Updated on by Hayley Brown
We wanted to share some insight into the members of the Cyclr team and show the people behind the embedded integration platform.
We are kicking things off with Cyclr’s CTO Nic Butler. Nic is an experienced technical leader with over 18 years of knowledge within embedded iPaaS, insurance and defence sectors.
I posed some questions to Nic about his programming journey, technology and the future as he sees it.
What’s your current role and what do you like about it?
I’m the current CTO here at Cyclr, which means I look after the technical side of the company. This involves managing the Platform Team and making sure we are doing everything we can to ensure our systems are secure and robust.
I think it’s this variety that I like most about my role – there’s always something new to think about and discuss with the team.
How did you get into programming?
I started programming at the age of 8 with the arrival of the family Commodore 64 one Christmas, and I never looked back!
I sat a computing degree at university and went straight into a developer role with a maritime insurance company after that.
What’s your earliest memory of you learning to code?
Back on the C64 I remember slavishly typing in programs from Input Magazine expecting incredible arcade games to appear on the TV once complete – often only seeing “Syntax Error” after hours of effort.
Still, I must have enjoyed the experience as I’m still fighting bugs to this day.
What’s a programming language that you would build EVERYTHING and ANYTHING in and why?
I recently wanted to teach my 10-year-old daughter the basics of coding, so I chose JavaScript. It’s got its faults as any internet search will tell you, but for me, there’s nothing more approachable than a little HTML and Javascript to get going. From a small teaching project to building the Internet of Things.
What’s something you think Software developers do not do enough of?
I think developers in a company building software for use by third parties can sometimes lose sight of the human that will end up using the system day in, and day out. It always makes the end product better when the development team fully understands the customer, and how they will use the product.
Luckily here at Cyclr, Customer Centricity is core to our values and as a result, all parts of the business are focused on our partners’ needs.
What is your least favourite thing about programming?
For me personally, it’s the setup required to get to the point when your coding starts to show results. Getting an environment ready to start can sometimes be tedious, and is a great driver to move more towards scripting and DevOps to make such things as efficient and repeatable as possible.
What’s a technology you’re currently learning or excited to learn?
We are currently working hard to move our platform to a more lightweight hosting model. This will unlock many benefits to both us as a company and our Partners. The team and I are very much looking forward to being part of this new way of working.
Time travel 10 years into the past or 10 years into the future? What does technology look like?
10 years in the future will be an exciting time for SaaS companies. I think there will be some ubiquitous standards of integration and communication with little to no code required. Obviously, the technology this will be based on will still require smart developers to create clever tools and technologies. Connecting the world of applications out there will bring huge benefits to customers who will be able to mix and match tools as easily as choosing a car insurance deal today.
And of course, Cyclr will be right in the middle of that future!
