Tech Industry Leaders on the Importance of Coding

With the tech skills gap prevalent worldwide, National Coding WeekOpens a new window is a great opportunity to inspire people of all ages to learn more about software development. Spiceworks spoke with industry experts to learn why businesses should promote coding skills, and why having an understanding of coding is important in the modern workplace.

Neil Barton, CTO, WhereScapeOpens a new window

“Automation is enabling businesses to get things done faster and with greater efficiency. In the case of machine learning processing, data infrastructure automation is the key to ensuring organizations are leveraging trusted data, by generating repeatable code and metadata that provides strong data governance and transparent lineage. By utilizing automation in this and other ways, organizations are also able to lift the mundane and repetitive coding off of the plates of its developers and instead provide opportunities to contribute within other aspects of development that will greatly impact the bottom line and be personally rewarding,” said Neil Barton, CTO, WhereScape.

Anu Yamunan, Vice President of Products, ExabeamOpens a new window

“In the past several years, we have seen the emergence of a new standard of employee for the technology industry. The modern-day tech worker has to be technical, but also creative, innovative and an incredibly talented problem solver. Coders tick every single one of these boxes. As a developer, similar to a painter, they are taking a blank canvas and constructing something extraordinary out of nothing—and have to navigate any issue that comes their way. When something goes wrong with their code or the original code does not work, it is up to them to fix it as fast as possible. Employees with coding skills are now essential personnel in the modern enterprise. The demand for coding skills is already high, but as we continue to see the evolution of AI and machine learning, it will only become greater. These technologies are transforming the way we process and analyze data, which offers incredible insight to inform sales and marketing, network security teams and more. National Coding Week serves as a great platform to highlight how we need more people with these skills to manage evolving technologies,” said Anu Yamunan, vice president of products, Exabeam.

Bryan Becker, DAST Product Manager and Security Researcher, WhiteHat SecurityOpens a new window

“With cybercrime growing globally, the demand for developers, especially those with security expertise, has grown to combat the ever-increasing threat. Fortunately in today’s world, coding accessibility has grown and it’s much easier to become a security-minded developer today. During National Coding Week, for those interested in becoming a developer, I’d encourage students to dedicate themselves to a project and self-teach as a starting point. A great place to learn the basics of programming is through online communities, such as the ‘/r/learnprogramming’ subreddit. Contributing to open source projects, even minimally, is also a great experience and gives you the chance to work with code written by people with much more experience. For security experience, I would recommend checking out the OWASP website, the ‘/r/netsecstudents’ subreddit, or one of the many beginner challenges online. By integrating security into your developer training, it will absolutely set you a part in the job market and also help combat the growing daily threat of today’s data breaches,” said Bryan Becker, DAST product manager and security researcher, WhiteHat Security.

Svenja de Vos, CTO, Leaseweb GlobalOpens a new window

“Events such as National Coding Week are a great opportunity to bring tech to more people, regardless of their age, and illustrate that you’re never too old or too young to learn to code. The week reminds us of the importance of keeping a balanced range of talent in the technology sector, and shines a light on the benefits of a career in coding – which will hopefully widen future pools of developers and help close the tech skills gap. Technical accuracy and creativity go hand in hand when it comes to coding and programming – much more than people think. It’s thanks to coding that our technology has come so far over the years and will only continue to evolve. Every day, coders create innovative apps, games and software that are helping to revolutionize a variety of industries, including healthcare, gaming and manufacturing. Their work is being used to secure our daily lives and provide solutions to some of today’s biggest problems. The industry coming together around National Coding Week exposes all these interesting facets of the job, and helps prepare people for the reality of the career,” said Svenja de Vos, CTO, Leaseweb Global.

Jen Locklear, Chief Talent Officer, ConnectWiseOpens a new window

“This National Coding Week, businesses need to highlight the importance of women in technology by educating young women. More companies are moving to support and educate females at a younger age about their prospects within the technology industry. By supporting organisations and non-profits like Girls Who Code, you equip young women with the necessary tools and opportunities to succeed in the competitive tech industry. As technology continues to infiltrate projects and daily assignments as early as elementary school, young women learn how to deploy the skills necessary to build confidence and authority within the space. Remember this when hiring recent grads who have most likely grown up around technology. To educate women already in the workforce, invest in seminars, training, and conferences that will build upon existing knowledge while also forging connections and empower them to break glass ceilings,” said Jen Locklear, chief talent officer, ConnectWise.

Alan Conboy, Office of the CTO, Scale ComputingOpens a new window

“We are entering a new age driven by big data, machine learning, and edge computing, so what does this mean for today’s developers? During National Coding Week, it’s important to recognize the value of a coding skills in today’s data-driven world. Within the job market, the ability to code is powerful, and in the coming days, it will continue to push our digital world to new levels of innovation. For instance, developers today are turning to technology that can self-heal, designed to eliminate some of the familiar complexities of identifying, mitigating and correcting infrastructure problems is now being built into the design of forward-thinking companies. The addition of machine intelligence is also growing, enabling developers to manage their workloads on a daily basis, allowing them to re-focus on tasks, which are of much greater benefit to the individuals and business overall. With the world currently generating 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day, for those seeking a career in technology, the need for developers will only increase, and the technologies that better equip them with the tools to succeed in their careers will continue to be embraced as well,” said Alan Conboy, office of the CTO, Scale Computing.

Bob Davis, CMO, PlutoraOpens a new window

“In today’s software-driven world, organizations must be able to deliver high-quality software in order to succeed and grow. Organizations can only gain this competitive advantage through quick, efficient, and quality software releases, orchestrated by development teams with strong and fluent coders. Coders are the bricklayers of the software world, and they ensure every project starts with a sturdy foundation upon which developers can build. It’s essential for every organization – whether it’s a startup or an experienced enterprise – to retain talented coders on staff who are able to meet the demands of fluctuating software needs quickly and at scale. Coding is becoming the language of business, and every organization needs to be able to communicate,” said Bob Davis, CMO, Plutora.

Matt VanderZwaag, Director of Product Development, US SignalOpens a new window

“Coding continues to be a key skill in today’s job market, especially in a climate where the one-stop IT infrastructure solutions rarely meet all the needs of a modern business. The skillsets developers have are the key to empowering hybrid IT strategies and creating a diverse mix of IT environments and technologies through their code. National Coding Week is an important time to recognize and show appreciation for the vitality of learning to code. It is an extremely valuable skill to have within any team that greatly impacts fast-changing businesses. Coding is powerful, and we are continuously seeing it push our digital world to new levels of innovation,” said Matt VanderZwaag, director of product development, US Signal.

Todd Krautkremer, CMO, CradlepointOpens a new window

“We are now entering a new epoch driven by big data, semantic computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and of course, 5G. So, what does this all mean for coders? First, software developers need to be bigger continuous learners as these new technologies bring with them new programming paradigms, new open source ecosystems and new tools. Secondly, data, algorithms, neural networks and natural language processing are becoming deeply intertwined in code, requiring more end-to-end systems knowledge than ever before. For those seeking a career in technology, the need for data scientists will continue to outstrip demand as the world is currently generating 2.5 quintillion bytes of data a day,” said Todd Krautkremer, CMO, Cradlepoint.

Estee Woods, Director of Public Sector and Public Safety Marketing, CradlepointOpens a new window

“As a sector devoted to improvement and innovation, the technology industry should be at the forefront of positive change when it comes to gender equality. It’s therefore surprising – and sadly ironic – that the gender gap in Silicon Valley is still a significant cause for concern. According to Silicon Valley Bank’s 2019 Women in Technology Leadership report, just 56 percent of startups have at least one woman in an executive position, and only 40 percent have at least one woman on the board of directors. Another sobering statistic is that 72 percent of startups have no female founders. The continued lack of gender parity across all industries is why initiatives such as Women’s Equality Day are so important. They provide a time to pause and see how far we have come – to celebrate the trailblazers of gender equality and women’s rights — but they are also a time to see just how far we have left to go. I encourage everyone to celebrate the strong women in their lives, personally and professionally, and to empower the women in their organizations. Today, I encourage women in tech to own their voices, to value their intellect and skills, and to take an active role in their careers and organizations,” said Estee Woods, director of public sector and public safety marketing, Cradlepoint.