Karel De Smet


Title: DevOps: the Power of Honesty

Abstract:

For decades, sales reps were told they had to act like a dealer in a car showroom. “Sir, this brilliant vehicle has a 320 bhp V8 engine and is made of lightweight aluminium, has Power Assisted Steering and a double wishbone suspension for a smooth and comfortable ride.” And amazingly, this approach worked. But times have changed.

Description:

Because of the (mobile) internet, consumers have more information then ever before, available at any moment. And social media has given consumers an even stronger platform. They can now ask friends and family to share their opinions on brands, products and services. People expect brands and companies to be honest now. Because they will find out if they’re not. Bringing operations and development together is already an implementation of this new approach. The first thing we ask when a potential customer sends us an e-mail, asking for an offer is “What does the website/application actually do? Can you give us an estimate on the amount of visits? Does your website/application make use of Varnish, Solr … ? How much RAM do you think you’ll need?” By providing us with as much information as possible, we have a better insight in what the customer needs. Looking at an application from an operational point of view, we advise our clients to make changes in certain aspects of development. Together with our clients, we can make the application faster, easier and better.

Speaker

Karel De Smet

Karel De Smet


Karel developed a love for “all things digital” during his studies at the EHSAL Management School. After working at the water company for 2 years he joined a web agency as a content manager. Now he’s part of the marketing & sales team at Openminds, a hosting company with a strong focus on managed hosting, configuration management and DevOps. As a passionate marketeer, he’s ready for a new challenge every day. But most of all, he just likes to meet new people, talk and have fun!