John is a seasoned software engineer with nearly three decades of programming experience, bringing deep expertise in web technologies, digital libraries, and big data. After a decade at Veridian, he took time away to complete a PhD in Computer Science and pursue other ventures. John recently rejoined the Veridian team, bringing with him new perspectives and knowledge. His versatility, problem-solving mindset, and ability to adapt to any project make him an invaluable member of the team.
What motivated you to return to Veridian after your PhD?
Leaving the team in 2013 was a tough call—but with a PhD underway and a baby on the way, it was the right time to take a breather.
Fast forward a few years: I’d completed my PhD, and LIC invited me to join their Business Analyst Team, where I also took on the role of Agile Project Manager. Cloud technology had always been a passion of mine, and I was keen to keep my coding skills sharp—so I later accepted a Cloud Architect role with a leading technology consultancy.
I learnt a lot in that time, but I found myself missing the good old days at Veridian—where we had the flexibility to build closer, long-term relationships with clients. That kind of connection meant we could offer more tailored advice, better service, and ultimately deliver more meaningful impact.
So I reached out to Stefan—and now I’m back doing what I love: delighting customers.
How has your PHD influenced your approach to projects?
Many of the lessons I learned about scale and “big data” have continued to serve me well. When I left Veridian, a collection with a few million pages felt daunting—but then I went on to build a 40-million-document collection and another with real-time streaming video. That’s when I truly understood what large-scale challenges look like.
The PhD process also taught me how to conduct thorough background research, document rigorously, and critically evaluate my own work—skills sharpened through the intense preparation for defending my thesis in front of subject-matter experts.
What excites you most about the future of your field of work?
Right now, digital libraries have unexpectedly found themselves on the front lines in the battle against AI scraping—despite their traditionally quiet, bookish image. The reason? Their digital collections are a veritable gold mine for generative and large language AI models, sparking what feels like a new gold rush.
Unfortunately, the scale at which AI-scraping bots are evolving firmly place this challenge in the realm of Big Data—far too fast for humans to handle alone. So ironically, we’ll need to fight AI with AI. There’s a certain rush in that challenge, and a definite sense of pride when a new solution takes hold. At the risk of stretching the analogy a step further, it’s like we’re the gunslingers of the new (Web) Wild West.
I’m also excited to start leveraging more cloud-first architecture to support larger, more complex projects. And I’ve been experimenting with WebAssembly (WASM) to offload processor-heavy tasks away from the server, which provides a more responsive experience for the user while also freeing up the server to focus on other tasks.
What do you think the industry has to look forward to?
Definitely better ways of searching non-textual data. AI is also much better at understanding and comparing images, and web technology (HTML5) now allows users to interact with sophisticated visual content like 3D models directly in their browsers.
On the flip side, distinguishing genuine users of digital collections from scrapers and bots has become much trickier. Bots have grown increasingly sophisticated—so much so that when they started passing “human-detecting” reCAPTCHAs better than actual humans.
Maybe it’s time to flip the script i.e. develop a reCAPTCHA that only a human would fail. Something like: “Solve this 4th-order Runge-Kutta equation and choose the correct answer” and have one of the options “Runge-what?”
What have been some interesting or rewarding projects you've worked on?
There have been so many memorable ones, but a few stand out. The early work of integrating Lucene into Papers Past—which Michael later refined into the first BasePages collection—was a major highlight. You could argue that was the origin story of Veridian itself.
The Polynesian Voyaging Society project was the first time I was handed a set of beautifully designed images and had to bring them to life in a Greenstone collection. It pushed me to think differently about how we present collections.
The Historic Campus Architecture Project (HCAP) was especially rewarding. I got to embed some of the earliest implementations of map panning and zooming for floorplans of stunning campus buildings.
Working with John Rowe on Tasker (Veridian’s resource planning tool) and the Sudan Open Archive was also great fun—we inadvertently invented something a lot like jQuery, and something not too far from WordPress. Ah, when you look back and see missed potential.
In Switzerland they have a centralised national login system called eIAM for web and mobile applications. I had the chance to integrate eIAM authentication into the Swiss National Library digital collection, building on the groundwork Michael had laid with Google, Microsoft, and Facebook login. That was a deep dive into complex identity management—and incredibly satisfying when it all came together.
If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?
Niccolò MachiavellI - the "Black Prince" - might get a bad rap, but he’s arguably the OG Business Analyst (albeit with a Renaissance twist). I’d be fascinated to hear what he makes of today’s political landscape.
Of course, in my head, I like to imagine him as the Assassin’s Creed version of his namesake—cloak, charisma, and all.
Favourite snack during work hours?
Is coffee a snack? ☕
When I’m working from home, I have a computer-side stash of Vinegar and Salt Snacka Changi Chips ("They said it couldn't be done, but we put the vinegar in first!")