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Tragedy of the software commons

Contemplating the consumptive nature of software applications and the sustainability of producing skilled software developers.
Anujah Bosman
By Anujah Bosman, CEO, Chillisoft and DevFluence.
Johannesburg, 02 Mar 2022

Technology moves at breakneck speed, but we have not acknowledged how much technology-enabled businesses have grown during the lockdown.

During COVID, physical borders may have closed and brick-and-mortar businesses may have been grounded, but the online companies and the growing demand for fintech and cloud solutions fuelled the demand for good software developers, where:

  • The massive skills shortage of good software developers is now acutely experienced internationally. The talent war that we first spoke about in the late1990s is now very real in South Africa and we are competing against international companies.
  • South Africa’s lower salaries (compared to the UK, US and Australia) continue to make South Africa a very attractive market to international businesses. These organisations are now fishing in our talent pool by acquiring local software development companies and/or employing South African software developers.
  • Our local talent pool of skilled and senior software continues to decline rapidly, as these talented individuals are actively headhunted and sought by the international community.
  • The demand for talent has driven up salaries across the IT sector, driving up business costs, resulting in “grudge purchases” of software services.

In addition to the points above, COVID and the events in South Africa have caused the tech and business community to reflect deeply and it has changed the priorities of software developers and tech companies.

As much as we try to see software developers as individuals, to many businesses, software developers are viewed as resources.

There is a pervasive awareness among developers that the digital world has never been more accessible and the once impossible dreams are now suddenly within the reach of many software developers.

The market is adapting and actively searching for solutions, where in a valiant effort to:

  • Reduce software development costs and ensure future sustainability, businesses are trying to develop and grow their own software development teams, albeit too late.
  • Reduce costs and risk, large organisations are beginning to question the value that is added by consulting houses that provide hourly paid “resources”. These consulting houses have engaged in dubious behaviour that has triggered a review of the value that is being provided.
  • Ensure pipeline sustainability where customers are spreading their risk by outsourcing their development to multiple software houses. Businesses that have justified these actions as “encouraging competitive pricing” may be in for a surprise. In this market, these actions decrease trust and may prematurely induce the very consequence they were trying to avoid.
  • Acquire development competencies, software development houses are being acquired under the assumption that this will ensure a future pipeline of skills. Software development houses generally have a low admin threshold and have a distinct developer-centric culture. The merge may result in developers leaving because of the hybrid culture. It is also well-known that software development is lucrative, but it is not a business that is consistent, or that responds well to actions that consistently favour profit over quality, interesting work, autonomy or culture.
  • Increase the number of software developers by hiring and reskilling developers who have let their skills stagnate, provided they are able to relinquish the golden handcuffs of their inflated salaries.
  • To future-proof retention, software development houses are now opening up international offices that will enable South Africans to emigrate while continuing to work for their companies.

The current software skills situation is very similar to the tragedy of the commons archetype that typically illustrates an overconsumption of resources, ultimately depleting the quantity of resources to everyone’s detriment.

Yes, as much as we try to see software developers as individuals, to many businesses, software developers are viewed as resources. Software developers have always been autonomous, are typically cynical and they generally don’t belong, or are not owned by any organisation or country.

The archetype of the “tragedy of the commons” raises many questions about the consumption of business, the consumptive nature of software applications, the greed of individuals and businesses, and the sustainability of producing skilled software developers.

How will we adapt to our talent being poached and being lost to the highest bidders? Will we shift our definition of junior, intermediate and senior skills yet again? Will we change our understanding and expectation of employee value, loyalty and patriotism? Will we have to change our technology stacks and our development competencies so that it is suited to a lower level of skill? Or do we manage company growth conservatively and wait for the fallout from poor software quality and the inevitable poor retention rates?

We have recently experienced the power and impunity of rich nations, highlighting the inequitable distribution of wealth and the instinct to protect their own. How will South Africa ever be able to compete and participate in the knowledge economy if we can’t retain and grow good software developers?

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