Where are YOUR Developers Coming From?

An excellent post from +Ben Gracewood has sparked a Twitter conversation that all New Zealand companies should read.


And I mean all NZ companies as this is not just about +Vend Point of Sale, +Xero Accounting Software and all the other "rock star" tech companies. If you are a modern, sustainable and growing company then you're using computers to run your business. Yes, yes, I know that the majority of what's in your face is developed/maintained by large corporates such as Google, Microsoft, Oracle and the like.

But, if you've got anything that resembles "secret sauce" (the stuff that makes you different to your competitors down the road) then you already know that there is no off-the-shelf software product that truly makes your business hum. It's either a Heath Robinson affair of cobbled together large systems from the likes of Google, Microsoft which needs specialised developers working for you. OR it's something you created in-house and you need specialised develpers working for you.

And so this dearth of good quality developers in New Zealand is starting to bite us all.

I'm telling my kids now that being a developer ("software engineer") or someone that makes computers do things for people, as I have no idea what the jobs of the future will actually be, is a good move (listen to +Raj Khushal and I discuss this on our latest Access Granted podcast).

If you're interested in helping out then join in with Ben's Twitter discussion and check out:

If you know of a great resource for someone looking to fill the gap, let me know and I'll list here.

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