Meet the Makers: Christopher Mowers | Aspen94

Celebrating Catalyst-powered innovations and the developers behind them.

Meet the Makers is a Q&A series that shines a spotlight on the brilliant developers within our community. We aim to showcase the diverse range of innovative solutions our community members have built using Catalyst. Join us in celebrating their achievements, learning from their journeys, and exploring how they leveraged Catalyst's capabilities to bring their visions to life.

So, grab your favorite coding beverage, put on your coolest developer cap, and join us as we meet the makers who are reshaping the digital landscape with Catalyst!

Now, let's kickoff our Meet the Makers interview! Today, we have the pleasure of chatting with Christopher Mowers of Aspen94, a coding maverick who has built an exceptional Application using Catalyst. Let us jump right into the conversation and learn from his incredible journey.

Q 1. Could you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you discover Catalyst, and what made you choose it for your project?

CM: When Catalyst was first announced, I was working as a developer for a company that was using Zoho. I have a background working in AWS, especially with serverless, so seeing similar services come into the Zoho ecosystem was exciting to me. I followed the progress for a few years, and eventually, I started diving using Catalyst an experimental way. Ultimately, I chose Catalyst for this project because the requirements necessitated an environment for code execution that Zoho CRM does not provide. Catalyst gives a fully robust execution environment and yet remains closely tied to the consumer-facing ecosystem of Zoho business applications.

Q 2. Could you provide an overview of your project built on Catalyst? What problem were you aiming to solve or what need were you trying to fulfill?

CM: The project is a real-time data sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics. Their migration from another CRM was dependent on real-time reporting, which was crucial for the client's operations. The client was unwilling to go forward without a real-time solution. I created a solution that syncs CRM data to Analytics in seconds, ensuring the client would adopt Zoho CRM.

Q 3. What were the specific Catalyst features or tools that played a crucial role in your development process?

CM: A key feature was the Zoho CRM Event Listener, which saved me from complex API work with the CRM notifications API. It triggers serverless functions in Catalyst for CRM events like record changes without needing CRM workflows. Other noteworthy tools include Catalyst Cache for prevention of duplicative updating and concurrency management, and Circuits for asynchronous execution.

Q 4. What were some of the challenges you encountered along the way, and how did you overcome them using Catalyst?

CM: The solution's primary challenge was integrating instant data sync leveraging the Zoho suite. Traditional methods in Zoho CRM weren't capable of handling this project's demands. Utilizing Catalyst's serverless platform, I could transform the implementation beyond Zoho One's limitations.

Another layer of complexity was the system architecture decision-making process. Having prior serverless experience helped, but developing in this manner requires a paradigm shift. To excel in the cloud, it's necessary to establish your architecture with cloud-based services, breaking down the application into smaller inter-service interactions and addressing orchestration challenges such as concurrency and atomicity. My journey involved a learning curve with Catalyst features and active collaboration with their support team to navigate these cloud-specific challenges.

Q 5. How would you describe the overall developer experience with Catalyst? Were there any standout features or aspects that impressed you?

CM: My experience with Catalyst has been a thrill. It gives me a platform where I can leverage my serverless architecture knowledge and push the boundaries of what’s possible within Zoho’s ecosystem. When you work on a platform like Catalyst, you are not working on a legacy product, which means that learning is required. Catalyst is still evolving, and with that comes the need to consult documentation regularly, participate in forums, and talk with the support team. However, the simplicity of Catalyst stands out, allowing cloud-native developers like me to innovate and experiment without the need to manage massive amounts of cloud infrastructure.

    
Q 6. Now, let's talk about the impact your project had on your target audience or users. Have there been any notable successes or feedback you've received?

CM: The Analytics sync was an essential driver for the client's migration to Zoho CRM. The feedback on the implementation has been overwhelmingly positive: they've reported a 60% improvement in administrative efficiency and a 38% increase in sales. Being able to improve both the financial position of a business and the quality of life of its employees is very rewarding to me.

Q 7. Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently during the development process or any lessons learned that you'd like to share with other developers?

CM: I am a practitioner of test-driven development, but testing in the cloud can be different than testing a monolithic application. The real challenge emerged around concurrency as we approached our launch, underscoring the need for a more cloud-focused testing approach. Engaging sooner with Catalyst's testing features and external tools like QEngine could have provided valuable insights for navigating these complexities at an earlier stage of the project. This experience highlighted the importance of adapting testing strategies to fit the cloud-native landscape. For developers working on similar projects, I recommend an early deep dive into the testing and logging features available in Catalyst and an exploration of serverless design principles.

Q 8. As part of the Catalyst community, do you actively engage with other developers or contribute to the platform's ecosystem? If so, how has this involvement benefited you?

CM: I am an active participant and a routine presenter in the Zoho Developer community, and if you are doing any kind of development in the Zoho ecosystem, you should join us at community.zoho.com/developer.  As far as the Catalyst community specifically, I am looking to do much more of this! I've posted on the forums occasionally, and I maintain contact with a few of the Catalyst team members. But if you're doing work in Zoho Catalyst, I'd love to connect with you and learn more about the work that you are interested in! We all benefit from a strong community where we can support one another as we grow our skills and support our platform by doing work and giving feedback that strengthens it.

Q 9. What do you do to take a break from coding?

CM: Travel with my wife Ashleigh is one of my favorite activities; we just enjoyed a fantastic trip to Italy where we soaked in the culture and cuisine. Apart from that, I love time outdoors, hiking or kayaking. Music is another passion; playing instruments and directing choir provides a creative outlet outside of software development.

Q10. Finally, what advice or words of encouragement would you offer to fellow developers who are considering or just starting to explore Catalyst for their own projects?

CM: Platforms like Catalyst as well as low-code platforms like Zoho Creator are incredibly accessible to you. The tools to build applications on the cloud are in your hands. So, go build something small. Then spend some time learning to do it better, in a cloud-native way. Then, bring your software dreams into the real world, in the cloud. You can do that, and the community can help you. So, what are you waiting for? It's time to bring your vision to life.

Stay tuned for our upcoming interviews, where we delve into the journeys of exceptional developers who have made their mark with Catalyst.

Note: If you're a developer and have used Catalyst to create an exceptional app, website, microservice, or solution, we'd love to feature you in our Meet the Makers series. Reach out to us and share your story of innovation and inspiration with the Catalyst community.

Happy coding!