21 Lessons from 21 Years in Technology
When Sphere started in 2005, the first iPhone was still two years away. Twenty-one years later, the biggest lessons turned out not to be about technology at all.
- Katya SavenkovaDirector of Operations
In this article
- The next project is never “just another project.”
- Trust takes years to build.
- Great companies are built by people who stay curious.
- Every few years, there’s a new “future.”
- New job titles appear all the time.
- Technology is only part of the solution.
- Security becomes part of everything.
- Remote work changed where we work, not what makes teams work well together.
- Some conversations are still better in person.
- Sharing knowledge makes everyone better.
- Companies evolve.
- Simplicity is underrated.
- Experience matters most when it’s shared.
- There’s rarely just one right answer.
- AI is changing our industry, and that’s exciting.
- Great engineering needs strong support around it.
- Technical skills are only part of the equation.
- Complicated problems are rarely solved alone.
- Long-term companies are built in the day-to-day.
- Reinvention is part of the job.
- The work is never really finished.
When Sphere started in 2005, Facebook had just begun expanding beyond universities. The first iPhone was still two years away. “Cloud” wasn’t yet part of everyday business vocabulary, and artificial intelligence belonged mostly to research papers rather than boardrooms.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned since then, it’s that technology changes much faster than people expect, and much slower than headlines suggest. Looking back, it’s amazing how many “next big things” have come and gone since then.
We realized that the biggest lessons weren’t really about technology at all. They were about people, relationships, curiosity, and knowing when to embrace change — and when to wait.
Here are twenty-one things the journey has taught us.
1. The next project is never “just another project.”
Every long-term partnership starts somewhere. Ours started with a handful of clients who trusted a young company with important work. We tried to earn that trust on every engagement, and it became the foundation for everything that followed.
2. Trust takes years to build.
One of the things we’re most proud of is that some of our clients have been working with us for more than 15 years. During those years, we’ve seen new programming languages emerge, cloud computing become the norm, mobile reshape user expectations, and AI become part of everyday business. The projects changed, but the partnership didn’t.
3. Great companies are built by people who stay curious.
One of our colleagues recently celebrated 18 years at Sphere. Eighteen years in technology doesn’t mean doing the same job for 18 years. It means constantly learning, adapting, and reinventing yourself.
Over nearly two decades, they’ve worked with technologies that didn’t exist when they joined us. That’s probably the only way to have a long career in this industry.
4. Every few years, there’s a new “future.”
If you’ve worked in technology long enough, you’ve seen the cycle: SOA, cloud, mobile, DevOps, microservices, blockchain, AI. Some of these fundamentally changed how we build software. Others created more excitement than lasting impact.
We’ve learned not to ask whether something is new. We ask whether it solves a real problem.
5. New job titles appear all the time.
When Sphere started, nobody called themselves a DevOps engineer. Today, there are Kubernetes specialists, prompt engineers, AI architects, and roles we couldn’t have imagined twenty years ago.
It makes us wonder what job titles we’ll all be using twenty years from now.
6. Technology is only part of the solution.
Clients often come to us asking for an integration or a migration. A few conversations later, we usually discover the real challenge lies elsewhere — in the business process, the data, or the way different teams work together.
Understanding that is often the most valuable part of the project.
7. Security becomes part of everything.
Years ago, security was something many companies thought about at the end of a project. Today, it’s part of every conversation from day one.
Achieving SOC 2 compliance was an important milestone for us, not because of the certification itself, but because it reflected the standards we wanted to hold ourselves to.
8. Remote work changed where we work, not what makes teams work well together.
Years before remote work became mainstream, we were already hiring talented people regardless of where they lived. It wasn’t because remote work was fashionable. It was because we didn’t want geography to decide who we could work with.
9. Some conversations are still better in person.
Over the years, we’ve experimented with different ways of bringing people together. There were team gatherings, SphereCon, technical meetups, volunteer initiatives, and countless informal conversations that had nothing to do with project plans.
Not every tradition lasts forever, and that’s okay. What stays the same is the importance of creating opportunities for people to learn from each other and build relationships beyond day-to-day work.
10. Sharing knowledge makes everyone better.
We’ve always enjoyed talking about technology outside of client projects. Over the years, we’ve organized meetups and technical discussions in different countries — not to sell our services, but because we genuinely like exchanging ideas with other people in the industry.
Some of those conversations have turned into partnerships, some into friendships, and some have simply given us a different way of looking at a problem.
11. Companies evolve.
Over 21 years, we’ve expanded into new services, entered new markets, moved our headquarters from Illinois to Florida, and refreshed our brand with a new logo.
Looking back, none of those felt like defining moments on their own. But together, they tell the story of how we’ve grown.
12. Simplicity is underrated.
We’ve learned that nobody ever calls to compliment a system because it’s technically impressive.
They call because it quietly does its job every day.
13. Experience matters most when it’s shared.
Over the years, we’ve learned that experience cannot live with only one person, one team, or one project. The real value comes from turning what we learn into better processes, stronger teams, clearer documentation, and smarter decisions the next time around.
That is how company knowledge grows. People join, grow, move into new roles, and sometimes return with a new perspective. What matters is that the lessons stay with the organization and continue helping our teams and clients move forward.
14. There’s rarely just one right answer.
One thing we’ve learned after hundreds of projects is that the same problem can have very different solutions. What works for one company may be completely wrong for another.
That’s why we try to understand the business first and recommend the approach that fits — not the one that’s currently getting the most attention.
15. AI is changing our industry, and that’s exciting.
Like every major shift before it, AI is creating new opportunities for our clients and new challenges for our teams.
We’re excited to explore what’s possible, but we approach it the same way we’ve approached every new technology over the past 21 years: with curiosity, healthy skepticism, and a focus on solving real business problems.
16. Great engineering needs strong support around it.
When Sphere was small, almost everyone was an engineer. As we grew, so did the teams supporting them: Project Management, HR, Finance, Operations, Sales, Marketing, and more.
Building a company isn’t just about hiring great developers. It’s about creating the structure, support, and focus they need to solve problems well.
17. Technical skills are only part of the equation.
We’ve worked with enough people to know that great engineers don’t just write good code.
They communicate well, help each other, and keep learning throughout their careers.
18. Complicated problems are rarely solved alone.
The most interesting problems are rarely solved by one person. They require different perspectives, honest debate, and people who are willing to challenge each other’s thinking.
Over the years, we’ve learned that the best solutions usually come from teams that are curious, collaborative, and comfortable working through complexity together.
19. Long-term companies are built in the day-to-day.
Nobody comes to work thinking they’re building a 21-year-old company.
You’re thinking about the project that’s due next week, the client meeting this afternoon, or helping a new teammate get up to speed. Then one day, someone mentions that a former colleague’s son or daughter has joined the company, and you realize just how much time has passed.
The milestone happens slowly, through years of small decisions, steady work, and people showing up for each other.
20. Reinvention is part of the job.
The company we are today looks very different from the one we started in 2005.
That’s exactly how it should be. Staying relevant means being willing to learn, adapt, and occasionally rethink what you thought you knew.
21. The work is never really finished.
After 21 years, one thing is clear: there is always another problem to solve, another system to improve, another idea to explore, and another client challenge that pushes us to think differently.
That is what keeps this work interesting. Technology keeps changing, businesses keep evolving, and the opportunity to build something better never really goes away.
Frequently asked questions
Thank You for Being Part of the Journey
Twenty-one years feels like the right moment to say thank you — to our team, our clients, our partners, and everyone who has helped shape Sphere’s story.
We’re proud of what has been built, grateful for the trust placed in us, and excited to keep helping organizations build what’s next.
If there’s something you’re trying to build, start a conversation — year twenty-two starts here.
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