My guest today is Mike Bowers, Chief architect at FairCom. We had a very interesting conversation that we decided to publish in two parts. In the first part of the conversation , MIke shares his career path and his perspective on how to approach software development. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the customer's needs and designing systems that are flexible and scalable. He also discusses the importance of data in software development and his experience working with different data models.

Here are the key points from the conversation:

• Mike started programming at a young age and has been passionate about it ever since.
• He has a PhD in music theory and sees connections between music and software development, particularly in terms of patterns.
• As an architect, he focuses on designing systems that are flexible, scalable, and meet the needs of the customer.
• He believes that data is a crucial part of software development and that understanding data is essential for building good systems.
• He has experience working with different data models, including relational databases and JSON.

Mike Bowers is the Chief Architect at FairCom with over 35 years of experience in software development and architecture. As the driving force behind FairCom's architecture and product roadmaps, Mike specializes in high-performance NoSQL and SQL databases, IIoT platforms, and legacy system modernization solutions. His wealth of knowledge extends to topics like database revolution, manufacturing 4.0, IIoT, edge computing, and data integration. With a deep understanding of the tech landscape, he actively contributes to the development of industry standards through his membership in the INCITS technical committee, focusing on SQL and GQL. Mike's insights resonate particularly well with audiences comprising CEOs, IT managers, software architects, software engineers, and controls engineers.