You know when users complain about the lingering bugs, unexpected slow downs, and slow delivery of new features caused by tech debt (even though they don't know that). That's them caring about your stack, whether they know it or not.
this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2025
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Banks.
Do you know why banks are still running COBOL on new, old architecture, IBM mainframes? Sure, it's in part due to risk aversion, ignorance and inertia. But it's also because, if in the end the result is the same, then the tech stack doesn't matter.
Very few people are tech fanatics, most people want results. They care when the products don't work. They don't care how you fix it as long as you fix it in a reasonable manner, within an acceptable timeframe at an affordable price.
Doesn't matter if the customer is a billion dollars bank or a social network. Debbie thinks javascript is when the barista puts her initials on her latte and rust is something to fear when it shows up under her car. Too many devs forget this.
In contrast, banks all universally moved to single page apps lately, and every one of them sucks. Some suck more (we don't support you having more than one tab open while you are researching stocks) and some suck less (what is the back button for, anyway? Just ignore it). But they all suck.
And yes, users do care about using shitty stacks when they make shitty results.
If your users are aware and complaining about your tech stack, you failed as a Dev. The stack had nothing to do with it, its on you.
Edit: unless your customers are other devs, of course.
That's actually the area I currently work in, though not banking specifically. We do financial software for small governments. All the software was written in the 80s and 90s and we're babying it along well into the 2030s in all likelihood. Those old systems require very specific environments which we're now trying to emulate in the cloud. It's fairly specific at the end of the day. And because this small government segment is currently undergoing consolidation I know what we see is the norm.
Thankfully I just have to maintain the cloud infrastructure and making it as reliable and secure as possible.
As long as you remember that the cloud is just someone else's computer that they have admin rights on.
I would say, it's them caring about the product and their needs, rather than the underlying stack.
I would say you can't separate the two. It's a natural extension of Gall's Law, the simple system that works is the stack.
tbh I'm confident I can deliver bugs, slowdowns, and tech debt using any stack 😎
But that isn't caring about your stack beyond that your stack isn't shit.
What truly makes a difference for users is your attention to the product and their needs.
This is the most important thing here. Additional thing to consider that in my experience devs regularly overlook: how easy is it to implement and support?