What Makes SM2 Encryption Special? China’s Recommended Algorithm

What Makes SM2 Encryption Special? China’s Recommended Algorithm

This article is intended for security enthusiasts or otherwise for people with an advanced understanding of Cryptography and some Programming. I have tried to give in some background theory a very basic implementation. Are there backdoors in AES and what is China’s response to it? The US NIST has been pushing AES as the standard …

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Why Startups Need To Architect Cloud Agnostic Products

Why Startups Need To Architect Cloud Agnostic Products

Nobody plans to leave AWS in the startup world, but as they say, “sh** happens.” As engineers, when we write software, we’re taught to keep it elegant by never depending directly on external systems. We write wrappers for external resources, we encapsulate data and behaviour and standardise functions with libraries.  But, When it comes to …

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Achieve Peak Performance: AI Tools for Developers to Unlock Their Potential

Achieve Peak Performance: AI Tools for Developers to Unlock Their Potential

You were scrolling through Twitter or your favourite SubReditt on the latest tech trend and a sudden feeling of FOMO creeps in. You’re not alone. While the notion of a “10x developer” has traditionally been considered aspirational, the emergence of AI-powered tools is levelling the playing field, empowering developers to achieve remarkable productivity gains. While …

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How to Manage Technical Debt in 2023: A Guide for Leadership

How to Manage Technical Debt in 2023: A Guide for Leadership

In this article, I will summarise effective strategies and best practices to tackle tech debt head-on. Technical debt is an inevitable reality in software development. But, it can be leveraged just like a financial loan/debt can help you achieve your goals, if managed properly.It can be used to drive competitive advantage by allowing companies to …

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No McKinsey, You got it all wrong about developer productivity!

No McKinsey, You got it all wrong about developer productivity!

Disclaimer: I have been an enormous proponent of Developer Productivity and have tried to implement automated metrics collection in 3 orgs with varied success. In my Mentoring sessions with early-stage startup leaders as well, I (re)enforce the importance of being aware of Dev Productivity. So much so, that I have written a 2-part article on …

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Onam: When the Gods grew Jealous of a Righteous King “Mahabali” and Banished him to the Underworld.

Onam: When the Gods grew Jealous of a Righteous King “Mahabali” and Banished him to the Underworld.

Disclaimer: This is unlike any of my previous articles and is a commentary/observation of certain cultural and mythological traditions and practices and My attempt to uncover the root elements of these traditions to a possible Historical event(s)”. The intention is not to hurt any sentiments. But if it does, maybe one of us needs to …

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If You Can Do Your Job From Home, Be Scared. Be Very Scared!

If You Can Do Your Job From Home, Be Scared. Be Very Scared!

Sometimes, It seems like most people have added “Remote Work” to a long list of taboo topics that no one should discuss at work. Topics like Religion, Politics, Sexual Orientation, Medical Issues, etc. Most people know that remote work is a horrible idea for organisations of any size, but they are afraid to call it …

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Is Pedigree and Old Boy network really relevant in the 21st Century?

Is Pedigree and Old Boy network really relevant in the 21st Century?

Not sure how to categorise this post, it’s an amalgamation of a critique of the social stratification that we witness today with a fair amount of my experiences interspaced and viewed through the lenses of a book, Pedigree. I have always held that Pedigree and education from Elite Institutions are a bit overrated and are …

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Can ChatGPT accelerate No-Ops to Replace DevOps in EarlyStage Startups?

Can ChatGPT accelerate No-Ops to Replace DevOps in EarlyStage Startups?

Background: I work with multiple CTOs and Heads of Engineering of early-stage startups to help them set up their engineering orgs, review their product architecture, help them prioritise their hiring etc. I also help multiple engineering leaders via Plato. Recently, there have been too many questions on whether can I use ChatGPT for this or …

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