Tech – Algorithms & Business Value

At what level to technical knowledge and experience on low-level stuff – pointers, algorithms, design patterns and architectures will bring actual business value? Here is what chatGPT says: 

Technical knowledge and experience in low-level stuff such as pointers, algorithms, design patterns, and architectures can bring actual business value at different levels depending on the nature of the business and its technical requirements.

For example, if a business is developing software products, having expertise in low-level technical skills can be critical in creating efficient and scalable software solutions. Such skills can help optimize the performance of software, reduce its memory footprint, and minimize potential bugs and security vulnerabilities. This, in turn, can help the business deliver better quality products, enhance user experience, and gain a competitive advantage.

Similarly, if a business relies heavily on data analysis and processing, proficiency in algorithms and data structures can help improve the efficiency and accuracy of data processing, leading to better insights and informed decision-making.

In general, technical knowledge and experience in low-level stuff can bring business value in the following ways:

1. Building efficient and scalable software solutions
2. Reducing development time and costs
3. Improving product quality and user experience
4. Enhancing system security and reducing vulnerabilities
5. Optimizing data processing and analysis

However, it’s important to note that technical expertise alone may not be sufficient to bring business value. Effective communication, collaboration, and an understanding of the business needs and goals are also crucial. Therefore, it’s essential to have a well-rounded team with diverse skills and expertise to ensure the success of the business.

Software and Business

The main questions that the business is concern is how much money for how much time. ChatGPT says: 

The main concern of business is to create value for its stakeholders, primarily its shareholders, but also its employees, customers, suppliers, and the wider community.

Businesses aim to create value by generating revenue and profits through the sale of goods or services. However, the pursuit of profits alone is not sufficient. Businesses must also operate in an ethical and socially responsible manner, taking into account the impact of their actions on the environment, society, and their stakeholders.

To create value, businesses must identify and understand the needs and preferences of their customers and provide them with products or services that meet or exceed their expectations. They must also manage costs effectively, invest in innovation and technology, and adapt to changes in the market and regulatory environment.

In summary, the main concern of business is to create sustainable value for its stakeholders by generating revenue and profits, operating ethically and responsibly, and meeting the needs and expectations of its customers.

I don’t want to say that the technical excellence is not important.  Fast and efficient software without bugs makes users happy.  But, if it is part of a sub-functionality that: 

• Is not used a lot
• It is of not of high user/business value

Optimizing for it – spending a lot of time, money, effort – man/hours – is not a productive thing. 

Let’s dive into just one thing – security. The modern way of hashing passwords is BCrypt. If you want the passwords to be harder to crack, the cost factor must be higher. But this means that the hashing operation will cost more time. Here is – where having not optimal in terms of speed operation is actually advantage against brute force.

Algorithms are spread in a lot of different areas, domains and environments. Yes, it is important the Time Complexity of the operations and algorithms. But, there is a lot of places that the consuming developer has different aspects to optimize for speed and performance – that may bring higher business value.

•  Speed of Development / Delivering Changes 
• Optimizing Database queries/operations. Some of the bullets here are: 
  • Indexing correct columns. 
  • Minimizing joins with result sets that have small content
  • Having SQL, Messaging, App, Web level caching
• Scaling Services to support multiple users. This includes coding with vertical and/or horizontal scaling in mind. 
  
  
• Optimizing for operation costs. 
  
  
• Optimizing development and business processes – automation

All the above only scratch the back of what the user needs. What are the actual needs of the users of the software a whole another thing.