RedMonk July 2024 Update
A small, sharp research firm focusing on developer-led technology adoption and developer culture. We help folks understand the industry by understanding you.
Hey everyone, it’s my - Steve’s, that is - turn to take the wheel here at the RedMonk Updates newsletter to make sure you’re all...up to date on RedMonk. You might have noticed that this is coming to you a week late not just because I had holiday plans last week (and to be honest, they mostly involved yard work), but because we hope many of you reading this in the US did as well.
Speaking of holidays, many on the RedMonk team will be actively trying to fit those in over the next two months. Much as it’s been great for all of us to catch up with everyone over the last couple of months worth of events, resting and recharging the batteries is critical, and there’s no better time for us to do that than in July and August when so many of you all are doing the same thing. That way we can all hit the ground running in September.
Which reminds me: for those of you in Seattle, there’s a good chance some or all of the team will be out your way the second week of September. If you want to grab some face time with us, Morgan Harris is the one to talk to. And yes, we’ll be doing RedMonk Beers while we’re there.
In other RedMonk news, Monktoberfest planning is beginning to pick up steam as we get ready to welcome all of you to our home in October. Since the last time we checked in, tickets have gone on sale and there are some still available. If you’d like to join us, head over here or you can apply via our D&I program here. Personally, I’ll be taking one for the team soon by taking a ride up to the Absolem Cidery in Winthrop to start sorting out our beverage plan while drinking delicious cider at their gorgeous tasting room in the country.
Elsewhere, the industry is very much still AI, AI, AI. It’s worth noting, however, we’re seeing more early, canary-in-a-coal-mine type whispers that we’re either rapidly approaching or are already in the inevitable trough of disillusionment for the category. You may have seen, for example, that if a16z is taking the over on GPUs, Sequoia is definitely taking the under (as would Goldman Sachs, presumably) . The “b” word is even beginning to pop up here and there.
Trough or no, however, there’s still so much about AI to take apart, digest and better understand because the technology for better or worse is here to stay. From writing on AI’s impact on teams and models, gateways and open source to conversations with folks like Jason Warner of Poolside and Julia Ferraioli of AWS, we’re trying to help in that regard.
If you have less than no interest in AI, however, not to worry: we’ve got you covered as we’re also talking about our usual array of subjects from OSS culture to writing about JavaScript delivery. As always, if developers or other practitioners care about it, RedMonk’s probably writing or talking about it.
Anyway, that’s all I have for you today. While I’m spending the next couple of weeks enjoying the best summer for hydrangeas on my island in years and eagerly awaiting the long awaited release of the new Jaws Lego set, I hope you and yours are able to find some downtime to enjoy the summer.
— sog
Links Roundup
- Ada Lovelace's notes about the future of computing. Pull quote from the article that is most relevant to today: "Lovelace also explicitly discussed artificial intelligence, kicking off a debate that defines the modern era."
- Fascinating chart. A glimpse into Intercom's Rails monolith, and how it changes over time.
- Thread on docs, engineering culture, and where genAI may come in.
- If you like books, Umberto Eco, or both.
- One of the world's first PCs, used by an oil-drilling company in the 1970s, has been rediscovered by a house-clearing company after being lost for many years.
- This is an exceedingly useful piece post for anyone considering running multiple models on their local machine - in this case, a Mac. Very much a how-to guide.
- This is excellent: the many dimensions of system coupling.
- This number seems to indicate that users are getting increasingly frustrated with the declining quality of Google searches (and perhaps can be extrapolated to apply to search in general as 60 percent is a very, very large number).
- Slowly, some of the litigation around AI and IP is making its way through the court system.
- This piece from Gergely about how macroeconomic trends impact tech startups is phenomenally well done.
Recent RedMonk Research
- A piece from Kelly Fitzpatrick about this newsletter! ICYMI: The RedMonk Newsletter
- A subject Kate Holterhoff is following closely: how JavaScript code is bundled, minified, split, shook, compiled, and modularized in 2024. The Problem of JavaScript Code Delivery
- Some quick AI thoughts from Stephen O'Grady on: large models and enterprises, AI gateways as abstract interfaces, and training data and the open source AI definition. AI Conundrums - RM clients mentioned: Amazon, Cloudflare, Fastly, Google and Microsoft
Recent Videos and Media Appearances
- In this RedMonk Conversation, Stephen O’Grady and Poolside CEO Jason Warner get together to discuss AI and training data.
- In the latest episode of The New Builders series, brought to you by Amazon Web Services, Julia Ferraioli of AWS joined Stephen O’Grady for a lively discussion of all things AI and open source.
- Security consultant and OWASP board member Avi Douglen joins Rachel Stephens on The MonkCast to explore how to build meaningful security practices into our applications.
- Experts from GitGuardian, Snyk, Docker, Chainguard, and CircleCI, with Rachel Stephens of RedMonk share insights on improving security and developer relationships, leveraging emerging tools, and addressing fragmentation in security solutions. CodeSecDays 2024 – How to build a better security and developer relationship?
- Experts from GitGuardian, Snyk, Docker, and Protiviti, with Rachel Stephens of RedMonk, discuss threat mitigation versus internal tool adoption, securing coding assistants, leveraging LLMs in supply chain security, and more. CodeSecDays 2024 – How to augment DevSecOps with AI?
- Join RedMonk analyst Kate Holterhoff and Sean McQuaid on The MonkCast as they chat about the Atlanta conference scene, software engineering at Chick-fil-A, and some hot takes on the state of Frontend frameworks, micro-frontends, TypeScript, and leveraging AI code assistants.
- RedMonk’s Kelly Fitzpatrick joins VMware by Broadcom’s Cora Iberkleid (Developer Advocate) and Michelle Sebek (Product Marketing Engineer) for a quick look at the Spring ecosystem and a deep dive into Spring Application Advisor, which is designed to keep Spring applications up to date at scale.
RedMonk Recommends
This part of our newsletter introduces those of you looking to hire talented people to individuals we know who are looking for new opportunities.
This month RedMonk recommends Abigail McCarthy. If you are part of the RedMonk community, you may have met Abigail at a past Monktoberfest, or caught the Docs are In conversation she filmed with us on Documentation: the Bridgework of OSS. Abigail has also spoken at Write the Docs conferences, has extensive experience working with cloud-native proprietary software and open source projects (including Kubernetes, Harbor, and Velero) and, along with her developer background and communication skills, brings to the table over a decade of experience with documentation creation and management.
RedMonk’s Kelly Fitzpatrick had the opportunity to work with Abigail back in their Apprenda days, where Abigail was hand-picked to take over the technical documentation that Kelly initially created (this would be the tech comm equivalent of Kelly handing over her favorite child); Abigail instituted tooling and community-friendly process changes that improved said documentation by a LOT. Abigail also brought her tech writing talents to Heptio (acquired by VMware in 2019) and most recently worked as Staff Open Source Technical Communications Manager at VMware by Broadcom.
Abigail is looking for a technical writing or related communications role in a collaborative environment where people are encouraged to try new things and work cross functionally. She is a good fit for a small/mid size company looking to grow or expand their documentation experience and build a docs community within their company. Check out Abigail’s LinkedIn profile to learn more about her tech comm expertise or to connect with her about potential opportunities.
Interested in Sponsoring The Monktoberfest?
The Monktoberfest is an exclusive event blending beer and technology, attracting a diverse group of elite developers, CEOs, sysadmins, marketers, and DBAs. By sponsoring, you join the conversation and help build this premier developer conference, reaching an audience of influential technical professionals.
See available sponsorship opportunities here and contact Morgan Harris with any questions you might have about sponsorships, including pricing.
D&I Applications for Monktoberfest Open
Our goal for Monktoberfest is to create a conference at which everyone feels welcome and valued. We are excited to help foster this inclusive environment through our diversity and inclusion program. If you are a member of an under-represented group in tech and would like to join us at Monktoberfest, please consider applying here. Applications will only be open for a week longer.
Meet the Monks
Events we'll be attending:
- VMware Explore: 8/26 - 8/29/2024, Las Vegas, NV
- Seattle site visits: September dates TBD
- Dreamforce 2024: 9/16 - 9/19/2024, San Francisco, CA
- Write the Docs Atlantic 2024: 9/22 - 9/24/2024, Virtual
Events we'll be hosting:
- The Monktoberfest 2024: 10/3 - 10/4/2024, Portland, ME. Tickets available now!
Our mailing address is:
RedMonk
411 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101
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