👋🏻 Hello, Fellow Tech Enthusiasts!
It’s right on time for an update on the market and Ralabs’ journey.
📊 Focus & Insights
- In Ralabs, we run strategic planning sessions every six months to review the current market, client needs and adjust the company direction. The next company strategic planning session is scheduled for the end of March, and we will share the outcomes in the upcoming newsletter. If you are interested in learning more about our ‘strategic planning framework,’ please feel free to reach out to me. I’ll be more than happy to share.
- We are proud of our high rating on DOU, a leading Ukrainian platform for employee reviews, where we scored 97/100 based on 33 reviews.
👩🏼💼 HR Updates
- 5 new team members joined Ralabs previous month.
- 2 of our Software Engineers have successfully passed the Knowledge Evaluation and are now at the Senior Level.
- Due to high demand, March engineering capacity is limited. However, our Engage & Evaluate service remains a priority. Three highly-skilled engineers are available for your Engage & Evaluate requests starting April. For additional information, feel free to contact us.
📈 Business Development
- This month we’ve started working on 3 new projects.
- Ralabs received a new Clutch review from one of our valued clients, a 4.5-star rating covering positive feedback about our partnership. We appreciate the transparent review, as it allows us to identify areas for improvement to continuously deliver a better experience for our clients. Feel free to check all of Ralabs’ Clutch Reviews here.
- Three new Success Stories have been added to our website:
- Integrated Data Science & AI Developer Hub for Zerve: This project involved a comprehensive suite of services, including Back-end Development, Front-end Development, Illustration, Project Management, and UX/UI Design.
- Empowering Debt Recovery in the US: WayThru Digital Platform: Here, we provided Custom Software Development, DevOps, Project Management, Quality Assurance, and UX/UI Design services to create a powerful debt recovery solution.
- Web App Communication Platform for a Housing Corporation (Talck): This case study details the development of a web application using Back-end Development, DevOps, and Front-end Development expertise.
- Visit our ‘Cases‘ section to learn how we achieve high-quality results, explore detailed project information, our approach to handling challenges, and more.
💻 Coding Insights
- If you’re searching for an alternative to GMail, Proton Mail is now available for macOS, Windows, and Linux (Beta). While it can be used in a web browser, using a standalone app can provide added convenience.
- Joplin – a note-taking app with synchronization capabilities is now accessible on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. This open-source application enables users to effortlessly access their notes across different devices.
- The Developer Dictionary – crowdsourced dictionary for developers.
- url-parts.glitch.me is an interactive tool for showing the names of URL components.
- laurentpayot/verticalize A pipe-like function to verticalize your JavaScript code.
- Rainbow CSV for VS Code is an amazing tool to make CSV data so much easier to read.
🤖 AI Developments
- We have been finally introduced to Devin, the world’s first fully autonomous AI software engineer. Devin plans and executes complex engineering tasks, recalls context, learns, corrects mistakes, and collaborates with the user. It is also equipped with common developer tools, including a shell, code editor, and browser, all within a sandboxed compute environment. Learn more here.
- Amazon, Google Quietly Tamp Down Generative AI Expectations. Major technology firms championed generative AI as the next big thing, boosting the stock market. However, behind the scenes, cloud providers and technology vendors temper expectations, acknowledging limited customer value at a reasonable cost.
📚 Books and Reading
- This month, I focused my reading on two books: ‘The Art and Soul of Dune’ by Tanya Lapointe, which is currently quite trendy, and ‘The Spinoza Problem,’ a novel by Irvin D. Yalom.
- Dune is one of my all-time favorite books, particularly the first installment. Additionally, I listened to a Dune Audiobook, which was more of an audio performance/theater experience on Audible. I believe I listened to it approximately five times. I managed to convince my military command to grant me a day out of deployment, and I spent half of that day-off at the theater.
‘The Art and Soul of Dune’ can be found on Amazon.
- Irvin David Yalom, M.D., is an author of fiction and nonfiction, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University, an existentialist, and a renowned psychotherapist. His writings center on the four “givens” of the human condition: isolation, meaninglessness, mortality, and freedom. He explores functional and dysfunctional responses to these concerns.
The book can be found on Amazon.
💡 Thoughts
- The tech industry is on the cusp of significant change driven by advancements in AI. A recent article by David Heinemeier Hansson explores this very topic, raising the question of whether we’ll need the same number of developers in the future.
- While the full impact of AI on development roles remains to be seen, it’s crucial to acknowledge this potential shift and be prepared to adapt. This aligns with our focus on continuous learning and staying ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving tech landscape.
🔍 Other Noteworthy Mentions
- The Snow Melts At The Periphery – an interesting read about how senior leaders can stay connected to the outside world.
- The median monthly revenue generated by an app on the App Store after a year is less than $50. Learn more here.
- Linear might become your preferred project management tool. It allows you to list tasks, fix bugs, plan roadmaps and sprints, and more. It’s user-friendly, responsive, and has native apps for macOS, iOS, and other operating systems. Linear also offers a generous free plan for side/personal projects.
- Code refactoring may cost a fortune if not done right. Here is an insightful read on how to approach risky and expensive system improvements.
- If you enjoy planning your day, week, or month as a written-down plan, NotePlan is a great tool for you. It is not free but also not excessively expensive ($10/month). It is available for iOS and macOS, and they are currently working on a web UI.
If you found this update helpful, please feel free to share it with others. My newsletter is also published as a blog on our website – Ralabs Blog. You can now read the previous updates if you want to.
Lastly, as a company with deep Ukrainian roots, we continue to seek your support for Ukraine during these challenging times. Every contribution makes a difference.
Stay safe and connected,
Best,
Andrew
