Brilliant Leap

Being a developer doesn't pay? (OK, so don't try to win 50K)

I've had one of those recruiting days... the kind on which I try to recruit mid-level developers and then listen to eight out of ten of them say something like, "Oh I don't develop anymore. I did that a few years ago, I've grown beyond that..."

"Beyond that?" I say. "Into management," they sometimes answer. Other times they claim to be architects. "And would you be capable of being a really great developer or aren't you that talented?" I sometimes want to say. Why? Because there seems to be some crazy belief that you pay your dues as a developer and that you then move-on-up and away as quickly as possible.

Sad, I say. Because it takes brains, bandwidth, time and multiple projects to build a great developer. Maybe that's why they often get more respect and are paid more than Project Managers and Architects.

And, GET THIS, EMC is hosting a "D6 Developers' Challenge" and giving away $100K in prizes, $50K to the winner!

One Step Forward, Two Steps....

When I began recruiting Documentum folks in 1993, Documentum was a known as Electronic Document Management Systems software. Simply stated, it was a technology that added structure to unstructured data. The "data" lived in documents that were either electronically stored just after creation or that were scanned in for electronic storage. My early clients were Life Science firms who used Documentum to improve the speed and accuracy with which New Drug Applications were delivered to the FDA- these same submissions can now be sent electronically, in their entirety. They used to take seven years of administrative preparation and two automobile trunk-fulls of paper to transport. Imagine how unburdened the submissions folks felt when they found out software was available to reduce the drudgery of manually entering critical content.

A "New" Kid on the Block

Content Management Systems (CMS) industry analyst Alan Pelz-Sharpe says it's a good time for Life Sciences firms to reassess their ECM investments. Why? Because there may actually be an alternative to traditional ECM vendors like Documentum and OpenText. Come again?

If It's Technically Deficient- It's Not Here

If It's Technically Deficient- It's Not Here --- so says the FDA. It matters not if you made a small mistake that can be corrected in a minute or a huge mistake that takes days, the submission isn't received until it has passed a technical validation check to ensure that it can be opened, processed, and archived.

What will it cost you?

Microsoft Does It Better?

When EMC started interfering in "Documentum's business", a Documentum Architect whose thinking I respect told me that he feared that this was bad news.

Why? Because EMC wouldn't focus on Documentum the way Documentum Inc. did, and that that lack of focus might impact his career as a seasoned Documentum professional.

King of Gloom and Doom, I called the guy. I pointed out all the reasons why the EMCing of Documentum could be a good thing.

But today, and, yes, today is just a data point, I think he may be right. Why?