Docker is the new tarballAnd Amazon the new VMWare..

Some smart dude figured it out back in the 17th century..

“An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless a force acts upon it.”

Isaac Newton, 1687

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=535736

We have come a long way..1801: In France, Joseph Marie Jacquard invents a loom that uses punched wooden cards to automatically weave fabric designs. Early computers would use similar punch cards.

https://flic.kr/p/6Ba8He

Or have we ??

New technologies make us think problems of older generations (iterations?) have gone away.

Exhibit 1: Config Management

configuration management replaces bash scripting, no more scripting skills need..oh wait.

Exhibit 2: docker

Docker replaces tarballs. No more throwing code over the wall (just throw docker images instead, or docker files based on public docker images with no dockerfile)

Exhibit 3: AWS

AWS replaces VMware. No more on-premise HW lock-in with long running contracts (welcome cloud-based vendor lock in)

What's the conclusion here?

● Generally, the goal is to reduce complexity○ Is it possible to make complex systems non-complex?

Or are we just moving the complexity?

Who even asked for this?

● Are these ‘innovations’ even wanted?○ Yes! They might mask the original problem, but they

can save us a lot of time in the mean time

What makes new tech “worth it”?New products and technologies are worth the effort when:

the collective ‘cost’ of:

● implementing now, ● maintaining over it’s lifetime● and potentially moving off of it later

Is lower then:

● the ‘value’ of the savings/optimisations they create for the duration of the time we use them as opposed to staying with current tech.

What about $$$?

‘Cost’ includes tangible and intangible things eg.

● Technical debt● MTBF / MTTR

Savings/Optimisations include things like:

● engineer happiness and sanity ● Responsiveness to change requests from the business

IT → Business → IT

Ultimately: IT is a function of the business and should therefore have it’s main target set to: “whatever is best for the business”

That said, the business doesn’t always know what’s best for it

FOSS

● How does Open Source fit into this picture?○ What if a tech goes away before I stop using it? ○ Is there a service run by an external business I’m

dependent on? ○ How confident am I / What safeguards do I have that

this dependency is worth it?

Porter’s five forces analysis reimagined (with a smile)

New Technology

Adoption

Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes

Bargaining power of non-engineering

Bargaining power of engineering