world, so many people are using passwords like the word Password. One of the reasons that hackers are able to be so successful in accessing people&rsquo;s data is to do with people using extremely weak passwords. Your password needs to be strong and cryptic, and preferably updated every 3-6 months. Most logins now require you to enter your password as 8 letters or more, have at least one uppercase and one lowercase letter, as well as a number and a special character &ndash; so make the most of that flexibility.
&nbsp;
Set Up Two-Factor Authentication
This is one of the easiest ways to ensure your safety online when it comes to securing your data. Each time you or anyone tries to access your account, you&rsquo;ll receive an alert, usually as a text on your phone or email to check that it&rsquo;s you trying to access the account. If so, you just approve it and you&rsquo;re good to go. If not, you know that someone has tried to access your account unsuccessfully and can take steps to prevent that from happening again.
&nbsp;
We hope that these tips help you get the best out of whatever cloud storage platform you decide to go with and that when you do sign up for one, you know what steps you need to take to keep all the data you have on there as secure as possible.
&nbsp;

Securing Data In The Cloud – What Can You Do?

Here at Source, keeping up to date with the newest technology is a big part of we do. After all, new technology means new jobs, and this strategy allows us to be able to recruit for the newest jobs on the market before anyone else.
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a new year now, and that means lots of new technological innovations. Keep reading for our top technology trends of 2022.
&nbsp;
Virtual Worlds
Starting off our list with a bang, we&rsquo;ve got one of the biggest game changers in the technology sector &ndash; virtual worlds. Like it says on the tin, a virtual world is an online environment when people can meet, work, and play. We already have this technology in the form of MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games), but a virtual world won&rsquo;t be like a game &ndash; it will try to mimic real life as closely as possible.
Think Facebook &ndash; but in real life. In fact, Facebook (Meta) will be behind the biggest push of this technology with their metaverse. Heralded as the next phase of the internet, think of it as an augmented or extended reality, blurring the lines of digital and real life.
Jobs for these virtual worlds may include avatar designers and research scientists.
&nbsp;
3D Printing
Like a lot of other technologies, 3D printing has actually been around for a while now but has never fully taken off. But this might be the year for 3D printing, thanks to the ability to make 3D-printed houses. How is this possible? It just requires putting all the housing materials &ndash; concrete, plastics, sand, etc &ndash; into a huge 3D printer, which then &lsquo;prints&rsquo; out homes.
&nbsp;
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency is another example of a new technology that is yet to fully get rolling. Experts are predicting that 2022 will be the year that crypto becomes more mainstream, meaning the average person could start using it as part of their regular finances.
What are the signs that crypto will become more mainstream? The main one is that the Central American country El Salvador became the first country to use bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. Other countries, such as Sweden and Canada, are also considering making the crypto move in 2022
&nbsp;
Electric aviation
You might get bored of us saying this, but electric aviation is another one of those technologies that has been around for a while without getting off the ground. With the need to lessen carbon emissions becoming more immediate due to global warming, the technology has been given a bit of a kick. The only thing holding electric aviation back now is battery technology.
So, what does this mean? It&rsquo;s fairly straightforward &ndash; planes are going electric. Expect to see smaller electric planes in 2022 and 2023, and the bigger ones to come in the years after that.
&nbsp;
Artificial intelligence
&nbsp;
The last one on our list &ndash; artificial intelligence &ndash; is one that makes it onto our lists every single year, and that&rsquo;s because there&rsquo;s something new for it every year.
&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s new for AI in 2022? Conversational AI has made a lot of progress, with the ability for it to now argue in conversations. Social robots are expected to make big leaps as well, with the ability for these robots to become more customising, meaning that the robot will speak different to every human it meets.
&nbsp;
Get in touch
If you&rsquo;re interested in working in any of these emerging fields, or if you&rsquo;re worried about how they might affect your current job, get in touch with us now. We may be able to help you take the next step in your career, in a world that is changing so rapidly.
&nbsp;

Top Technology Trends 2022

When you stop to consider that there are approximately 600 different programming languages in use right now, then you will probably be keen to find out which ones to learn about and which ones to avoid. To help you work out which ones deserve your attention, we have listed the top programming languages of 2022 below, why not take a look right now?<ol><li>Python</li></ol> Developed by Guido van Rossum, Python has been around since the 90s and is now the most popular programming language in the world. However, this language did not experience a meteoric rise, nor could it be described as a disruptive language. Instead, the slow and steady approach has propelled Python to the top spot.<ol><li>JavaScript</li></ol> Born from a prototype that only took Brendan Eich ten days to develop, JavaScript has steadily become a dynamic and high-level language in the programming world. It is a language that is used across the world and is employed in pretty much every part of the tech world. From browser to mobile devices and microcontrollers to servers, JavaScript plays its part exceptionally well.<ol><li>Java</li></ol> Labelled as possibly the most disruptive programme languages of all time, Java continues to be a popular choice across the globe. However, more recently, Java has started to lose its appeal slightly with the introduction of new languages. Despite its losses in the cloud arena, Java still remains the first choice for enterprises.<ol><li>C#</li></ol> C# was designed by Anders Hejlsberg for the Common Language Initiative at Microsoft. Initially, it was deemed to be a copy of Java, but as it evolved, the two languages became more individual. You will find C# in use on Windows, iOS and Linux/.<ol><li>C</li></ol> C is proof that you do not need to be brand new to be disruptive, and whilst this language was developed in the late 60s to early 70s, it retains the title of most influential programming languages. The reality is the C is probably a key influencer in every other language on our list! It is purely platform-dependent because it is not portable, but it is still a great choice when you want to make optimum use of your hardware.<ol><li>C++</li></ol> Originally designed as an extension of the C programme, C++ has become a highly popular general-purpose language that offers low-level memory access. Over the years, C++ has lost out to Java because it offers too much complexity and is incredibly hard to master.<ol><li>Swift</li></ol> Created by Chris Lattner for Apple, this new general-purpose language offers improved productivity for developers and supports LLVM. It is dubbed as one of the best languages to learn if you are keen to learn more about programming languages and is swiftly growing in popularity.<ol><li>PHP</li></ol> Developed in the 90s, PHP was first a set of Common Interface binaries that were written in C to help the creation of dynamic applications. As it grew in popularity, it added additional functions and slowly grew into a language in its own right. While it is likely to be around for many years to come, PHP is losing popularity and slowly being replaced by other languages.<ol><li>Go</li></ol> Another modern programming language, Go was created by Google to be an easy to learn language that is easy to scale and is pragmatic. It does lack somewhat in the feature department but has quickly become popular with programmers across the globe. We think it’s one to watch.<ol><li>Ruby</li></ol> Released in the 90s, Ruby was created by Yukihiro Matsumoto to offer an object-oriented scripting language. As time has passed the language has evolved successfully to become a general-purpose language and is now implemented in C. It may not be as well-known as the likes of Python, but Ruby is a great first language for anyone that is new to developing.

What Are The Top Programming Languages of 2022?

Everything in 2020 was so unpredictably tragic due to the pandemic. Economically, for many companies, it was the end of the road. Many tech companies went bankrupt, and many CEOs fell out of their thrones.
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However, the companies that survived the pandemic crisis are now bigger, better, but most of all they have a quality that is essential in these times &ndash; they are ready to fight. Because of this, the landscape of tech careers has changed its shape in the course of the past two years, and now whoever wants to start a career in this field will have to keep in mind what awaits them.
&nbsp;
We&rsquo;re here to help you with this. These are our tips on some of the best tech career paths to follow in 2022. We need to be honest, though &ndash; it&rsquo;s not going to be a piece of cake, but we are sure that we&rsquo;ll be able to find the right road for you together.
&nbsp;
DevOps Engineer
A DevOps engineer will take care of the deployment and network operations of a development team. There will always be need for DevOps engineers, especially in times like this. They can handle coding and scripting, they are highly skilled in Linux or UNIX system administration, and they know how to use tools like Git and Jenkins. It&rsquo;s a role that you just can&rsquo;t miss from the layout of a successful company.
&nbsp;
Cloud Architect and AI Architect
A Cloud Architect is the person in charge of designing and administering the cloud structure, while an AI architect will plan a strategy based on artificial intelligence. These two are the most needed roles in order to plan a company&rsquo;s strategy, and, since today many companies are considering to &ldquo;go cloud&rdquo; or to start using AI especially because of the crisis we lived in these past two years, it will be a great choice of path career for you.
&nbsp;
Product Manager
The development of each tech product has to be overseen by the product manager of the company. It&rsquo;s another essential position, as every company will need one when releasing a product. The skills of a product manager will be some strong analytic abilities, product lifestyle management skills, and the knowledge of management tools like PivotalTracker.
&nbsp;
Programmer Analyst
Programmer analysts are a key figure because of their ability in reporting documentation of every programming process with diagrams and flowcharts. They will always be needed in every tech company, since their skills in debugging and troubleshooting information systems are very valuable. Programmer analysts will also have deep knowledge of programming languages like Java, C, and C+.
&nbsp;
Get in touch
These are just a few of the best paths that we recommend for you to take, but if you have any other questions, don&rsquo;t hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to help you with any doubts you might have. Here at Source, we&rsquo;ve got contacts with some of the biggest players in the technology industry, which is good news for you if you&rsquo;re part of our talent pool. We&rsquo;ll put you forward for the best jobs at these companies &ndash; many of which are exclusive to us and are not advertised anywhere else. This is what you get when you join Source. It&rsquo;s a big investment in your career and your whole future.
&nbsp;
We know that the tech one is a tough world &ndash; we&rsquo;ve been trying to navigate it ourselves for many years. But it can give great satisfaction to anybody who is willing to work hard. That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve done, and we&rsquo;ve had great success.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Tech Career Paths In 2022

Is Kotlin the Future? Here at Source, we like to see ourselves as a future-facing company. What does that mean exactly? It means we’re always looking to innovate and adapt and keep up with the latest advances in the markets that we recruit for. That’s why we write these articles – we want to make sure we’re always ahead of the curve. One thing that is hot on topic at the moment is the programming language Kotlin. With so many other programming languages out there, many people are asking just what the future of Kotlin is and whether it’s worth pursuing a career working with this language.Keep reading for our thoughts on the matter. What is Kotlin?Before we talk about the future of Kotlin, let’s go through what Kotlin actually is first. For those of you who don’t know, Kotlin is a programming language that is open source and statically types. It was designed to work best with Java but also works with older languages as well. Some of the biggest apps in use today were created using Kotlin. Pinterest was made possible by Kotlin’s coding language that helped to create accurate and clear code that allows for superior performance. Kotlin also allowed Trello to become more interactive using its card system. Tinder especially benefitted from Kotlin because of clear and concise coding architecture. The future is bright for KotlinWe’ll jump straight to the point now – Kotlin is highly likely to become the next big programming language within the next few years. Some would say that it already is the next big thing. This is because of many reasons. One of these reasons is because Kotlin is a particularly modern programming language, meaning that it brings together all the best features of the previous languages. Kotlin is also easy to learn, while still having powerful and complex features. It is even easier to learn if you have experience in Python and or Java. There are also great learning materials on offer for Kotlin – there are many courses that are easy-paced, and which offer key insights into the programming structure. The Kotlin developer community is also very big, meaning there are always experts that you can fall back on if you get stuck.Now that the biggest brands have used Kotlin, we predict others will follow suit. The big brands will also need Kotlin programmers to help maintain their apps. It all adds up to Kotlin being high in demand in the next couple of years. The experience developers will be in particular demand. If you start learning now by using the wealth of information available, you’ll be setting yourself up to profit in the future. We can help you get a Kotlin jobWe hope this article has helped you to learn a little more about the future of Kotlin. In our opinion, it’s going to be a bright one. This means that if you’re looking for Kotlin jobs, or if you’re just thinking about starting to learn it, there’s no better time to do it. If you are looking for Kotlin jobs, we can certainly help with that. We’ve got close contacts with some of the biggest players in the technology industry who are literally waiting to hear from us about you. We’ll ask you some questions about your past experience and qualifications, along with information about career goals and aspirations, and then we’ll take it from there. Get in touch with us now or apply to one of our jobs. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Is Kotlin the Future?

Scala is being used more and more frequently. It&rsquo;s a functional programming and scripting language, but what makes it unique is the coexistence of features of both functional and object-oriented programming. Due to the increase in use of this language, Scala developers are becoming much more needed.
&nbsp;
The Two Sides
There are two sides to the story when we&rsquo;re dealing with Scala developer interviews. On one side, there is a rising demand for the professional figures, and being able to recognize a proficient Scala developer is crucial to companies. But so is preparing for an interview if you&rsquo;re a developer.
Whenever you face an interview about Scala, no matter which side of the desk you sit at, there are some questions you&rsquo;ll have to keep in mind. Keep reading for our sample interview questions.
&nbsp;
What Is Scala, Scala Sets And Scala Maps?
When we&rsquo;re talking about Scala, what really differentiates it among the other developing languages is the concise manner Scala expresses solutions in. This is due to the fusion of functional and object-oriented programming languages.
&nbsp;
A Scala set is a collection of elements in pairs of the same typology, which can&rsquo;t contain duplicate elements. A Scala set can be mutable or immutable.
&nbsp;
A Scala map is a collection of key or of pairs inside one particular value. It&rsquo;s possible to understand any value when you have its key. It&rsquo;s important to remember that the keys are unique in the maps, while the values are not, so it&rsquo;s not possible to retrieve a key, starting from its value.
An object is just a singleton, a particular example of a class, while a class is in fact a description for the objects. The class defines one type in relation to the others - like a blueprint of the object.
&nbsp;
What Are The Advantages Of Working With Scala?
Due to its conciseness, Scala usually presents a high scalability and a high testability. Programs written with Scala are also very easy to maintain and they are usually more productive than the others.
&nbsp;
But the key feature of Scala is its functional style, which is much less prone to errors. This is not all either &ndash; Scala provides many features of the other programming languages as well.
&nbsp;
Is Scala Better Than Other Programming Languages?
Not always. Other programming languages have different features that will make them the best in other fields. But in some ways Scala is actually better. The arrays, for example, use regular generics, whereas in other languages the generics are bolted on later, as an afterthought.
&nbsp;
Scala also leaves &ldquo;if blocks&rdquo;, &ldquo;code&rdquo; and &ldquo;for-yield loops&rdquo; in braces when there is the need to return a value. This way is usually preferable because it solves the need for a separate ternary operator. Scala, moreover, doesn&rsquo;t have a boilerplate code, and it has native tuples.
&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s Talk About It
These are the questions we believe to be fundamental, whether interviewing a Scala developer or if you are one. We know that there are more topics that could be addressed, but these are the ones that you can&rsquo;t miss from any Scala developer interview. But we would love to hear your opinion. We are a friendly team and we&rsquo;re ready to learn from you.
&nbsp;

Interview Questions for Scala Developers 

Artificial intelligence can be scary. We all saw those catastrophic movies with the robots suddenly taking over. We would expect films like that to teach us something, but the only lesson we seem to be able to take in is not to stand too close to robots when Ben Affleck is within a range of 500 meters. Artificial intelligence seems now to be the one and only solution to workplace problems – and with good reason. It makes tasks easier, it helps in many chores, making them faster and turning the company, overall, into a more productive engine. AI can completely change the everyday life of many companies. AI and the workersDespite the obviousness of this, AI can still seem like an obstacle at first. Workers need to be trained to operate it, since many of their duties will change once AI is in the office. Workers will be sending emails using the speech-to-text function and locking doors using apps on their smartphones. They will even be chatting with online bots able to answer their questions. It’s not just in the future – it’s already a reality in many workplaces.Many of the products we buy every day were designed and manufactured using artificial intelligence technologies. AI and the teaching of AIThe most interesting part of this, as experts have already noted, is that AI will play a key role in teaching workers how to use AI. Many of the computer programs and smartphone applications that will train the workers in this field will actually rely on artificial intelligence. AI will give the employees an unprecedented amount of data, which they will now be able to analyse. AI and the officeFirst, we have to ask ourselves what AI means. We deal with artificial intelligence every single day. As soon as we wake up, we ask Siri what the weather is going to be like. It’s the same in the workplace. Just like AI is helping us improve our search results whenever we type something into Google, this type of technology will be tracking activities in the workplace, so that tasks will run faster each time. AI and the CloudMany companies nowadays decided to move all of their data to a virtual cloud, from where every piece of information is accessible to all the employees at any time. Workers are already using services like Dropbox, iCloud and Google Drive in order to share the files they’re working on.This way is safer as well, because it will be more difficult to lose data, since everybody will be able to download the shared files. This is already showing the employees of different sectors all the benefits of working with AI. AI and its long-term impactIt’s not easy to estimate the impact that AI will have on companies long term, because it’s still a recent field of technology. We still don’t know how much it will improve the productivity of businesses but, from what we can already see, it seems that the manufacturing process of many products is already benefitting. Bottom lineNow you know how artificial intelligence could look like in the everyday life of many workplaces. It’s a real digital shift, and, as we were saying, we know it might be scary. If you have any thoughts on the topic about how it might affect the job market, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Digital Disruption: AI In The Workplace

When working with information technology, the chief information officer (CIO) is a key figure of the enterprise. CIOs are one of the leading roles in the companies because they have to take care of the management and the usability of information.
&nbsp;
Lately, with the increase in the use of technology, CIOs gained a bigger importance. CIOs study how the different technologies improve the company&rsquo;s business, and they are in charge of analysing their benefits.
&nbsp;
As you can imagine, any type of digital transformation needs to obtain the CIO&rsquo;s approval before passing through. The CIO will have to be completely sure if a change in the technology is worth its risks, because every change will always bring with itself a factor of unpredictability.
&nbsp;
So, before approving any digital transformation, the CIO will have to ask some questions. We&rsquo;re here to help with this, by providing what we think are five questions the CIO will want to keep in mind.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Is the Cloud a good business strategy?
&nbsp;
Many companies nowadays decide to move their digital structure to the Cloud, because it presents a higher agility in business applications.
&nbsp;
But before taking this decision, the CIO will have to ask what tangible benefits it will bring to the company. Is the company going for the Cloud business just because it looks better, or because it will actually represent an improvement in its business?
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Cloud-Native or Mode 2 applications?
&nbsp;
What a CIO will really have to ask here is something different. In which way are we considering this, did we take into consideration a greenfield standpoint? The type of shift that the CIO will want to guide is always organisational, in order to support the Cloud-Native technologies as well.
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s true that every technology is relevant, but some are way more than others. The Cloud is a valid alternative, but even when the CIOs have made up their mind, there are still all these elements to consider.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Is the Cloud safe?
&nbsp;
The fact that so many companies have taken the decision to move into the Cloud technology doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean that this type of decision doesn&rsquo;t have any risk.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
First of all, the Cloud will become the storage unit for many kinds of information, including relevant data. It&rsquo;s the CIO&rsquo;s job to make sure that these data are protected in the right way. Furthermore, it&rsquo;s really important for the Cloud to present an option of recovery, in case of loss of important information. Having a good backup plan is always essential.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
How will the Cloud change the company?
&nbsp;
The job description has to change first, to reflect the new asset of the company, given this shift in its technology. Sysadmins, for example, will have to become Site Reliability Engineers (SRE) and Developers will have to turn into DevOps. Secondly, it&rsquo;s important to re-train all of the employees in techniques that will revolve around the Cloud.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
How will Cloud Technology change Vendor Choices?
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s important at this stage to focus on some projections for the future. What are, for example, realistic ROI projections in the next three years? Only by analysing this kind of information, the CIO will be able to understand how the Cloud technologies are going to change the Vendor Choices. It&rsquo;s also crucial to ask, at this point, if the ROI includes the Professional Services, if they&rsquo;re needed to start with this technology.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Bottom line
&nbsp;
The chief information officer is a critical figure for any company that deals with technology. The choice of a digital transformation towards the Cloud technology falls on them completely, but it might get difficult, depending on the case.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you have any further doubt, don&rsquo;t hesitate to contact us. We&rsquo;re a friendly team here at Source, and we would love to help you in any way we can.
&nbsp;

5 Questions Every CIO Should Ask Before A Digital Transformation

Whether you&rsquo;re in university and thinking ahead to your first career role or are simply looking to try something new, then programming may have been something you&rsquo;ve considered.
&nbsp;
With more of our lives being conducted on the internet, and that not set to change any time soon, then it makes sense that the need for high quality, dedicated and talented programmers is not going to be going anywhere either, and is actually set to increase.
&nbsp;
You may be aware of some of the basics of programming languages, and although it can be quite overwhelming to keep up with all of them and wonder which ones to focus on, if you&rsquo;re looking to become an Android developer, then Kotlin is one that&rsquo;s making some headlines recently as it definitely one to pay attention to.
&nbsp;
Just as the name Java was named after an island off the coast of Indonesia, Kotlin was named after Kotlin Island in Russia, near St. Petersburg. Although this may seem like useless trivia, knowing stuff like the name of programming languages and where they come from will be things viewed favourably when applying for jobs as it shows you&rsquo;ve done your research.
&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;ve never heard of it, then don&rsquo;t worry, in this post we&rsquo;re going to give you a full introduction to Kotlin, so that you can decide if this is something you&rsquo;d like to focus on in your work as a developer. To view the latest jobs in Kotlin development, <a href="../../../../../../source-technology/roles/kotlin-developer-jobs/">click here</a>. 
&nbsp;
Google Prefers It
This is probably one of the most important factors to consider with Kotlin. As we all know, Google basically runs the internet&rsquo;s most used search engine &ndash; and so much of how a website performs and how visible they are really comes down to how much Google approves of them.
Google recently announced that Kotlin is their preferred programming language for Android, which is definitely something to consider when deciding which programming language you&rsquo;d like to focus on going forward.
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s A Cross-Platform Language
While both Java and Kotlin are widely recognised and robust programming languages, they do have slight differences in their capability and functionality. With Kotlin, you have something that has the features of both, object-oriented and functional programming, whereas Java only works on object-oriented programming.
&nbsp;
Additionally, Kotlin allows those using it to create an extension function, which is something Java programmers aren&rsquo;t able to do.
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s Java-Compatible
Although the two are different programming languages, choosing Kotlin over Java won&rsquo;t leave you limited to only that. In fact, you may find it more beneficial since they work well together, so you can actually be more effective by choosing to use both Kotlin and Java.
&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s Easy To Use
When it comes to getting your head around yet another programming language, you may be feeling slightly overwhelmed at the prospect as they&rsquo;re not always the easiest to learn and adopt.
&nbsp;
However, one of the reasons that Kotlin is growing in popularity is because of how easy to adopt it is. Since it can be used with Java, it&rsquo;s easy to use and far more flexible and versatile than other programming languages.
&nbsp;
Safety Is Priority
The creators of Kotlin have made sure that it&rsquo;s always updated to ensure the latest safety measures for those choosing to use it as their programming language. This is even more important in today&rsquo;s world where people need to be extra safe with their websites to avoid hacks, especially when dealing with sensitive and personal data from their customers.
&nbsp;
So, there you have it. A simple breakdown of what Kotlin is and how you may be able to use it. Even if you&rsquo;re set on using Java right now because it&rsquo;s what you know, implementing Kotlin is definitely worth considering in the future.
&nbsp;
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An Introduction To Kotlin

When you are looking to appoint a new candidate or want to revamp your recruitment process to appeal to the right applicants, then hiring a recruitment company may be the best step forward. So many businesses do not have the time or people required to adequately sift and screen the growing number of applications received, so maybe it is time to let a recruitment agency support your recruitment process.
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MORE THAN JUST A CV PROVIDER
So many people are led to believe that recruitment consultants just provide a pile of CVs and any randomly selected candidate to undertake the job you need. This is really not the case anymore. Recruitment agencies have come a long way since their inception and now provide in-depth and personalised recruitment solutions so that you can focus more on what your business aims are rather than wasting time trying to source the right people.
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A RANGE OF RECRUITMENT OPTIONS
From pre-screening applicants and providing you with appropriate candidates to running extensive recruitment campaigns for your business, recruiters offer a diverse range of options. The key to getting what you need is to work with your team to find out what is missing from your recruitment process and then find a recruiter that has the skills that are currently lacking.
Many recruiters are working hard to rid themselves of the negative perceptions that companies have about them, and part of this process has been to offer a more bespoke service that aligns with your business model and needs. So when it comes to finding your next hire, share your needs with your recruiter and see what options they offer.
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THE BENEFIT OF TEMP TO PERM ARRANGEMENTS
Whether we like it or not, there will be times when you recruit someone that just does not hit the mark. They may have had an amazing application, a flawless interview and outstanding references but are not performing the role in the way you&rsquo;d imagined. This can be difficult to manage, especially if you have offered them a permanent contract right off the bat.
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With a recruiter, you can benefit from a temp to perm arrangement whereby the recruiter employs the person and pays them while you pay the recruiter. When you are satisfied with the candidate and a specific period of time has elapsed, you can then offer them a contract without paying the recruiter to release them. This system is ideal if you&rsquo;ve been burned in the past and want the time to assess a candidate as they do the job.
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A TEAM THAT WAS CREATED TO RECRUIT
Your business aims will always be linked to the outcomes you are trying to achieve and, unless you are a recruiter, these aims are unlikely to centre around recruitment! When you use a recruiter, you are getting access to a team have been put together to find the right candidates for your job vacancies.
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Recruiters are only ever successful if they achieve the results you need and so they will spend more time and effort screening and interviewing potential people to ensure that they only ever send you the quality staff you need.
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CONTACT US TODAY
If you are tired of recruiting people who don&rsquo;t deliver then maybe it is time that you gave a recruiter the chance to show you what they can do! A good recruiter will work hand in hand with you and provide a recruitment partnership that delivers the results you need. Why not call Source Technology today to find out how we can help you achieve the results you need? We&rsquo;d love to work with you!
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The Added Value A Good Recruiter Adds to your Recruitment Process

Although it is a relatively new field in the minds of most people today, cloud computing has actually been in existence for over 20 years. It has a myriad of benefits including giving businesses an advantage over their competition, making companies more effective in their internal functioning and also reducing costs, however it is only in the past few years that cloud technology has gone mainstream and burst onto the scene.
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A GROWING TREND
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It is estimated that around 70% of business already operate some form of cloud service on a daily basis as the benefits are clearly seen, and more and more business are beginning to understand how exactly they can harness the technology for their own interests. As businesses become more globally minded with users and customers now reaching into the millions instead of just a few hundred, the limit of in-house servers is being reached at a quicker pace, as are the programs and systems which keep their business ticking.
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Many businesses have come to rely heavily on cloud-based services, service which they can access the bulk of their own information without having to store it themselves. Some of these systems are free, but it is becoming increasingly more desirable to opt for paid cloud storage which also covers the security and data protection aspect needed for sensitive information.
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A secure connection is imperative in these days of hacks and data leaks or breaches. Without realising it, businesses are already making use of services which are cloud based such as Gmail, Instagram and Facebook, but not in the way in which they store all of their information for later retrieval.
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IMPORTANT BENEFITS OF CLOUD TECHNOLOGY
In the changing world, cloud services are becoming imperative, so let&rsquo;s take a look at some of the many benefits of implementing cloud for business purposes.
<ol>
<li>To be flexible.&nbsp;Users from around the world can access a document, a spreadsheet or a PowerPoint presentation wherever they have internet access.</li>
<li>To allow scalability.&nbsp;There are times when business need to scale up or down storage quickly, and cloud computing is there for as much or as little as you need.</li>
<li>A choice of tools.&nbsp;Cloud servers and systems often have tools readymade to be used by the client, so no investment of time or money is needed into creating or developing their own.</li>
<li>A variety of options.&nbsp;Choose a free server with limited storage options, or choose a private paid -for cloud service that has added security.</li>
<li>You&rsquo;re in control.&nbsp;Control how much you use because the software is a service, so you can vary your business model in the cloud with SaaS, PaaS or even IaaS.</li>
<li>More efficient.&nbsp;Wherever you are in the world you can upload data that can be accessed by any member of your organisation, much more efficient than having to be there in person.</li>
<li>Accessible.&nbsp;With a single set of passwords, anybody in your organisation can have access to documents and data stored in the cloud without consistently having to ask for clearance.</li>
<li>Money saving.&nbsp;There&rsquo;s no doubt that the right cloud setup is going to save you money. You can choose a pay-as-you-go service so you only pay for what you need and use.</li>
<li>Better productivity.&nbsp;Say goodbye to the slow and unsafe ways of saving and storing data on in-house servers, your workers will benefit from the fact information is available at a click.</li>
<li>More secure.&nbsp;When everything is stored in the cloud, you rely on the hosts own superior levels of security which are often stronger and cheaper than you could create yourself.</li>
</ol>
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There are many reasons to get onboard with cloud technology, and in this world that is constantly changing, cloud provides a stable solution that allows you to grow with the times, adapting and changing your business model to always stay one step ahead.
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The Importance of Cloud Technology In An Ever- Evolving World 

There has been a real focus on diversity in recent times, with all industries declaring their commitment to inclusivity. However, although there has been a significant improvement, things aren’t yet where they need to be, especially in some industries. The technology sector is one where there’s still clear work to be done. Although there is the appetite for change, in the US 95% of the tech workforce is white and 76% of the technical positions are held by men. Here’s a closer look at why diversity matters, and why it’s as important for the employer as the individual. Better Performance Research from Harvard suggests that when a team is more diverse, the performance is better. In studies, problem solving skills were enhanced and the team worked together more effectively when the members were diverse.Part of the reason for this is cognitive differences. Different cultures, different life experiences and different perspectives provide individuals with a unique perspective and when these are brought together, the end result is far more efficient and rapid than a team where everyone thinks in a similar way. The other reason is that diversity encourages people to speak up. In a room full of men, a lone woman might feel uncomfortable challenging the accepted status quo. In contrast, where there’s a table full of different individuals, it’s much easier to speak up. User-Friendly Solutions Diversity is essential for innovative tech solutions. It’s not just about giving everyone an equal opportunity to work in tech, it’s also about the end user having the best, and most appropriate, solutions. For example, the way a white man views a product, and its stumbling blocks, may be a very different reality to women or minority groups. If you don’t have these diverse voices included in the development, the tech product may not perform as a large proportion of the end users need. This means that the tech could fail simply due to the lack of diversity in the process. One study shows that having a workforce which supports diversity has the potential to increase innovation by up to 83%. The representation of different voices is crucial to create solutions which genuinely work for all. Employee Satisfaction Numerous studies have shown that in a diverse workplace, levels of employee satisfaction increase. With greater productivity, lower absenteeism and fewer quality issues, it seems that proactively fostering an inclusive environment is valued by all employees. It’s not just those within diverse groups who benefit from the change. Research demonstrates that the feel-good atmosphere is universal, with changes even in environments which have been traditionally all-male, such as tech development.Inclusivity and improved employee satisfaction helps with staff turnover too. Companies will be able to retain the best talent as well as attracting the cream of the crop, as word spreads about who’s a good company to work for. Controversy Despite agreeing with the benefits of diversity in the workplace, there will be some who say that the best candidate for the role should be employed. While that’s true, there’s a problem in attracting diverse candidates, particularly when the workplace currently doesn’t show any signs of diversity or inclusivity. Within tech and other industries who are lagging behind, work still needs to be done on why candidates are so often white and male, and what can be done to attract the best talent from diverse groups. Promoting diversity is essential for progress within the modern world, and it’s vital for everyone to have representation. However, diversity benefits employers as much as employees, so for many different reasons, the tech sector needs to redouble its efforts to improve its stats on diversity in the workplace.

The Importance of Diversity Across Tech 

As we head further into 2020, new technology trends will inevitably impact our work and our lives. Some may benefit us long-term, while others may only be short-term trends. Here are some of the Source top technology trends facing 2020 and beyond.
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TREND 1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AL) IN MANUFACTURING
The emergence of Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant has made Al a huge part of our lives. In 2020, Al will go further by using emotion recognition and computer vision will scale up.
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TREND 2. 5G BETTER BROADBAND INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
2020 will see U.S. and China compete to deliver 5G into the mass market, and broadband service providers will aim to provide ever-higher internet speeds.
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TREND 3. THE DISTRIBUTED CLOUD
The cloud has always been seen as location independent. However, now it is changing to becoming a distributed cloud. What this means is that now, the distribution of public cloud servers will move to different locations. The originating public cloud will still hold responsibility for the governance, operation and updates to the public cloud. This will bring a new dimension to cloud computing.
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TREND 4. EVOLUTION OF AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES
With companies such as SpaceX making aerospace advancements, 2020 could be the year that we go back to space. Reusable rockets have been developed in order to save money on getting to space, and it is thought that developments could be made in commercial travel that could bring us closer to visiting space stations. In fact, in 2020, we should see the release of broadband services based in space. There will obviously be regulatory challenges to overcome, as well as commercial ones, which could require some further development to overcome.
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TREND 5. DIY AI
With a shortage of AI skills, platforms that have automated machine-learning options could make AI technology development something that general business users could get to grips with, as the systems could teach themselves.
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TREND 6. AUTONOMOUS DRIVING TECHNOLOGY
Autonomous driving experts are competing to reach level 5 (fully autonomous) in autonomous driving. Currently, cars such as Tesla cars on the motorway can be switched to autopilot mode, but only with driving support or operated by the driver in an emergency.
<a style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);" href="https://www.source-technology.com/effect-autonomous-vehicles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The effect of Autonomous Vehicles: what will change?</a>
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TREND 7. HUMAN AUGMENTATION
Human augmentation is another hot topic for technology trends 2020. We have already seen how technology can be used to deliver physical and cognitive improvements. A variety of human augmentation devices have already been created for use in factories or battlefields to improve performance. Development is set to continue, but will it makes better humans of us? Time will tell.
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TREND 8. ESIM
For consumer electronics and company-related IoT, eSIM will become more common. Users won&rsquo;t need to wait for a new sim card to be mailed or collected to activate or change subscriptions. Several new apps and eSIM services will be available in 2020.
None of these technology trends are incremental changes, neither are they as simple as finding the next technological tool. 2020 is communicating great challenges and opportunities for business, embracing change and adopting new technologies and trends guarantees that your organization remains competitive in the market.
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Technology will change the future, and with further changes comes an increased demand for talent &ndash; looking for talent solutions for your technology organization, or searching for your next opportunity in tech? Reach out to the Source Technology team today.
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<a style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(38, 170, 254);" href="mailto:Hello@agreatersource.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hello@source-technology.com</a>
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Interview with BitBot Technology

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Making a Difference: How Women in Tech are Transforming the Industry

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Women in Tech: Leading the way to a more inclusive future

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Source Talks: On Kotlin #5

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Source Talks: On Kotlin #3

The Top 5 Mistakes in Technical Recruiting

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A Look At The 5 Most Common Cybersecurity Threats

The Most In Demand Cloud Jobs Out There

Why Cyber Security Is More Important Now Than Ever

Top Tips On Working In Germany

Scaling Technology Start-Ups for Success

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Top Technology Trends 2022

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Tech Career Paths In 2022

Is Kotlin the Future?

Interview Questions for Scala Developers

Digital Disruption: AI In The Workplace

5 Questions Every CIO Should Ask Before A Digital Transformation

An Introduction To Kotlin

The Added Value A Good Recruiter Adds to your Recruitment Process

The Importance of Cloud Technology In An Ever- Evolving World

The Importance of Diversity Across Tech

Technology Trends for 2020