As we've accustomed you for the past three years, November marks the Cluj IT Days event for the Today Software Magazine team. This is one of the largest events for developers, testers and managers in Cluj and Romania. This state of facts was acknowledged by the attendees who came from as far as Brașov, Iași, Craiova or Bucharest. We were glad to find out that our event has had a significant contribution to the following state of facts: large IT conferences and events are pretty hard to find, especially in other cities.

The overall perception of the interview process is that of a scenario in which the roles are, apparently, clearly defined. The interviewer and the interviewee entertain a relationship similar to that of a student and his examining teacher, giving rise to a classic academic setting. By contrast, the modern approach, considers that the roles go both ways. Throughout an interview, the parties act both as the interviewee and the interviewer.

Let us start with the first topic, and talk about the features and functionality that are available at the moment (Q3, 2016) on Azure CDN.  You will find a lot of useful information on the Azure page and I am pretty sure that you already checked it. In comparison with the last few years, Microsoft took a big step forward, by signing partnerships with Akamai and Verizon (both of them are some of the biggest CDN providers in the world).

The coexistence of generations in the labor market seems to be a complex issue in the recent years. Specialists studied, and then tested the issue, but the general picture often leaves us with question marks when it comes to its applicability in our daily life. Certainly, it is understandable that, when talking about four different generations (Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and the most recent, Generation Z), the principles which apply in our everyday life or at the office could be different.

Every four years during the Olympic Games we admire the athletes who are going beyond their limits, who establish new records and bring glory to their team and country. We consider them experts in what they do and some of us know the struggle, hard work and the sacrifices they make to reach the top of the podium. Similarly to athletes, individuals, who want to be the best in their profession, need to go through a long journey from beginner to expert.

This is a continuation of the article “What are the challenges of Dev/Test/DevOps and how Microsoft Azure can help”. This time we will go into details explaining which are the organizational and technological challenges, and which are some approaches, processes, and solutions to create efficient Dev/Test environments.

Computers started as a basic alternative to the human brain. The power and all that was mysterious and compelling needed replicated. Humans were the pinnacle of rational evolution but, at one point in time, they seemed limited. Eventually they started creating controllable things that will otherwise help them overcome their drawbacks. Forgetting is natural human defect and this is why we live in an era in which “the internet never forgets”. But maybe it’s time it should.

We live in a world where, in developed countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, the relationship between the lay person, and the public and local authorities can be kept efficient from home, via Internet, without walking piles of papers and documents in between offices, without the need to take days off or a leave of absence to solve bureaucratic issues. There are cities where printed documents are not required at all because the performant IT systems ensure control across all activities. Therefore, these things should not be "Science-Fiction" for Romania. The Cluj IT Cluster is an association which includes a large number of companies that are experienced in developing software, as well academic institutions, research institutions and public administration institutions. The Cluj IT Cluster showed a consistent and continuous interest in enhancing the efficiency of the public administration through IT. Moreover the Cluster is actively involved in making the "Smart City" concept real. This includes the extended promotion of IT services in administration, information technology and communication (IT&C), intelligent technologies in areas which define the urban ecosystem (traffic and mobility, public safety, health services and education, culture and entertainment, tourism, infrastructure for utilities, energy, work space and residential areas etc.). These are all means of enhancing the quality of life and the safety of the citizens. The Cluj IT Cluster advocates in favor of an integrated approach, oriented towards the lifecycle of any Smart City project.

Ahyper-productive team is the dream of every team leader. How cool would it be to apply a 10-step algorithm and create a team 10x more productive? Or tweak the team communication a little bit and get the team to the productivity nirvana? As we all know, things are not that simple. This paper will detail ways in which you can create a balanced and motivated team that knows its weaknesses and its strengths.

The ecosystem of a city/region is given by the diversity of the active organizations in that environment. Although Cluj is very active in terms of events, communities, hubs and meetups, the results are less obvious when we look at start-ups. It is true that it takes several years for a start up to be successful and be taken as a good, inspirational model to follow. I think this is what we need, for the coming period: start-ups which can prove that our efforts can indeed lead to something quantifiable in this regard.

It all started in 2010 as an internal competition for staff members in order to promote a healthy life style (keep walking, leave your car at home) and social interaction among staff members (team walkers). The competition grew in popularity over time, a popularity nobody anticipated. More and more people registered. People started running in the park in the evening because they did not reach the number of scheduled steps for the day. People started posting pictures from weddings and christianings where the contest bracelet can be seen in the foreground, or pictures from company parties where new records were established, or pictures of people telling their peers they achieved few steps. This was the general mood throughout the Walking Month competition.

You know that type of person who is so into something that it becomes contagious? Well, Cristina is just like that. She's 28 years old, she's from Chisinau and for about 6 months now since I met her (at JCI Cluj and also as a workmate), she keeps talking enthusiastically about bicycles.

Cluj-Napoca, Romania. YAPC::EU, the most important conference dedicated to the Perl programming language will take place this year in Cluj-Napoca, between the 24th and the 26th of August. The event, a premiere for the Romanian IT landscape, is organized by Cluj.pm, the local Perl community and will be hosted by UMF - "Iuliu Hațieganu".

We had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Eddy Vermeire, CEO @ ISDC, about the recent merge with Endava.

Both iSDC and Endava are international companies with development centers in Cluj. It was a surprise the recent fusion between both companies. What did determine this change and what opportunities do you see here ?

There was a private equity stake in ISDC, which was keen to sell during 2016, so the ISDC board made sure they found a suitable buyer. Endava's cultural alignment, growth ambitions and track record made it the outstanding candidate to provide a secure and exciting future for our people. Similarly, for Endava, ISDC represents an ideal match providing real engineering expertise and quality, further strength in financial services and an opportunity to expand its presence selling in Europe as well as the delivery centres in Romania and Bulgaria.