Martin Snyman

Husband / Father / Creative / Digital Engineer / Mentor / Innovator / Nature Lover 🌎

Just for the ❤️ of it



My birth name is Martinus Snyman and I am an English speaking, white skinned, African male - Proudly manufactured in sunny South Africa 🇿🇦

My professional career began in 1990. At the age of 19 I started working, in a corporate environment, at a large financial institution in Braamfontein South Africa.

My key responsibility revolved around the task of sorting reams of continuous-form mainframe print-outs 🖨

I would later disseminate these across the many varied departments that make up a large multi-national institution of the day 🏢

Years later, fondly reflecting on this opportunity to start at the bottom, I developed, nurtured and continue to value introspection and retrospection in all that I undertake.

Each of the line departments in the company had their designated report(s) and each were responsible for handling the processing tasks associated.

Departments expected their inputs promptly on arrival, which spurred and fostered an enduring love for the planning to plan (a.k.a. 'test early, test often') methodology when dealing with any task at hand 🎖

I appreciated the delivery route depositing reports to the inboxes on each department leaders desk 📫. 

I enjoyed stopping and having a chat with those who were settling in for their day at the office ⛲

Over time, my love of learning helped me to understand each of the reports and the work they would initiate 🚀.

Deeply unaware of it back then, I was indirectly smoothing my introverted nature from some of the uncultured burs and thorns 🌹, which would later serve me in innumerable ways (💾) => {return 💿};

Later, I came to realise that open and honest communication amongst stakeholders inevitably also shares the most valuable domain knowledge, most effectively. That we must actively choose to grow and share using cross pollination instead of cross contamination, and that a common ground is always available.

I worked across each of these line departments in the years that followed. 

Endowed with a deeper, broad based understanding of the inner workings across the largest possible cross-section of the organisation left me educated in ways that are hard to quantify 💌

This same organisation sponsored my adventures into software by providing me with training and funding to become a "Junior Programmer" responsible for the batch and online systems that had so fundamentally shaped me years before.



After reading the first part of this "Introduction", the keen eye (or intelligently backed data-scientist behind any data-scraping tool) would quite clearly note that I have extensive experience in  multiple SDLC methodologies. My "old school" work ethos affords me a 'bottom up' sensibility which in turn offers my services as a  sustainable and broad minded developer that is not afraid to take on unwanted or difficult to delegate responsibilities.

"In an ever changing landscape - where the 55th percentile aims, consistently, to stay ahead of the curve ~  success is best measured relative to the journey we wish to take"... Martin Snyman.

STL;WR (even longer) 📚

Systems innovations; Technical Auditing; Data Science Explorer;

Laymen with more than 25 years of development experience focussing on Java and Spring Framework backed projects. A love for open source tooling within both code and no-code solution spaces.


"If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done"

Thomas Jefferson


Interests and Hobbies


Enterprise Services and Interoperability, Learning and Teaching

Nature and nurture.

All individuals learn to integrate with the world around them through the years of growth ⛹

From the children we parent to the systems we build, evidence of Nature and Nurture educate the philosophical mind with the means to integrate and optimise in an ever changing landscape 🏭 while remaining balanced and forward thinking 👽

My twin interests in science and art blend perfectly in the ongoing study and explorations found in "integration". Whether contemplating a design for a weatherproof entrance or designing a Service Bus to integrate with ever-shifting supplier API, the age old time vs. money tradeoff remains a foreground driver.

Ultimately -- even integrating the tightly woven dependencies between abstract choices of "now" and "later" -- huge values are found in the willingness and bravery of both student and master 🎓.


My Latest Hobby

While self-building a country cabin I'm learning the value of physical and mental fitness for the task at hand 🏡

Finding an appropriate balance between the engineering, resourceslongevity and sustainability remains a constant reminder of the fragility and precious nature 👶 of all the opportunities we as people, leaders and organisations or institutions are afforded 💸.

The goal is to develop a miniature homestead with a focus on economic and environmental sustainability. To explore un-orthodox (at least in the developed world) building techniques and to slowly root and nurture a food farm across the shared space.

We began our endeavour on a small piece of undeveloped land near the coastline (near to where my wife had grown up as a child). While our progress falters and our pace remains uncertain, we've been adventuring in this rough-land for nearly a year and the familial consensus remains "worth every scrape and bruise"!

I've marvelled at the parallel challenges reminiscent of years spent as a Systems Architect and Solutions Engineer where I've (also) learned much about the trade-offs and cost/benefit ratios of maintaining forward momentum.


Passion for data and real world stories

As individuals, organisations and institutions face each day with it's innumerable choices,  one simple social media post, bad-hire or poorly timed technology selection can result in far reaching unexpected ramifications.

I have had a very African-centric perspective on "History" with it's culturally diverse and economically challenged population. This perspective has afforded me many lessons with regards to the dissemination and  accuracies (or contradictions) often presented by the regular history sources. These lessons have educated and sensitised me, providing me with insights and treasured relationships that continue to challenge and nourish my world-view.

Story telling also, beautifully distilled in history text books or publications of great historical figures. often provide the avid "student" with insights and delightfully refreshing revelations (It also adds enormously to the vivid and surreal experiences when visiting Museums and memorial sites. I credit this love of history for shaping and inspiring my own writing and 'story telling' abilities.

Open Source

"Free as in speech, not beer"

There is barely a single organisation that can thrive in the world today without some form of digital footprint.

As an early adopter that has been involved in all things internet since the early "pre-connected" years; I am constantly involved through youth-mentorship programmes, community groups or charities and fund raisers.

Bringing my professional (earns the bread) skills home to share with family and friends has, in kind, shown that open source software shares many parallels to every day life and societal existence.

I revel in exploring software from both "indie" and "institutional" open-source projects and have designed principles and practices to benefit from the strengths and avoid the pitfalls of developing an "open source" mind-set and open source (FOSS) platforms.



Where personal and professional become harder to discern,

Through the years I have gathered a deep interest in the business sectors of Finance,  Mentorship,   Education and Learning (with a particular interest in e-Learning modalities).

My career has afforded me the opportunity of working in many sectors including Insurance (Life/Health), Tertiary Education, Job Creation Programmes, Monitoring and Evaluation for both corporate and NGO's.

I have also participated in commercial endeavours in Banking, Financial Markets (Stock Exchange), Marketing and Advertising.

My experience has allowed me to further my knowledge and understanding within Math, Compression, Cryptography, Blockchain, Big Data and Data Science circles and I actively pursue these interests with vigour.


Let’s Connect

👤 Virtually Present 👾  Professionally Accessible:👨

+27 79 426 0642

Skype: msnyman118


+27 79 426 0642

©2020 by Martin Snyman.