MANGO Madness, Cloud Chaos, and What's Next in Tech for 2026

Welcome back to What's in Motion, your go-to newsletter for actionable insights and advice tailored to tech job seekers and hiring managers.

Every month we offer practical career tips, hiring strategies, industry trends, and more to help you navigate the ever-evolving tech landscape.

In this month's issue...

• MANGO Madness: The AI titans taking over tech
• Cloud Chaos: What recent outages reveal about digital fragility
• What’s Next in Tech: Top takeaways from the 2026 Tech Salary Guide

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What’s top of mind for our clients, customers, and event community members.

💰 AI, Budgets & the Bottom Line: A Tech Leadership Roundtable [Tech in Motion—78 mins]

ICYMI, Tech in Motion recently hosted a panel of Philadelphia's top tech executives to discuss how companies can drive real ROI with AI amid tighter budgets, leaner teams, and rising risks. Watch on demand to hear insights on separating hype from high-impact investments, scaling pilots responsibly, and building trust, governance, and clear ROI metrics.

⏲️ 4 Steps to Speed Up Code Reviews [LeadDev—6 mins]

Code reviews can improve code quality, catch risks early, and foster team learning, but they often frustrate and slow teams when handled poorly. Clear expectations, consistent practices, early feedback, and constructive guidance help reviews stay productive and collaborative while building trust across the team.

💻 Can Low-Code No-Code Tools Really Help Professional Developers? [Motion Blog—7 mins]

Low-code and no-code tools aren’t just for beginners anymore. Experienced developers can use them to speed prototypes, cut repetitive work, and collaborate more closely with business teams. Used strategically, they boost output and innovation, though teams still need to watch for scalability, security, and governance challenges.

The latest trends shaping the tech industry, from emerging innovations to must-know insights.

🥭 MANGO is the new FAANG [Axios—3 mins]

FAANG once ruled the tech world, with each company leading its own domain like social media, streaming, or search. Today, MANGO defines the new era, as Microsoft, Anthropic, Nvidia, Google DeepMind, and OpenAI drive AI innovation, shape industry priorities, and make headlines daily.

☁️ The Microsoft Azure Outage Shows the Harsh Reality of Cloud Failures [Wired—3 mins]

A configuration mishap took Azure offline, impacting 365 services, Xbox, and Minecraft. Coming just days after another major cloud outage, the incident underscores the hidden vulnerabilities of a digital world built on just a few hyperscalers and raises questions about resilience as AI infrastructure grows.

⚡ Why the AI Industry Is Betting on a Fusion Energy Breakthrough [TIME — 7 mins]

AI needs more power than ever, and fusion energy could be the answer. Startups are racing to reach engineering break-even, which could deliver reliable, carbon-free energy and reshape how the world produces and uses electricity.

Resources and insights for navigating the ever-changing tech job market.

This month, we’re featuring a special edition of Recruiter’s Digest highlighting a few top insights from our newly launched 2026 Tech Salary Guide.

🔎 For Job Seekers

🔶 Leverage your network: Referrals are powerful. 40% lead to interviews and 16% to job offers. Reach out to former colleagues, mentors, and industry contacts to gain an edge.

🔶 Keep doors open: Boomerang hires are common, with 65% of new information sector hires in March 2025 returning to previous employers. Maintaining positive relationships with past employers can create future opportunities.

🔶 Stand out with skills and credibility: Update and verify your resume carefully, as hiring managers are increasingly cautious of fake applications. Upskilling, especially in AI, gives you an advantage since fewer than 25% of workers are completing AI training at work.

💼 For Hiring Managers

🔷 Rethink how you engage talent: With large transformation projects scaling back, use project-based, consulting, or statement-of-work roles to keep initiatives moving, retain top talent, and evaluate potential long-term hires before committing to full-time roles.

🔷 Prioritize AI upskilling: Nearly half of leaders are focusing on AI training, but only 25% of employees are receiving it. Investing in targeted training strengthens your team, improves retention, and keeps your organization competitive.

🔷 Adopt modern work arrangements: Hybrid schedules and four-day workweeks are gaining traction. Only 14% of businesses currently use a four-day week, but interest is growing. These flexible models can boost productivity, reduce turnover, and support employee well-being.

🔗 For a complete view of hiring trends, workplace shifts, and AI’s impact on the industry, plus salary benchmarks for 100+ tech roles, download your 2026 Tech Salary Guide today.

Tech industry and job market insights at a glance.

🗣️ Quote

“Shadow AI thrives in silence. When managers turn a blind eye and there’s no clear policy, employees assume it’s fine to use whatever tool gets the job done. That’s how sensitive data ends up in places it should never be. AI use in the workplace should never live in a gray zone...”

- Žilvinas Girėnas, Head of Product at nexos.ai on the risks of unregulated AI use in the workplace [59% of employees use unapproved AI tools at work]

📈 Stat

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of global executives say they’re moving away from requiring degrees and focusing more on a skills-based hiring approach [Future-Proof Your Career: Insights from the Re:work Report]

💰 Salary Range

LLM Developer | $143,571-$209,130 [2026 Tech Salary Guide]

That’s all for this edition of What's in Motion—be sure to share and subscribe to be notified when our next issue drops. Until then...

📕 Download your free copy of the 2026 Tech Salary Guide

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