Sourcing for Innovation

Jamar Johnson was a mixed martial arts instructor when we discovered Catalyte in the mid-2000's. A successful graduate of our software developer training program, Jamar has continued to succeed in the technology industry. He is currently the director of quality and release management, HR technology and information strategy at Comcast. He also chairs Comcast's Black Employee Network.

In this candid conversation, Jamar shares his developer journey from a non-traditional background to leading teams at one of America's largest companies. He recounts how Catalyte helped him launch that journey.

He also dives into how the tech industry as a whole can do a better job using technology to create a diverse talent pool and build more equitable companies. Hint: everyone speaks "green."

Managing a remote workforce has its challenges and rewards. If you've been thrust into a remote working situation as a result of COVID-19, or are looking for ways to maintain company cohesion, Tom Iler, CPO of Catalyte and leader of Surge, a Catalyte company, has advice on how to maintain a unified company culture across a remote workforce.

For more information on how to establish, grow or maintain a remote workforce, please visit https://www.surgeforward.com/blog/ or https://catalyte.io/news-ideas/

The concept of an apprentice or apprenticeship goes back centuries. Traditionally, they were a way for people to learn a trade from a master craftsman, in return for helping that craftsperson with their business.

The technology industry is now applying that same concept to software developers – offering on-the-job-training as an apprentice instead of paid training at college or a coding bootcamp.

How do these apprenticeships work? What are their advantages for employers and employees alike? And where in an overall talent sourcing strategy does an apprentice model fit?

Eliot Pearson, Catalyte's VP of technical development, discusses the different apprenticeships and how companies can take advantage of this modernized form of training.

According to Forrester Research's Future of IT 2018 report, 50% of all digital transformations fail. With success being no more reliable than a coin flip, why even bother to undergo this process?

Greg Kintzele, principal of business strategy for digital transformation at Catalyte, explains why transforming isn't optional and how to ensure that your organization falls on the right side of the 50/50 digital transformation divide.

How should a technology company set up a mentoring program? What is the difference between mentoring, coaching and training? Are there differences in how generations of workers approach the mentoring process?

Catalyte's CTO Rob Mansell has established mentoring programs in multiple IT organizations throughout his career. He shares his insights into what works, who should be involved and how to measure the success of such programs.

How development teams are performing is a key metric any IT organization should know. But, as your IT organization grows, and teams adopt their own "flavor" of Agile, it can be hard to compare teams or get a full organizational perspective on performance.

Companies can use organization assessments to look for opportunities to improve multiple teams simultaneously, save time and money while improving agility.

Catalyte's Les Grove explains what goes into creating as assessment, what it should measure and who needs to be involved in the process.

Will artificial intelligence (AI) be a force for good or evil in 2019? Tom Iler, Catalyte's chief product officer, discusses the different paths AI could take and what we can do to make sure it helps, rather than hurts, society.

Keys, credit cards and resumes. What do they all have in common? They are outdated methods we still rely on to perform important roles in society.

Technology is making keys and credit cards obsolete. It should do the same with resumes.

We discuss with Tom Iler, Catalyte's chief product officer, how AI, machine learning and skills-based hiring can replace the resume and create a more productive/diverse workforce.

Catalyte software developer and trainer Mike Mountain is embarking on the ultimate MLB road trip. In just 35 days, he will drive to all 30 MLB ballparks. On his trip he will drive more than 16,000 miles.

Find out how Mike developed an application to solve this logistical Mt. Everest, what parks he's most excited to see and why this diehard Oriole's fan decided to do this in the first place.

The modern internet as we know it didn't just appear fully formed. Many choices and disagreements went into creating and molding the World Wide Web.

George Mauer, director of development at Surge (www.surgeforward.com), discusses the development of the modern web from its creation, how it was structured, designed and made usable and what the future holds.