The Story of Software

Igor Bakman, CTO at ViViRA Health Lab, joins us to discuss the different approaches and mindsets involved in managing code vs people.
Igor is the CTO at ViViRA Health Lab, a Berlin-based company providing personalised therapeutic training for patients with musculoskeletal pain. Igor joins the podcast to discuss his career journey from software engineer to CTO, and his passion for building successful teams and innovative products.

The Ins and Outs of People Management

After our talk with Igor, it is clear that effective people management and code management have fundamental differences, and require different sets of skills. Successful people management in tech teams requires trusting your team, allowing them to come up with solutions, and not being possessive of the code or the work involved.

So, what should leaders who started out as part of the development team do in order to avoid micromanagement and enable success for everyone?

Some of the topics covered include:

• The route from developer to CTO
• The differences between managing code and people
• The mindset needed to be a good leader
• The common mistakes involved in scaling teams

Listen to the Story of Software on any podcast platform of your choice. The Story of Software Podcast is produced by Zartis. We hope you enjoy listening to this tech podcast and feel free to share any feedback with us: [email protected]

Nick Verkroost, CEO at Canopy, talks about the current state of the procurement software industry and his predictions for what’s next in this space
The Guest – Nick Verkroost, CEO at Canopy:

Nick Verkroost is the CEO at Canopy, an innovative supplier relationship management platform that gives procurement teams complete visibility of their supplier data and eliminates manual administration. With over 10 years of experience setting up and growing B2B technology companies, Nick has worked with organisations of all sizes to assess blind spots in their operational execution and organisational growth.

The Strategic Significance of Procurement Tech in Modern Business:

In the modern business landscape, technology procurement plays a pivotal role in enabling organisations to effectively acquire the necessary tools and resources to support their operations. While the market was once dominated by a handful of major players, the landscape has shifted dramatically over the last decade, giving rise to the rise of a new industry - Procurement Tech. These emerging entities are dedicated to addressing specific challenges within procurement processes, such as supplier relationship management and administrative automation.

The spotlight on Procurement Tech is intensifying, with a growing emphasis on data-driven solutions and the transformative potential of AI. This paradigm shift heralds a new era in procurement, where advanced analytics and AI algorithms promise to revolutionise operational efficiency and decision-making processes.

Some of the highlights in this episode include:

• Common challenges faced in procurement
• The evolving landscape of Procurement Tech
• Why companies need procurement software
• The use of AI in the Procurement Tech

Listen to the Story of Software on any podcast platform of your choice. The Story of Software Podcast is produced by Zartis, a software services company. We hope you enjoy listening to this tech podcast and feel free to share any feedback with us: [email protected]

Peter Rose, CTO of TEKenable, joins us to discuss the growing demand for low code software development in the technology market.

The Guest - Peter Rose, Owner & CTO at TEKenable:

Peter founded TEKenable with Nick Connors in 2002 to provide high-quality software solutions to Financial Services, Healthcare Services, Agri-Food companies, and the Public Sector. After 20 years in business, TEKenable has been listed in the Deloitte Fast50 three years running, 2019, 2020 & 2021.

Additionally, Peter acts as CTO and associate CTO to several start-ups and established services companies in Ireland and EMEA. Peter is recognised as an expert in the delivery of secure, reliable software to enterprise businesses and as a trusted advisor to many Irish CEOs and CIOs.

Low Code Software Development:

Using low code technologies to scale your products has many benefits, starting with the fact that it lowers the barriers for many team members besides software developers to work on shaping a product hands-on. By eliminating the need for extensive and complicated code, you can enable your product teams or business analysts to build or customize a product and cater to customer needs with no time wasted.

Some of the topics covered include:

• What is ‘Low Code’ and in what way is it changing the software industry?
• What does TEKenable do, and which problems is it solving?
• The impact of low code for the future of software jobs.
• How to stay on top of new technologies and continuously be learning.
• Learnings from scaling a business & insights for other business leaders.

We hope you enjoy listening to this tech podcast and feel free to share any feedback with us: [email protected]

The Story of Software Podcast is produced by Zartis.

Padraig Coffey, CEO at Zartis and podcast host, is joined by Roy Robinson, VP of Product & Engineering at Aylien, as they discuss technology-enabled news analytics.
On the Opportunity of Understanding News At Scale

The Guest - Roy Robinson, VP of Product & Engineering at Aylien

Roy is an Entrepreneur, Product Leader and Executive with over 25 years at the forefront of technological innovation.

Currently, he’s the VP of Product and Engineering at AYLIEN - an AI & ML-based company, specialised in text & news analysis that allow users to make sense of human-generated content at scale. They provide a range of content analysis solutions to businesses, developers, data scientists, marketers and academics, and recently won the Deloitte Innovation Award for Most Disruptive Company in Fintech.

Understanding The World of News Analytics

Roy shares his expertise on using technology to transform the world’s news into real-time business insights.

Some of the topics covered include:

> The categorization and processing of news across the internet and traditional media.

> Who needs news analytics?

> Can technology detect the next pandemic?

> The technological challenges faced when building news analytics technology.

> What challenges remain to be tackled in this space?

We hope you enjoy listening to this tech podcast and feel free to share any feedback with us: [email protected]

Leeanna Pitt, CPO at Gener8, talks about her experiences in scaling product management from early stage companies through to growth, exit and beyond.

The Guest - Leeanna Pitt, CPO at Gener8:

Leeanna Pitt is the CPO at Gener8, a London-based company that empowers users to understand, control and be rewarded for their data. Previously she led the product department and successfully scaled and exited “We Got Pop” backed by Octopus Ventures, and following the acquisition of WeGotPOP by Entertainment Partners, Leeanna moved into the role of SVP International Product, where she led product globalisation to further territories and acquisitions.

Scaling Product Management: Strategies and Challenges:

Product Management today is a critical aspect of tech companies, that bridges the gap between business strategies and customer needs, but what does it take to start your product management journey on the right foot?

First of all, it is important to start with a deep understanding of the business goals and align the product strategy accordingly. One of the critical challenges in scaling is ensuring that product management does not devolve into a mere delivery function but remains a strategic collaborator within the organisation. The misconception that product management is just about churning out features can inhibit its true potential to drive the business strategy through an effective product roadmap and meet both business goals & user needs.

If utilised and empowered correctly, product management can function as the strategic engine of a business, capable of translating market needs, technical feasibility, and user requirements into a coherent strategy that aligns with the organisation's objectives.

--

This episode is a treasure trove for anyone involved in or interested in the intricacies of product management. Her journey illustrates the significance of strategic thinking, the challenges of scaling, and the future potential of AI in shaping product strategies across industries. For further insights and inspiration, tune into this compelling episode of Story of Software.

Listen to the Story of Software on any podcast platform of your choice. The Story of Software Podcast is produced by Zartis, a software services company. We hope you enjoy listening to this tech podcast and feel free to share any feedback with us: [email protected]