Wake up and smell the java

Well after almost two months in my new job I thought I better atleast make some effort to put in an update about it all.

After 2 1/2 years as lead web developer at Mamas & Papas I decided it was time to move on. The decision was driven in part by the company looking to outsource their e-commerce development and the right opportunity coming along at the right time.

Unsuprsingly the decision to outsource left a bitter taste, given my initial remit was to bring the e-commerce function in house. Something I did alongside an absolutely brilliant team of people. Many of whom I now value as good friends.

All in all it was a bitter sweet experience. Something that I’m very proud of but would never want to repeat again! I’d like to think of it as a quantum leap which put the company in the running against many of its competitors and took it kicking and screaming in to the real world.

It still amazes me how many companies e-commerce offerings are either virtually untapped or poorly executed. Consultancy any one!?

One of my main frustrations was the weird mix of technology the site was ran on which was bleeding edge at best and non-performant at others. Eventually a decision had to be made about pursuing the open source route or looking at other contenders such as .NET and undoing everything that we’d done previously.

Unfortunately the open source lost out. The quote that springs to mind is:

“Nobody got sacked buying Microsoft”

As they say you win some you lose some. For me the writing has been on the wall for a long time. Last years birthday musings summed up my whole thoughts on PHP, and this was the kick that I needed to move on.

So two months ago I started a new job, working for Findel Direct as a Senior Developer. All out and out e-commerce work once again this time using Java on the IBM Websphere Commerce platform. This press release gives a really nice overview of the project I’m working on.
Java seems a nice half way house for me. Its got the corporate credibility that many open source languages lack, but still maintains the open source ethos. Its all really interesting stuff and exciting times ahead! I’m relishing learning a new language and the proprietary technologies which come with it.

Needless to say that I’ll be leaving PHP on my CV but praying I never have to actually use it again. Django all the way for any of my personal projects.