As the tech environment moves ever closer toward a “codeless” future, many developers have become nervous. Will there be room for them in the brave new world? What will the future of the IT department look like if code becomes obsolete? Salesforce CIO Ross Meyercord addressed these changes and fears in a recent essay on the Salesforce blog.
Anyone Can Code
In his essay, Meyercord writes of his optimism for developers as we barrel toward a low-code era. He believes that the trend will be an equalizing force in the market:
Over time, as programming languages have become more diverse and syntax is closer to English, the computer science field has opened up to others besides just the classically-trained. Coding is now a continuum: Anyone can really be a coder, and you can solve so many problems with minimal or no code. There will always be a market for sophisticated developers — not only are they the ones writing the tools that make low-code and no-code app design possible, but there will always be more sophisticated problems that require deep programming expertise to solve.
He also believes that Salesforce is leading the trend. The platform has created space for coders at all levels of experience and sophistication. The barrier to entry is low, and once a developer starts working within the Salesforce framework, they can take their careers in a number of different directions, depending upon their skills and strengths.
Some Thing Will Never Change
Meyercord also notes that despite the rapid pace of change in the development sector, there are some aspects of IT that will always remain the same. No matter how much a company invests in the cloud, new technologies and new platforms, IT departments will still be tasked with managing infrastructure, functionality and governance. These key areas of focus will never go away, not matter how advanced the tools become.
Even so, tech teams will continue to navigate divergent organizational demands. In order to balance priorities, he believes that CIOs should continually set, evaluate and revisit IT priorities and goals for the month. “There are hundreds of things going on in the IT department at any given moment, but each month I take the time to identify our top ten priorities, and that helps the rest of the team prioritize as well because it’s coming from the top down,” he writes.
Managing the IT department of the future also requires the ability to empathize with stakeholders. Leaders will always bombard IT with requests, suggestions, needs and complaints. The ability to listen and to take what the stakeholder says and use it in future planning is essential as technology becomes even more intertwined with everyday aspects of the business.
If you are seeking highly-skilled Salesforce developers for your tech team, contact the recruiting experts at CSS today. We can help you connect with the top developers in the market who will help your company get the most from the Salesforce platform.