The Softwerker Changes Lives
After an opening by codecentric board member Rainer Vehns, who recalled the magazine's early days, and a welcome by the Softwerker team, the Softwerker's head designer, Valentina Arambasic, was the first to address the audience. Unable to attend that evening, she had recorded a short video message in which she shared her personal Softwerker story. Valentina, who has been involved with the magazine since the second issue and has been its lead designer, found her way to the Softwerker through a design commission, then from the Softwerker to codecentric, and through codecentric eventually to Germany, where she has been living with her family since 2017.
Not only Valentina, but many other people who are closely connected to codecentric today or even work here, first became aware of us through the Softwerker – at trade fairs, conferences, meetups, through social media posts, and so on. The Softwerker has therefore potentially influenced not only many technology decisions, but also numerous careers and life paths – hopefully always for the better.
codecentric founders Rainer Vehns (left) and Mirko Novakovic (right). Photo: Thomas Micke
Looking Back and Looking Ahead
The main part of the evening was held under the motto "Ten Years in IT – A Look Back and Forward". It was shaped by two people who have been hugely influential for the Softwerker: Softwerker founder and former publisher Mirko Novakovic, who has since become a serial entrepreneur and angel investor at New Forge, and the current publisher Uwe Friedrichsen, CTO at codecentric, internationally sought-after speaker and very active tech blogger.
Reality Check: Is Software Still Eating the World?
The retrospective on ten years in IT was undertaken by Mirko Novakovic, who ten years ago delivered the keynote "Software Is Eating the World" at the Java conference "JAX". The Softwerker was created in parallel and on the basis of the theses presented there. The dictum of IT entrepreneur and visionary Marc Andreessen, after which that keynote was titled, "Software Is Eating the World", dates from 2011. It is the title of a long-since largely forgotten article in the Wall Street Journal, in which Andreessen shows how software is increasingly permeating all areas of life and business – from retail to healthcare; the author even speaks of a "software revolution".
In his talk, Mirko ventured a reassessment of his own theses from the 2013 JAX keynote, which illustrated Andreessen's statement using various examples. TL;DR: Software is still eating the world – we had already anticipated this with our event title "Software Is Still Eating the World", since the software revolution is, after all, the founding myth of the Softwerker. As examples, Mirko cited the sharply rising revenue figures in recent years for software-driven companies such as Uber and Tesla, and the tailwind experienced by Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startups like Stripe or Twilio. Not to be underestimated, however, is the importance of hardware (examples: Nvidia or Tesla's own hardware) and artificial intelligence, both of which are also decisive success factors.
Mirko admitted that while he had predicted the increasing use of the cloud ten years ago, he had not foreseen the observable boom in specific SaaS products. "The revolution is called product-led growth", said Mirko. The target audience is often developers – a bottom-up approach emerges through the demand for APIs and application integration.
Mirko noted with some disillusionment that little has changed in the field of telecommunications over the past ten years – unlike what he had predicted in 2013, when Skype and similar services seemed to be promising alternatives. "Traditional phone calls are still just as bad as they used to be."
A great deal has happened, however, in the field of space travel. As an example, Mirko cited CubeSat – mini-satellites that private companies can launch into space at any time – and the company Isar Aerospace, which specializes in small satellites and thereby removes significant barriers to space travel. Use cases include, among others, the monitoring of power lines or railway tracks.
"Data & AI is the new oil" was another prediction from ten years ago that has indeed come true – though "much faster and not as spectacularly" as expected; instead, collecting data simply "became standard", as the entrepreneur noted. The focus is now on foundational models such as OpenAI/ChatGPT. "I think this is going to be big", said Mirko.
The bottom line: Software developers are still the "kingmakers" ten years later, as described in the famous book by RedMonk's Stephen O'Grady. "The Softwerker is still state of the art", Mirko concluded.
The Future of IT: 3 Problems, 3 Answers
In his talk, Uwe Friedrichsen addressed the challenges that companies face today – and possible solutions to be prepared for the uncertainties and dynamic markets of the next ten years.
The first major challenge is captured by the acronym "VUCA", short for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. As drivers of this dangerous mix of instability, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, he cited, among others, post-industrial markets, geopolitical developments, excessive optimization, and the climate crisis. Uwe's conclusion: "Planning is dead." Best practices can no longer be relied upon either.
The second challenge: IT is indispensable – regardless of the business or life domain. "Today there is no longer any business process that is not controlled by IT." Software Is Eating the World, after all. Business and IT are thus inextricably intertwined, "two sides of the same coin", as Uwe put it.
The third challenge: At the same time, complexity in IT is virtually exploding. And the tendency to view new hypes, paradigms, and technologies as cure-alls for every IT problem only adds to this.
Uwe's three proposed solutions to the problems mentioned above:
1. Sustainability – both ecological and economic (Infinite Game)
2. Resilience – the ability not only to overcome unforeseen events, but also to emerge stronger from such situations (anti-fragility).
3. Simplification: "Not simple at all", as Uwe emphasizes. What matters is adapting to changes in the market and investing time in explaining software to people. He also recommends being less fixated on tools and technologies and freeing oneself from the "Fear Of Missing Out" (FOMO).
In Uwe's view, these three factors are mutually dependent and reinforcing, but also balance each other out.
It is important to let go of cherished habits and ways of thinking, such as a purely efficiency-driven mindset or purely local optimization. To the objection "Isn't this just old wine in new bottles?", Uwe responded by pointing out that while the individual building blocks of the future are already present and known, what matters is their combination and meaningful application. "The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed" – the famous quote by science fiction author William Gibson – aptly describes this state of affairs.
"Software Ate The World, Now AI Is Eating Software"
The subsequent fireside chat with Mirko and Uwe was opened by Softwerker editor and moderator Björn Bohn with a thesis from a Forbes article: "Software Ate The World, Now AI Is Eating Software". He raised the question that preoccupies many developers: what role will the human factor still play in software development in the age of artificial intelligence? Mirko: "From today's perspective, I would say that 80 percent of developer tasks will disappear within the next two years." He emphasized that he is not alone in this assessment. Routine tasks in particular would be better handled by AI. As a result, developers would need to move further out of their comfort zone toward the business side and increasingly engage with topics such as (empathetic) user experience.
Uwe agreed with Mirko to the extent that he also believes detailed knowledge will be in less and less demand. When asked how developers can find ways out of their comfort zone, Uwe advised that it always pays to be curious and think outside the box – "stay hungry, stay foolish", as Apple founder Steve Jobs once put it. Mirko emphasized that as a startup investor, he pays attention not only to the business idea of startups, but primarily to the founding team: Is it ready to put in the effort required to work on a new idea? He has yet to see an idea successfully implemented on a four-day work week.
But how are these demands on a startup compatible with the previously mentioned idea of the "Infinite Game"? The startup phase must fundamentally be viewed differently, said Uwe. The more established a company, the more the focus can shift toward sustainability. Mirko, as a startup founder, on the other hand, values change and adaptation to shifting markets and conditions more than sustainability: "I would never pursue sustainability, but rather change."
Mirko Novakovic: "80 percent of developer tasks will disappear within the next two years". Photo: Thomas Micke
The Softwerker Connects People
After a few questions from the audience, a fruity-sweet birthday cake for the Softwerker in the fitting square format rounded off the official part of the evening. Over cake, savory treats, and cold drinks, the approximately 70 attendees continued to discuss the theses raised earlier well into the late evening, and celebrated more than one reunion. For the Softwerker not only has the ability to influence perspectives on technology or career and life paths – it has also been connecting people for ten years. Perhaps that is its most important achievement.
The entire livestream can be watched on YouTube .
All photos by Thomas Micke