Matt Van Itallie from SEMA Software joins Jim to discuss the value of SEMA’s code analysis tools for private equity backed companies, particularly for companies managing technical debt, security, and code quality. They highlight the challenges of due diligence in software acquisitions, especially for older companies with legacy systems, and stress the importance of transparency in identifying security and licensing risks. SEMA’s AI-driven tools assess code quality and help firms measure the impact of AI-assisted development, making processes like testing more efficient.
Jim welcomes old friend and colleague, Jeremy Burton, CEO of Observe, to the podcast. They discuss the importance of observability in modern software development, the evolution of observability, the challenges of distributed applications, and how advancements in data technology and AI are shaping modern software development and troubleshooting.
Jim talks with IBM Champion and the Incredible i Show host, Peg Tuttle. IBM's Power Systems platform running the IBM i operating system powers some of the most significant applications in the world. Peg has 20+ years working in the IBM I world, and we talk about everything from common misconceptions to leveraging the latest and greatest open-source solutions on the IBM Power Systems platform.
This week we sat down with Clark O'Niell and Jay Barlett from BCG to discuss their most recent research report on Generative AI and its implications for PE investors and their portfolio companies. GenAI is already becoming a game changer, with use cases emerging across all industries; Use cases range from efficiency improvements to long-term advantages (i.e., transformative use cases). And we promise you that Skynet is not listening in.
Jim spends an hour talking about technical due diligence with Dan Bender, and Lukas Ingelheim from Code & Co. Dan and Lukas have over 250 engagements under their collective belts and have literally "seen it all." We cover a wide range of topics, including Technical Debt versus Architectural Debt, code "smells," and the top ten things a company should have in place ahead of technical due diligence.
Jim talks with an old friend and comrade, Alan Williamson, about his new book - Think Like a CTO. Alan shares hard-won lessons on how to thrive in the fast-paced role of Chief Technology Officer. We discuss the ins and outs of establishing successful technology platforms and teams, leveraging practical software selection and implementation frameworks, conducting bias-free interviews and performance reviews, and earning your place with other senior leaders.
In this episode of the Private Equity Funcast, Operating Partner Cici Zheng is joined by Jared Ranere, President and COO of thrv, a firm that delivers services, training and a software platform using the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework to identify and serve customers' unmet needs. We cover what the framework is and how it's used at PE backed portfolio companies, both during due diligence and post-close, how the JTBD framework potentially expands the total addressable market (TAM) of an industry we're looking at, and how the framework translates into product strategy and go-to-market execution.
Jim talks all things DevOps with Dave Mangot from Mangoteque. Dave's philosophy is "Get Good at Delivering Software", and he has helped many well-known companies become "best in class" We discuss the four keys that define a company's competence in software delivery; deployment frequency, lead time for changes, change failure rate, and time to recovery. There's also a heated discussion about whether "the cloud" is cheaper than running your own data center.
Partner Kristina Heinze talks with Lisa Hudson -- Director of Global Events for WomenHack. Its mission is to promote gender equality in tech and help people get hired at companies committed to diversity in the workplace across 125+ cities around the world. Kristina and Lisa talk about WomenHack's approach and Lisa's wide range of experience working all over the world. So come have a listen and use the promo code "PARKERGALE" to get a 15% discount on upcoming WomenHack Events.
Jim talks with Kelley Powell, Alan Williamson and Jim Headley from the MacLaurin Group about tackling large-scale technology projects in a private-equity-backed company. All four of us worked together on a very complicated project some years ago. We focus our discussions on the Valley of Anguish, the deep hole between the initial enthusiasm and the finished project.
Jim talks with Paul Petefish from Evolve Security about the ins-and-outs of an actual security assessment -- ours. We cover everything from penetration testing to phishing attacks.
We talk with Paul Petefish, Founder and CEO of Evolve Security about some simple and fast suggestions to make remote working more secure.
Jim recently got massively over-billed by Hertz, prompting a discussion about what happens to customers when process automation goes off the rails. Ryan Milligan jumps in with a Zappos story that will warm your heart.
Come have a listen as Stephen Tallamy CTO of EditShare talks about strategies for making technology transitions for complicated software platforms.
Hiring technical people is hard when you don’t know all the buzzwords and acronyms. Devin and Jim help you with good process and some helpful questions to ask when you are hiring Engineering and Software Development leaders.
Jim talks with fellow Babson College Alum, current portfolio company CTO, Tom Shore about application software from the early 80s through today. We talk Digital Equipment PDP/11s all the way through the current no-code fascination.
Buckle your seatbelts for a fast-paced conversation with Dave Kellogg. Dave and I first met back in the early 80s at Ingres, when I was a pre-sales engineer and Dave was a technical support rep. We’ve each spent over 25 years in enterprise software, in mixed roles that involve both technology and sales & marketing. We reconnected recently and met up up in Chicago at ParkerGale’s “intergalactic headquarters” for a pretty broad-ranging conversation about a recent blog post that Dave wrote (Things to Avoid in Selecting an Executive Job at a Startup) along with a lot of interaction about differences between PE-land and VC-land. Come have a listen -- where else are you going to hear the phrase "Axe Battle of Differentiation"?
More madness with the Mad Scotsman, Alan Williamson and special guest Tom Shore. We talk about the just how much automation and software tooling do you need to write applications. The big social media software companies would claim that nothing short of continuous delivery is enough. But is this really necessary for smaller companies that are delivering enterprise-class applications?
Jim and the MacLaurin Group Team -- Alan, "The Mad Scotsman", Jim Headley and Kelley Powell tackle Paul Graham's "Makers versus Managers" essay. How do you balance the need for managers to "meet up" with programmers/writers/creators need for large blocks of uninterrupted time to complete projects?
We're back with the Mad Scotsman, Alan Williamson and his partner in crime, Jim Headley, of the MacLaurin Group. Alan and Jim give us their thumbs up and thumbs down on various development tools,
cloud platforms and business intelligence software stacks.
A follow-up conversation with the Mad Scotsman, Alan Williamson. This time we're talking about the technology section of the 2018 Stack Overflow developer survey. It's Java vs. C#, MariaDB vs. Oracle, AWS vs. Azure and much, much more.
The Mad Scotsman, Alan Williamson, returns to the funcast for a lively discussion of Stack Overflow's 2018 Developer survey. We talk about all things development, backend vs frontend vs. full stack -- and the myth of the high school dropout programming genius.
Our day jobs have been getting in the way of our podcasting ... but the long wait is over, we are back in the saddle with our annual March Madness Episode. This year we cover the technologies that are having the biggest impact on our portfolio - it's Amazon vs. Google, Netsuite vs. Salesforce.com, C# vs Python, PostgreSQL vs. MySQL ... and more!
Jim and Devin walk through the list of technology companies where Jim has worked over the years. We talk about the lessons learned as they apply to PE-owned tech companies in the middle market. We cover decades of computing from Digital Equipment Corporation to Oracle and beyond. Bonus content includes a Rupert Pupkin shoutout and a Regis Philbin impression.