Who Would’ve Thought? Unexpected Facts of 10 Years in IT

From getting lost in translation to embracing the quiet power of maturity, here is what 10 years in IT have taught me so far.

To put the time into perspective, I started my IT journey when WebEx and Skype for Business were heavily used in everyday life, and responsive design was a niche due to smartphone usage exploding shortly. The expansion of mobile usage is best seen in numbers — the graph below shows average daily time spent online between 2011 and 2019.

At the same time, migrating from on-premises data centres to cloud environments was a hot topic on many companies’ tables and departments worldwide, leading to massive adoption in the coming years. Virtana survey report shows that over 80% of companies nowadays use a multi-cloud approach.

Huh, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the 2010s.

[Daily time spent online per capita worldwide (2011-2019), Source: Statista]

Lost in translation

Looking back, the business analyst role flew under the radar for a long time. It started getting attention when the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) was founded in 2003, and companies worldwide were integrating those roles in daily operations. Still, it took years for business analysts to function as originally defined.

For me, right at the beginning, juggling different perspectives in projects was overwhelming, and I wasn’t always sure what the right question was. The main challenge was understanding complex problems and dependencies while still trying to connect the dots on the development basics. Also, navigating human interactions played a significant role in the whole journey.

It took me a while to realise that keeping tasks in motion is crucial. I used to think working longer on a task would solve it, but that wasn’t always the case. The real key is transparency — seeking help and addressing blockers early instead of struggling in isolation.

Along the way, it became clear that daily work in the IT field varies:

• keeping up to date with technology trends


• understanding domain logic


• participating in ceremonies


• determining your obligations and responsibility


• identifying the bottleneck of the current state


• collaboration with team members and all relevant parties.

This brings us to an important takeaway — school teaches you discipline, dedication, logical thinking, but real, hands-on experience puts those principles to the test. It shows you where you actually stand and what you still need to learn.

Basics remain, maturity changes

When it comes to my hands-on experience, I had the opportunity to work internationally, with different project setup teams and expectations, but they all had two things in common. People and machines.

Balancing human relationships, scalable solutions, and staying up to date with technical trends and obstacles is the most challenging part of the job. This one is also the one where you move forward by gaining experience.

Looking back on the past, I have a few projects close to my heart so far, shaped by different circumstances. The question is, what made them special? It’s either lessons learned from people engaged or technology applied.

What I learned the hard way was that sharing team pain is not a single person’s responsibility, and everyone involved should be aware of it. It just depends on the struggles we face and the point of view we come from.

To make it more tangible, here are some examples:

• the client has unreasonable requests due to regulatory limitations


• development delays can be caused by an update of the relevant component


• management pushes for a tight deadline to meet performance targets


• departments arguing on the same matter due to different priorities.

The list can go on and on, but at its core, a vital truth remains — cultures, languages, and technology stack change over projects. Still, the basics of development remain the same, combined with the maturity of people and the product involved.

The strategic life cycle of a product is well described in various academic sources. For instance, Harvard Business Review covers stages from incubation, leading to growth, maturity and the final chapter of product decline. When you look at it from a higher perspective, a similar analogy goes for people, doesn’t it?

[Product Lifecycle – Source: Harvard Business Review]

Digest and test values

Harsh reality is that no one is perfect, and it never will be, whether people or machines. A gentle reminder for all of us that growth isn’t always uphill — sometimes it stagnates or goes downhill. It’s all part of the journey.

After a few downhills on my own and looking where I am today, one thing stands out — spark doesn’t come from one voice, it’s shaped by openness, creativity, and equal effort from everyone involved. Just as important, and often ignored, is the ability to truly listen and understand different angles. Yet, that’s an often overlooked piece of collaboration.

We are witnessing more than ever how global trends are changing fast. What matters today might not be relevant in 6 months. You can adapt as fast as you can, but what matters more is knowledge, lessons and experience along the way. By those, you truly train your values in daily work, often influencing personal life.

With time, knowledge grows, and values might or might not change. And that brings me to a lifelong truth — I’m still standing, still learning.

It figures — patience is a teacher

“And isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think so?” In a nutshell, it’s the same advice someone out there 10-15 years ago tried to tell me, however, I couldn’t proceed.

It takes time and patience. You’ll shape your way of working and expectations by learning the hard way — slowly. Still, after years, it’s normal to find yourself in a failing situation, with unclear next steps or a solution, but that’s the essence of it.

Looking closely at tech trends, machine learning has been driving some serious business for years now. On top of it, the disruptive field of generative AI gives clear signs where individuals in the IT field should put time and effort in the upcoming years.

Surely, spirit itself will guide us, combined with clarity and critical thinking, so desperately needed in modern society.

So who knows what the next 10 years will bring to each of us?

Here’s to an uncertain decade ahead — let’s do it! 🙂