The vast majority (90%) of businesses believe software developers played a critical role in overcoming competition during the pandemic, research published by Twilio states.
As consumers and employees alike have been forced to stay at home as a result of the pandemic, companies have had to rely heavily on their software developers to maintain business continuity.
Among the UK CTOs and IT decision-makers surveyed, 93% understand the importance of technology in competing with rival businesses during the pandemic. Almost half (47%) of these companies believe software developers are ‘very important’ to compete.
Most respondents (70%), however, mistakenly believe that developers are merely technical workers, as highlighted by the same study. More than half (53%) view software developers as problem solvers, while 31% consider the role to be strategic, 30% creative, and 14% customer experience-related.
In a new book, called Ask Your Developer, Twilio founder Jeff Lawson underlines the damage these misconceptions can cause.
“At its core, Ask Your Developer is about empowerment. People in any field rise to the expectations set for them,” said Lawson.
“Ask Your Developer is about setting high expectations for developers – not how much code they can grind out, but how well can they use their ingenuity and creativity to solve the world’s biggest problems. They do this only if they’re empowered and given a wide enough berth. The most important thing is to give developers problems, not solutions.”
