Why every business should invest in Developer Relations

Not very long ago, software developers were primarily seen as smart people but didn't really have much influence in the business world. With the rise of Cloud technology and Open Source software, that’s all changed with developers now being one of the most important assets a business has, regardless of what industry it is in. In this article, I’ll explore:

• the power that software developers have to shape product and business strategy like never before
• how you can embrace them to break down innovation barriers
• how you can inspire developers to use their skills for good.

See my session talks at BeyondTech and Innov8rs Summit Paris

Developers are having a long over-due 'Moment'

Software developers, engineers, data scientist - now have incredible power at their finger-tips. As business leaders, we have the responsibility to bridge the gap between business and developers as it is they that hold the key to making innovation a reality.

Thanks in part to waves of technologies that have opened up a new world of innovation not only to developers, but to all technologists with a passion for the art of the possible:

1. The Rise of the Internet over 30 years ago which changed business and life around the world forever. Before the Internet, scientists and researchers had to travel—often out of the country—for computing resources and to collaborate on major projects. By the early 1980s, an early Internet had begun to emerge: a primitive, regional telecommunications network linking several national laboratories and supercomputing centers that could be accessed only by trained experts. It was complicated, unfriendly and slow. But it was an important first step to the worldwide establishment of the Internet as we know it today.
2. The ubiquity of Cloud Computing a concept from the 1950's which is now a reality that gives developers access to compute power and incredible functionality at low cost anywhere and everywhere
3. The success of Open Source software which has led to some of the most important software breakthroughs. Today, open source software is more important than ever with many innovations – such as web browsers, databases and smartphones – are built on decades of open source contributions. The Linux Foundation has a great definition of what Open Source means, but essentially is a type of licensing agreement that allows users to freely modify a work, use it in new ways, integrate the work into a larger project or derive a new work based on the original. Open Source software removes barriers between innovators, and promotes a free exchange of ideas within a community to drive creative, scientific and technological advancement.

With so much information and power at their fingertips, technologist of all types can now be your business greatest asset to:

• help control the explosion of data in your company, 
• enable you to provide more customer-centric experiences
• fend off disruption from both incumbents and startups invading your space.

The rising importance of those with digital talent has been confirmed by research

Drawing from IBM’s annual C-Suite study, the 19th edition of research developed by the IBM Institute for Business Value in cooperation with Oxford Economics, we have collected data and insights from more than 40,000 interviews with leaders of our clients. Our clients represent some of the most well-known and respected organisations in the world. The study show us that the most successful legacy companies — 27 per cent of the companies interviewed — had some commonalities. One of the findings showed that the most successful companies are nurturing key digital talent such as software developers.

Developers are shaping product and user experiences in new ways. are unquestionably one of the most important assets a business has, regardless of what industry it is in. 

And there have been many publications about the rise of the Software Developer including ‘The New Kingmakers’ by Stephen O-Grady

How can business tap into the psyche of developers, engineers and data scientists to bring them closer to business strategy plus recognise them for the impact they have on your organisation?

There is so much talk about personas and differences when planning campaigns, but we should understand that a developer's world is full of choices. I prefer to talk about what we have in common, to understand the environment in which developers work and to give them what they need to be successful.

I've discovered a few things about working with developers:

1. They are human beings and care about the world can be inspired by challenges where they can really make a difference
2. They yearn for their code to be used
3. They thrive in communities, sharing knowledge and assets freely to solve problems

'Call for Code' is a great example of how to inspire developers and bring them closer to the business

With Call for Code our focus was on how we could use a challenge - that of the impact of Natural Disasters' - to:

• harness the combined powers of developers for good, 
• to reach as many developers as possible with a business challenge, 
• to provide them with content which could get them started as quickly as possible and 
• to give them access to community to help them

We know natural disaster take lives. Although we can not prevent them, we can use the skills of developers to create technology solutions to mitigate their effects:

Here’s our Chief Developer Advocate sharing more about Call for Code

WHAT WE LEARNT

1. There are a lot of stereotypes when it comes to developers, but essentially they can be inspired, reached and enabled in a number of ways

• Through an ecosystem of supporters and partners
• Through celebrity endorsements and social media influencers
• With support from investors, cash prizes and people to put their code into action

2. We also learn the power of content

• We provided Code Patterns so that developers could spend more of their time working solving the challenges
• A Code Pattern includes architecture diagrams, the actual code itself, learning and education videos, blogs and a mechanism to talk to the authors and developers behind the code

3. We learnt that content is a static resource. Sometime developers can get stuck with a project. But it is the community where developers thrive

• If you want to help your developers enhance their skills, the answer is to bring people together, and to understand the ecosystem that your developers work in 
• That's why we organised lots of workshops, hackathons, meetups and events such as those at IBM Code London where developers could come together and work on solutions during the challenge period.

The IBM Developer Way has been honed from our learnings from the Call for Code challenge and is what we call our methodology in engaging developers.

Here's some tips on how to engage developers in your business:

1. Get to know your developers and work on programmes to bring them closer to your business
2. Developers are motivated just like anyone else, however a big motivator is knowing that their code will be used
3. Get to know the ecosystem around developers, bring them together to work on a challenge that really matters

Software developers don't have a monopoly on good ideas, but their skill set makes them a unique deep source of innovation, productivity and new economic connections. So embrace your developers, and invest in developer relations programmes that bring your business closer to the digital talents that are shaping your industry

See my session talks at BeyondTech and Innov8rs Summit Paris