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Zoltan Somody

People First. Business Always.

A little more about how I think, lead, work and develop people.

Technology

The best technology is not the most impressive one.

Technology is an enabler, not the goal.

Technology is an enabler — but technology itself is never the final objective.

For me, technology has always been a tool for solving problems, improving the way people work, creating new opportunities and helping organisations adapt to change.

I am interested not simply in what a technology can do, but in what it makes possible.

A new platform, application or technology may be impressive, but that alone does not make it valuable.

The real question is what changes because we introduced it.

Does it make something simpler, make people more effective, improve the customer experience, reduce risk or cost, or enable something that was previously impossible?

That is where technology starts creating real value.

Start with the problem.

I rarely start a technology discussion with the technology itself.

I start with the problem.

Before choosing a platform, designing an architecture or launching a project, I want to understand what we are actually trying to achieve.

What is the business problem, who is affected, what is preventing us from moving forward, and what would success look like?

Sometimes the answer is technology, sometimes a process change, an organisational change, or simply better communication.

And sometimes the best solution is not to build anything at all.

I believe the ability to recognise that is one of the most important skills of a technology leader.

Make technology understandable.

Technology leaders often have to operate between two worlds.

On one side there are technical experts who naturally think in systems, architecture, infrastructure, data and technology.

On the other side there is the business, which needs to understand what all of this actually means for the organisation.

I believe one of the most important responsibilities of a technology leader is to translate between these worlds.

People do not need to understand every technical detail.

They need to understand why something matters, what it changes, what it costs, what the risks are and what value it creates.

Good technology should not make communication more complicated.

It should make the organisation better at making decisions.

Keep it simple.

Over the years, I have become increasingly convinced that simplicity is one of the most underrated qualities in technology.

Complexity is sometimes unavoidable.

But unnecessary complexity should always be challenged.

I prefer solutions that people can understand, teams can operate and organisations can maintain over time.

The most sophisticated architecture is not necessarily the best architecture.

The most expensive solution is not necessarily the most valuable one.

Sometimes the best solution is simply the one that works reliably, solves the problem and makes life easier.

I have always tried to avoid creating a technological "Death Star" when a much simpler solution can deliver the same result.

Dream big if necessary.

But then come back to earth, remove the unnecessary branches and deliver the simplest solution that genuinely works.

AI is a capability, not a strategy.

Artificial Intelligence deserves special attention.

AI is becoming one of the most powerful technologies available to organisations, and I believe we are still only seeing the beginning of what it can enable.

But adopting AI simply because everyone else is doing it is not a strategy.

The real question is: where can AI create meaningful value?

AI can help people work faster, make better decisions, automate repetitive activities, manage knowledge, improve customer experiences and create completely new ways of working.

But the technology itself is only the beginning.

The real challenge is integrating it into the organisation in a way that people understand, trust and actually use.

This is an area where I want to put increasing focus in the future — not because AI is fashionable, but because I believe it can fundamentally change how organisations operate.

Technology must evolve — but not for technology's sake.

Technology does not stand still.

Neither should organisations.

But I do not believe that every new trend deserves our attention, investment or implementation.

Technology leaders need to distinguish between what is simply new and what is genuinely meaningful.

Cloud, AI, automation, data, new platforms and new development approaches can all create enormous value.

But only when they solve something real.

The challenge is not to follow every trend.

It is to understand which changes matter, when they matter and how they can create value.

Technology should evolve continuously — but deliberately.

Architecture matters.

Behind every successful technology organisation there is an architecture that people often do not see.

Good architecture creates stability, scalability and flexibility.

Bad architecture creates dependency, complexity and eventually technical debt.

I believe architecture should support the business rather than constrain it.

It should be understandable, maintainable and scalable, but also pragmatic.

There is always a balance between doing things properly and avoiding unnecessary engineering.

The best architecture is not the one that looks the most impressive on a diagram.

It is the one that supports the organisation today while keeping tomorrow's options open.

People make technology work.

Technology ultimately depends on people.

The best system is useless if people do not understand it, trust it or want to use it.

That is why technology transformation is never purely a technology challenge.

It is also a people challenge.

People need to understand why something is changing, how it affects them and what they can gain from it.

They need support, communication, time to adapt and sometimes simply someone who believes they can do it.

Technology can enable change.

People make change happen.

And that is why I never separate technology leadership from people leadership.

The best technology is not the most impressive one.

It is the one that makes people and business better.