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Marcus on the Code.Talks stage

Backendhance

Preventions for your Backend

We empower your team to develop faster, more efficiently, and pragmatically.

For a Healthy Backend

If the frontend is the skin, then the backend is the brain, organs, and circulatory system. A person, fit from the outside, is only as capable as their internals. And just like with humans, an internal problem in software only becomes apparent when it's too late.

We help companies take care of their inner health. Our projects are successful when you don't notice your backend. When your launch goes smoothly. When your customers can use the product as intended. When you onboard new customers to your platform - and it just works. Yes, when you develop as fast as you expect. And all that at lower costs than you're used to.

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12+ Years

Experience on the JVM

220+ Million

Users Served

The goal for [the] one-day workshop was to analyze the current situation to lay the foundation to make decisions on towards which direction we should develop our tech stack and development team. Before we started, my main concern was that we wouldn't be able in just one day to produce sufficient results, thus ending up without a valid roadmap. But that wasn't the case at all. Instead, we had a very effective workshop, which was also a lot of fun and exactly met our expectations. [...]

I am very satisfied with the result and would recommend Marcus to anyone who needs conceptual guidance in structuring their tech stack and/or technology team.

Marcus is an exceptional architect and developer whose technical proficiency and pragmatic approach make him stand out in my career. He possesses a deep understanding of the tools he works with and consistently delivers effective solutions to any challenge he faces. One of his strengths is his ability to question requirements and build only what is necessary, without overcomplicating things.

Working with Marcus always has been a pleasure, both on a personal and a professional level. Understanding the technology is one thing, guiding and motivating a team to deliver results often requires a different skillset. Marcus has both skills in his toolbox, highly recommend to work with him.

Backendhance - That's

Marcus Held

As the Head of Backend Engineering with 30 employees, he wanted to build the best backend department on the planet. But reality had other plans. Shortly before the launch of a client project, it was discovered that there was no monitoring and alerting in place. Another project generated so much data that operating costs skyrocketed. In the next project, exceptions were flying around, and data was getting corrupted in live operation. And yet another project had the longest development times with the largest team. He had failed. And he couldn't get it under control. His role demanded so much time that he couldn't help his team achieve technical excellence. That was unsatisfying. The backend enables the business. It shouldn't stand in the way. It shouldn't lead to frustration for the customer.

At that point, he decided to focus all his attention on it. He stepped down from his role as department head. And after more than a decade in backend development, he started Backendhance.

The Backend Serves the Product

After countless conversations with founders, engineering managers, project managers, and tech enthusiasts, we understand that a team doesn't just "need developers". The team needs a mentor, someone who enables the team with real-world experience and practical tips.

A backend serves the product. It empowers solving the problem for the user. And it does so smoothly and quickly. Backend applications are being developed everywhere, designed with high (unintentional) complexity. They incur high operational and maintenance costs. They run unreliably. High development costs and poor performance are the result. Our mission is to empower developers, project managers, architects, and teams. So that the project stays healthy and achieves its goal.

To achieve that, we develop workshops aimed at imparting the right mindset and the right tools to the team. They prevent the team from ending up in a dead end and enable them to make informed decisions.

Discover Workshops

Every team, every product is different. That's why we want to make you an offer that suits your situation. Get in touch with us.

Experience it live?

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code.talks 25.10.2019

Boost Your Development With Proper API Design

With more than 1,600 attendees, code.talks was the largest German developer conference in 2019. over 400 experienced live discussions on robust software design.

Watch on Youtube
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Spring NRW 12.10.2022

(k)lean JPA

Spring NRW is a cologne user group around development with Spring. Marcus presented his talk (k)lean JPA with updates from last year.

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Developer Meetup Essen 24.05.2023

Pragmatic Spring

There are many features in the Spring Framework. Marcus gave practical tips and tricks to implement the lessons from "The Pragmatic Programmer" with Spring.

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KKON 16.10.2023

Pragmatic Programming with Kotlin

How do you apply the philosophy of a Pragmatic Programmer with Kotlin? Marcus will explore this question at KKON in October.

Watch on Youtube
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RabbitMQ Summit 20.10.2023

Keynote: The Performance Mindset

What do I do when my product goes through the roof? How do I set my team up for the situation? In this keynote we look at the "Performance Mindset".

Watch on Youtube
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W-JAX 06. - 10.11.2023

The Performance Mindset

What do I do when my product goes through the roof? How do I set my team up for the situation? In this talk we look at the "Performance Mindset"

Have you heard of Marcus' Backend Newsletter?

New ideas. Twice a week!
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