Introduction The rapid growth of the fintech industry has brought with it immense opportunities for innovation, but also significant risks in terms of regulatory compliance and real security. Starling Bank, one of the UK’s prominent digital banks, recently faced a £29 million fine in October 2024 from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for serious lapses … Read more
Elastic’s Return to Open Source: The Knight is back to the Pavilion Elastic, the company behind Elasticsearch, recently decided to revert to an open-source licensing model after four years of operating under a proprietary license. This decision reflects a shift in strategy that emphasizes community-driven innovation and collaboration. In 2019, Elastic initially adopted a proprietary … Read more
In the world of startups, it’s not uncommon to hear about founding CTOs being ousted or sidelined within a few years of the company’s inception. For many, this seems paradoxical—after all, these are often individuals who are not only experts in their fields but also the technical visionaries who brought the company to life. Yet, … Read more
The role of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in a startup is dynamic and challenging, particularly for first-time technical cofounders. While the early stages of a startup demand intense technical involvement and innovation, the role evolves significantly as the company grows. This evolution often highlights stark differences in the required skill sets at different stages, … Read more
In the world of technology, engineers are not just cogs in a machine; they are the builders, the dreamers, and the ones who solve the problems they see in the world. And sometimes, those solutions turn into billion-dollar businesses. This is the story of the “Palantir Mafia,” a group of former Palantir employees who have … Read more
The recent FTC ruling banning most non-compete agreements nationwide has ignited a firestorm in the business world. While some cheer the increased freedom for workers, others fear a potential talent exodus and a decline in innovation. Let’s delve deeper into this debate, exploring the arguments for and against non-compete clauses, along with the potential consequences … Read more
The cybersecurity landscape is a relentless battlefield. Attackers are constantly innovating, churning out new threats at an alarming rate. Traditional security solutions are struggling to keep pace. But fear not, weary defenders! Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are emerging as powerful weapons in our arsenal, offering the potential to revolutionize cybersecurity. The Numbers … Read more
Note: I started this article last weekend to try and explain the attack path “Midnight Blizzard” used and what Azure admins should do to protect themselves from a similar attack. Unfortunately, I couldn’t complete/publish it in time and now there is another breach at Microsoft. (🤦🏿) Now, I had to completely redraft it and change … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more