Published on 11 Oct 2022
Switching from Java to Node.js as a senior developer - Tomasz’s story
Tomasz
Backend Developer
Seemingly it is better not to stay in the port during a storm, at least that hypothesis was presented by Robert Zemeckis in "Forrest Gump". In the film the only boat that has stayed on the open sea during a hurricane was the one that belonged to Forrest and Bubba. Thanks to this, it survived and monopolized the shrimp catchers market in the region.
Today, small companies are just like small independent boats. The decision-making process is maximally simplified, and thus, they are agile and flexible. They find themselves better in a dynamic situation and when they see the opportunities they can immediately take action.
At the beginning of the pandemic crisis, the business world held its breath, some for a shorter, time others for a longer time. Some could not or did not want to stop, others were stopped by force, and still others held their breath for so long that they either suffocated or lost their momentum so much that now they are trying hard to come back to reality.
We have taken this opportunity and talked about what is happening here and now during the conversation with Adrian and Łukasz Roth, the founders of Bitnoise, but we also talked with Martyn Roberts, a Scot who lives in Berlin, where he runs Squareball, which is in the top 10 digital studio in the UK (the company's second headquarters is Manchester) and with Luisa Tatoli, an Italian who has been living in London for 7 years and is the managing director of Roll Studio - a digital agency that has cooperated with brands such as Universal, Google, Ikea or Unit9.
We have gained a multicultural perspective and several answers to all the questions that are now bothering us. We have also confirmed that we are in the right place and that, although we are like everyone shocked by what is happening in the world, both we and our partners are relatively well.
Bitnoise's stable position on the market has been strengthened by going virtual. Thanks to the fact that practically the whole world is in the same situation, it is easier for us to communicate, we can share experiences and count on understanding from others, not only within our company, our city but also in the world.
What was repeated in our conversations was the fact that, although we have been ready for the digital revolution for a long time, we needed an impulse in the form of a crisis that forced us to take advantage of already available solutions.
The situation of individual companies in the IT sector depends on many factors, such as the company's current strategy, location of clients, partners on the market, cooperation with specific sectors. Adrian and Łukasz Roth emphasized that the stable position of Bitnoise is a consequence of the strategy of customer diversification and shifting the center of gravity from project-only work to a greater share of stable and long-term contracts. Martyn Roberts noticed that realistically speaking, for many companies in the IT sector, little has changed. Remote work was commonplace, and what other sectors had to deal with, was obvious to those related to IT. Everyone agreed that the basis of a well-functioning company is mutual trust and respect. Luisa Tatoli talked about the unique position of Roll Studio, which is based in Italy and in Great Britain, which are two countries most affected by pandemics in Europe. From her perspective, the policy of the British authorities was completely incomprehensible, since they saw closely what Italy had gone through, while in London the approach to a pandemic, despite the huge number of infections, was very reckless. Roll Studio itself used the Italian experience and prepared well for the onset of a pandemic in London. They switched to 100% remote working mode, took care of their employees, gave up actions that could pose any threat earlier than it was expected by the authorities. And, like people around the world, they locked themselves in their homes. That last aspect of the pandemic turned out to be much less burdensome than one could have been expected. Flexible working time, smooth reconciliation of home and work life, more time with loved ones, and the invaluable impact of a pandemic on the environment are repeated as a big positive of the current situation.
If you want to listen to the whole interviews, you will find them on the Bitnoise page on Linkedin .
An unexpected contradiction arises from the pandemic situation. The world may have taken a few steps back in terms of social activity or mobility, but technology has moved with impetus and made us aware that we are ready for professional and social functioning in the virtual world.
With the conversation with Luisa Tatoli, we have concluded sub-section “is IT crisis” and we are heading towards the “digital revolution” with different examples of solutions and tools that can help us with a smooth transition into virtual reality.
We would also like to talk about the change within us and how to prevent digital exclusion.
