beeps and on-call for Next.js developers with Joey Parsons
Jan 21, 2025
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Joey Parsons, the founder and CEO of Beeps—a startup focused on creating an on-call platform for Next.js developers—shares his journey from founding effx, which was acquired by Figma, to addressing on-call challenges in tech. He delves into the rapid rise of Next.js and its community, the limitations of current on-call systems, and how Beeps aims to streamline incident management. The conversation touches on using AI to improve alert handling and reduce noise for developers, especially benefiting junior engineers. Joey highlights the emotional toll and need for resilience in on-call responsibilities.
Beeps is specifically designed for Next.js developers, aiming to address their unique challenges in incident management and on-call processes.
Current on-call systems lack innovation, often overwhelming engineers with notifications and stress, which Beeps seeks to alleviate through enhanced support.
The platform integrates AI-driven tools to provide engineers with essential context during incidents, thus improving reaction times and overall system reliability.
Deep dives
Focus on Next.js Developers
Beeps is designed specifically for Next.js developers, who make up a large portion of the modern development landscape. This focus stems from the realization that Next.js has emerged as a leading framework for building applications, and its users face unique challenges regarding infrastructure and on-call processes. By understanding the specific needs of this developer community, Beeps aims to create an on-call platform tailored to improve their experience. This targeted approach promises to streamline incident management and enhance reliability for engineers using Next.js.
Challenges of Current On-Call Systems
Current on-call systems have not evolved significantly, which poses a major challenge for developers who rely on them. Traditional systems generally follow a simple rotation mechanism that lacks the necessary support during incidents, leading to inefficiencies and stress for engineers. With little innovation in incident management processes, engineers often find themselves overwhelmed by notifications without adequate context or guidance. Beeps seeks to address these issues by rethinking the on-call experience and providing comprehensive support to engineers when incidents occur.
Leveraging AI for Improved Context
Beeps incorporates AI-driven tools to enhance the context provided to engineers during on-call events. By integrating with various observability tools, Beeps collects and summarizes relevant information, which is then shared with the engineer responding to an incident. This system significantly reduces the time needed to gather necessary insights, allowing engineers to react more effectively and efficiently. The goal is to empower even less experienced developers with the context they need to respond to incidents competently, ultimately improving overall system reliability.
Building Trust in Reliability
For a platform like Beeps, establishing trust and reliability is paramount, especially since it operates in the critical space of incident management. Beeps is focused on ensuring that their own systems are resilient and dependable, as any failure could undermine user confidence in the platform. This dedication to reliability involves maintaining thorough monitoring and redundancy across different systems and tools. By prioritizing these practices, Beeps aims to build a trustworthy brand that developers can rely on during high-pressure situations.
The Importance of User-Centric Solutions
The vision behind Beeps emphasizes understanding the specific needs and challenges of its users in order to deliver effective solutions. The founders recognize that on-call responsibilities are shifting toward software engineers who may lack extensive experience in incident management. As a result, creating user-friendly tools that provide necessary insights and support is vital for fostering confidence among newer generations of engineers. Beeps aspires to liberate engineers from the stressful burdens of traditional on-call systems and instead inspire a more productive and engaging work environment.
beeps is a startup focused on building an on-call platform for Next.js. The company is grounded in the key insight that Next.js has become a dominant framework for modern development. A key motivation in leveraging Next.js is to create a developer-first experience for on-call.
Joey Parsons is the founder and CEO of beeps, and he previously founded effx which was acquired by Figma in 2021. Joey joins the show to talk about the platform, starting a company without an explicit AI focus, the limitations of current on-call systems, building on Next.js, and more.
Full Disclosure: This episode is sponsored by Beeps.
Sean’s been an academic, startup founder, and Googler. He has published works covering a wide range of topics from AI to quantum computing. Currently, Sean is an AI Entrepreneur in Residence at Confluent where he works on AI strategy and thought leadership. You can connect with Sean on LinkedIn.