Apart from spending time with his family, which is his favorite thing to do, reading voraciously, consuming audiobooks on-the-go and maintaining a healthy lifestyle as an avid fitness enthusiast, Ashley Crepsac develops applications for enterprises, processing millions of transactions per day.
$5 billion dollars. That’s the dollar amount on the app revenue generated by Crepsac’s highly-stable, sought-after software, and in addition, they process millions of transactions per day.
So, how does he do it? In this interview, we explore Ashley Crepsac’s guide to developing highly scalable enterprise applications.
Crepsac’s process for developing these enterprise applications relies on several core principles that he’s adhered to throughout his 20 years of experience.
“My capabilities include building and leading high performance delivery teams, designing and developing highly transactional enterprise applications and implementing them, as well as promoting best practices in aspects of the software development lifecycle,” Crepsac explains.
Ashley Crepsac’s holistic approach ensures that his projects not only meet but exceed the ever growing demands of the software development life cycle.
A huge factor of Crepsac’s success comes from his commitment to quality and reliability. He says that he places importance on “implementing code and guidelines, coding standards, good testing practices and more, just to ensure that these applications are up and running 99.9% of the time.”
His attention to detail has been pivotal in the seamless operation of applications that process millions of transactions daily and generate billions in revenue, and it’s supported by his ability to lead teams, and remain adaptable.
Leadership, according to Crepsac, goes beyond just management. You need to set the vision, foster a culture of high-performance, and be hands-on when necessary. “I was right there with developers whenever they needed my help, and I would put in as many hours. I would work just as hard as the people on my team,” he says, stressing the importance of leading by example.
Crepsac’s career also highlights the significance of being resilient and committing to lifelong learning.
“It helps when you actually like to learn. Your thirst for knowledge will make things easier,” says Crepsac.
It all started with his initial interest in civil engineering, and eventually he discovered his passion for computer science. Crepsac then had the opportunity to work in roles across major organizations. “They were all doing some really interesting things,” says Crepsac, who worked for IBM, Sony Latin America, IHG, and BellSouth among others.
“I would tell anybody who wants to follow in my footsteps and develop scalable enterprise applications to embrace change.”
Ashley Crepsac’s educational background, with a bachelor’s in computer science and a minor in mathematics did provide a strong foundation, but ultimately, it was his search for knowledge and improvement that propelled him forward. It’s perhaps for this reason why he can be found reading a book for at least a couple hours a day.
The transition from individual contributor further encouraged Ashley Crepsac to learn more and it broadened his impact.
“During my time at IHG, I led the development of IHG’s core system which supported multiple platforms. This core system was mainly built on Java and started out as ATG Dynamo, but we moved to Java implementing the Spring framework,” he recalls. He says this was a project that not only challenged him technically but also increased his confidence and demonstrated his ability to guide his team through complex, large-scale initiatives.
Crepsac’s influence goes far beyond just his career, however. He’s also dedicated to community service, mentoring at-risk youth, and commits his time to humanitarian efforts.
“Who you choose to be in life is reflected in everything you do, and that carries over to the workplace,” says Crepsac.
Crepsac understands the importance of giving back, and he’s grateful for the opportunities his career has afforded him.
“Helping people who are less fortunate, and, you know, trying to eliminate hunger and do as much as I can to make sure that people have adequate food to eat is very important to me,” he says. He also believes technology has the ability to drive positive change in society, and this makes his career sustainable and worth waking up to in the morning.
Ashley Crepsac sets an excellent example for anybody who wants to get involved in software engineering. He says that his success is not just a product of his technical acumen but also his leadership philosophy.
“It’s about community spirit, and a need to learn and improve, even if that means watching a fitness video on YouTube,” says Crepsac.
His journey offers invaluable insights for anyone looking to make a mark in the ever-evolving world of technology and beyond.
