Developers are key to creating the best customer experiences

New Relic is a well-established market leader in Observability. The technology is a must-have for CIOs and tech teams, and has become an even more powerful resource thanks to the acquisition of CodeStream and integration into the New Relic One platform to launch New Relic CodeStream. This developer-focused integration is expanding the number of opportunities for tech teams across Australia to improve the overall customer experience through creating the best code possible, and using this to achieve overarching business goals.

As COVID-19 created lockdowns, increased remote working and saw online shopping skyrocket, the last two years have also seen more pressure than ever applied to companies to make sure they deliver a strong digital customer experience. So, what does this look like? Companies that align their organisation around a customer first approach will develop intuitive, customer-centric websites that operate seamlessly and are a joy to use. This can make or break companies that are seeking to grow revenue and stand out from the competition. Developers working at the cutting edge of these online user experiences are constantly looking for new ways to innovate and collaborate on their code.

Scalable and seamless

In the past, some CIOs and developers may have felt that their priorities were misaligned, with developers focused primarily on creating the best code, while CIOs were concerned with wider business priorities. The rapid uptake of digital services in the COVID-19 era has driven developers and CIOs to work hand in hand, so that priorities are aligned and the customer experience is front and centre. What does this ideal experience look like? Ensuring that websites load quickly for desktop and mobile users is a given, but so is enabling live chat so that customers can easily communicate with a customer service team, and having an intuitive web structure.

Creating business impact

Observability is a powerful innovation that businesses can use to deliver more seamless digital experiences to their customers. However, according to New Relic’s 2021 Observability Forecast, the majority of the world’s software is not being observed at all: only 26% of respondents have a mature observability practice, and the most commonly cited barriers to observability success are lack of resources (38%) and skill gaps (29%). 

Too many businesses are missing out on the power of observability. At the same time, in order to get started with observability, tech teams need tools that meet them where they spend most of their time: developing code. It has proven to be challenging for developer teams to see the real world impact of their code or pinpoint the exact location where an issue has emerged without switching between multiple workflows.

Thanks to the acquisition and integration of CodeStream into New Relic One to launch New Relic CodeStream, developers are now able to use observability to identify errors, debug and collaborate in real-time to address issues on the fly, right in their development environment. This improves their productivity by making observability a first class citizen in the development process and reduces friction so they can spend more time building code, which in turn optimises the end user experience. To reach even more developers, New Relic is partnering with Microsoft to integrate the new capability with their most widely used developer tools.

By being able to integrate feedback from the start of the coding process, the entire business benefits. CIOs are able to see a direct link between website performance and the effectiveness of developer code, while allowing their teams to focus on innovating instead of constantly putting out spot fires when a website slows or crashes completely.

The hunt for tech talent

The need for greater investment in the digital experience comes as the hunt for tech talent continues to heat up. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm of reduced numbers of skilled migrants while the number of Australian companies needing to implement new technological initiatives is on the rise. For CIOs seeking to create positive experiences for their customers, having the right developers, tools and technology is crucial. Software like New Relic One allows tech teams to have visibility across their entire online presence; identifying small anomalies before they become large scale problems. By supporting developers to create the best code possible, the wider business is also optimised. New Relic CodeStream supports engineers to swiftly navigate, triage and action production errors, while enabling teams to add comments, request feedback and directly track issues. Being able to collaborate on code and see what’s not working and why will ensure that the end user is front of mind for developers, and help align the direction that the team is heading in.

They say it takes teamwork to make the dream work, but it also takes a highly talented group of developers with the right tools and leadership to build the best customer experiences. Developers continue to be one of the CIOs most important assets, and as more businesses than ever look online to set themselves apart from the competition, it’s vital that teams are able to collaborate and have the necessary tools on hand to enable the best online customer experiences.