In the office: A great interview about Postgres with Oleg Bartunova n (Database column)
I saw it. curious with Oleg Bartunov, CEO and co-founder of Postgres Professional, leading developer (Major Contributor) PostgreSQL is a member of the PostgreSQL Foundation. The interview was taken by Vanya Botalov, the author of the Deploy channel. The guys talked for more than two hours and discussed a whole bunch of topics I would single out.
1. Oleg's path to IT Oleg started out as an astronomer, but realized that astronomy is a data science. In 1990I got acquainted with database technology at the University of UCSC, USA, where I learned about PostgreSQL. S 1996 He became an active member of the PostgreSQL community, but continued to be an astronomer.) 2. Creating Postgres Professional Postgres Professional was founded in 2015 year, though still in 2005 Oleg wrote a letter to the Ministry of Economy about the need to create a Russian database. He didn't get an answer, but years later. 10 I decided to take matters into my own hands. As a result, the company became the largest Russian DBMS developer based on PostgreSQL. 3. Criticism of IT education in Russia Oleg criticizes university education, which trains "Microsoft and Oracle users" rather than system developers. It emphasizes the importance of fundamental education and systems thinking, not just applied skills. It's funny that he's not only criticizing, he's also working to improve education by creating programs and interacting with students. 4. Import substitution and technological sovereignty After the departure of Oracle and Microsoft from Russia 2022 New opportunities for the growth of Russian DBMS appeared in the year. Russia showed the world that it is possible to live without Oracle and Microsoft. PostgreSQL in Russia has risen to the forefront thanks to high performance requirements. 5. Open Source and the International Community Postgres Professional takes over 2-3 place in the world in contribution to the development of PostgreSQL. The company actively participates in international conferences, including the organization PGConf.Nepal. Bartunov notes the crisis in open source due to monetization attempts - in fact, this leads to the drift of licenses of some products in the Schrödinger zone, where the software is in a dual open / closed state:) 6. Artificial intelligence and the future of programming AI is seen as the new industrial revolution. The profession of a programmer will change: application developers may disappear, but new specialties will appear. It is important to teach children critical thinking and understanding of technology. 7. Issues of IT isolation Isolation hinders development because new ideas are born in communication and competition. Russia lags behind America in technology development 2-3 years. Political factors divide the markets. 8. Public policy and IT development Bartunov criticized the work with ministries, preferring direct cooperation with universities. The state should clearly define the IT development strategy and create conditions for the return of specialists.
To summarize, most of which I agree with, Russia should develop not only applied, but also system programming, educating its own DBMS developers and other system software. The departure of Western vendors created opportunities for the growth of Russian IT companies. Postgres Pro has become an example of successful import substitution in the field of DBMS. Quality IT education should start at school and include fundamental knowledge, not just the study of specific technologies. Participation in international open source projects allows Russian developers to remain part of the global community and develop competitive products. It is necessary to train a new generation of specialists who understand work with AI and are able to adapt to changes in the profession.
I really enjoyed this interview, and it’s very clear:)
#Database #Management #Leadership #Software #Engineering