Kickoff 2023 – Starting the New Year Together
For the first time in three years, codecentric was able to hold its traditional event at the start of the year in person again. Kicked off in spectacular fashion with a guitar solo by our founder and CEO Rainer Vehns, the company looked back on 2022 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Düsseldorf.
The entire workforce then had the chance to meet Stefan Riedel, who joined the board in the following week as its third member. This was followed by a look into codecentric's future and the major projects the company had been successfully running at the time, which serve as inspiration for the years ahead. The final session focused on excellence, which codecentric aims to preserve as a continuously growing company. After an eventful day of sessions, the kickoff wound down in typical codecentric fashion with a big celebration among colleagues.
"We Are the Champions" …
… is something some of our colleagues can rightfully and sometimes even officially claim. Take our Bielefeld location manager Meike Wocken, for example, who received the "Social Champion" award from the Pioneers Club in Bielefeld in January 2023. Meike had distinguished herself through exceptional community engagement, including her volunteer project "Code for Bielefeld", which aims to make public data visible and usable for everyone interested. You can read more about the award and how Meike herself commented on it in the corresponding news article.
Our colleagues from the Observability unit have also won an award thanks to outstanding performance: The "Ecosystem Award 2022" in the "AIOps" category from IBM was presented to codecentric at an awards ceremony in spring 2023. AIOps, a term coined by the research institute Gartner, stands for "Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations" and aims to use artificial intelligence and machine learning for monitoring IT systems (Observability). IBM uses the "Ecosystem Awards" to recognize particularly valuable partner companies in the DACH region. You can read IBM's reasoning for honoring codecentric in our news article.
Female Dev Club Düsseldorf – 10 Meetups This Year!
Back in March, our colleagues Jennifer Lucifero and Anna Maier founded the Female Dev Club in Düsseldorf. A meetup made exclusively by women for women. It serves not only as an informative event series on IT topics, but also as a safe space for women in the industry, where relaxed and open exchange is possible.
Our colleagues have already organized ten meetups this year, and the first dates for next year are already confirmed. The format covers a variety of topics – from career changers entering IT to hexagonal frontend architecture – offering all participants a diverse program and great networking opportunities. As Jennifer explained when the meetup was founded: "I would be delighted if more young women found their way into IT – as an informed and conscious decision." With nearly 200 group members by now, our colleagues are certainly well on their way!
Girls' Day 2023 – Girls into IT!
Every year in April, German companies take part in Girls' Day. codecentric has been participating for years, introducing schoolgirls to predominantly male-dominated professions. In 2023, six codecentric locations gave a total of 67 girls a glimpse into the everyday working life of a software developer. There were various workshops to attend: from building a website with HTML and CSS to programming a Lego robot with Scratch, the girls could get hands-on. The experience was rounded off with interviews, including one with a Project Owner – giving the students a chance to learn more about possible paths into the world of IT. This year, too, it was a wonderful experience for the codecentric team to meet such engaged and curious young students.
Four on the Board – Welcome, Verena and Stefan!
We are of course delighted about every new colleague at codecentric, but this year we also had two special additions to celebrate: Our board team was thrilled to welcome Stefan and Verena! At the start of the year, Stefan Riedel joined us, and in his role has since been responsible for the areas of customer focus and sales. He brings years of experience in the consulting industry, including stints at IBM and adesso.
The board team was then completed in May by Verena Deller , who is responsible for the areas of people and communications. She previously spent a long time at INVERTO, a consultancy specializing in supply chain management and procurement that has been part of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) since 2017. Together with company founder Rainer Vehns and Lars Rückemann, the four of them have since formed our dynamic board team – a wonderful addition, we think!
The codecentric board: Rainer Vehns, Verena Deller, Stefan Riedel and Lars Rückemann (l. to r.)
New Web Presence for codecentric
The saying "April showers bring May flowers" took on a special meaning for the codecentric website in 2023, as it was unveiled to the public in a completely overhauled version in the month of May. It stepped onto the stage of the WWW with a more contemporary design, enriched with new features and sections. Visitors can look forward to, among other things, a simplified search, a new section about our way of working, and easier ways to get in touch with the right contacts. On the location pages, our teams now show their faces: all team members are introduced there. We have summarized all the new features here for you.
codecentric Hamburg: New Office
For almost eight years, codecentric produced fresh code in Hamburg right from the Fischmarkt – in May, it was time for a change of scenery. Since then, coding and consulting has been taking place in a former auction house at Bäckerbreitergang 73. The new office near the Gänsemarkt offers plenty of space for the Hamburg team, as well as for the IT community in the north. The beautiful premises with an open kitchen and mezzanine are ideally suited for hosting meetups. The rooftop terrace in particular, with its view towards the Binnenalster, invites you not only to let your gaze wander, but also your mind – and thus quite literally gain new perspectives.
Partner: codecentric Achieves Platinum Status from Atlassian
codecentric has been a successful Atlassian partner for 12 years, and since June the company has been entitled to call itself an Platinum Solution Partner – the highest status awarded by the Australian software manufacturer. Across the entire DACH region, fewer than 20 companies have earned the platinum seal. Adrian Voigt, Atlassian Business Development at codecentric, is delighted with the recognition: "Our commitment and focus on customer needs enable us to offer an excellent service." The award was made possible in part by the high number of Atlassian-certified codecentric employees and the high standard of codecentric's services.
Ten Years of Softwerker
Our in-house IT specialist magazine Der Softwerker celebrated its tenth birthday in 2023 – and that called for a proper celebration. Which is exactly what happened on June 1st at codecentric's company headquarters in Solingen: Together with Softwerker readers, authors and the Solingen tech community, a large square cake modelled on the magazine's format, and the two outstanding speakers Mirko Novakovic and Uwe Friedrichsen (former and current editors of the Softwerker), we celebrated in style. Over champagne, cake, savory delights and cold drinks, around 70 attendees mingled well into the late evening and enjoyed more than a few reunions. You can read a summary of the event, including the talks by Uwe and Mirko, here. You can watch the livestream on YouTube.
Softwerker in 2023
Despite the celebrations, the Softwerker team was also busy in 2023 and produced three more issues of the magazine: a special edition on the "5 Levers for a Faster Time-to-Market" in spring, a mixed-bag issue with a unique "rock music" design in autumn, and currently another special edition on the topic of (spoiler alert!) generative artificial intelligence, which is expected to be available in the online edition still this year.
Years ago, the Softwerker started a family and inspired first a conference, then a podcast. Both SoftwerkerKonf and SoftwerkerCast, continued with great success this year as well: the SoftwerkerKonf with a new edition and nearly 400 attendees, and the SoftwerkerCast with an impressive 25 new episodes in 2023!
We Are a Certified B Corporation
At the end of the year, we had one more big announcement in store: We are proud to be a B Corp and part of a global community of companies that meet high social and environmental standards. For us, the certification was the next logical step in giving a framework to our years of efforts in CSR initiatives.
For those of you who are not familiar with B Corp, here is a brief explanation: Behind the term is the non-profit organization B Lab™. It is a non-profit network founded in 2006 that works to transform the global economic system to benefit all people, communities and the planet. Its global network of organizations claims to be leading the economic system change to realize the collective vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.