Alexander Mihaylov has been working as a software engineer at Paysafe for 5 years. He graduated in Information Technology in the Netherlands, then did an internship and started working in Bulgaria. He has worked for several Bulgarian companies. He spends his free time with his family, traveling, and in the winter, he spends most of his days off skiing.

Why did you choose Java and its ecosystem?

I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about Java at university, but my professional path led me to it in a very logical way. I started with data science and BI, then at Paysafe I mainly worked with Oracle and PL/SQL.

Gradually, while working on real projects, I began to get into Java through smaller tasks. I liked the structure, the capabilities of the language, and the strong ecosystem, especially in the context of large payment systems.

Over time, Java proved to be a natural extension of what I was doing. It provided stability, a rich ecosystem, strong tooling, and excellent integration with the architecture and SDKs we use at Paysafe. I moved from small tasks to more complex initiatives, and at one point I simply found myself in a role where Java was my main tool, and it was completely conscious and logical.

How has your work as a Java programmer changed in recent years?

My work as a Java engineer has changed significantly in recent years.

The language and ecosystem are evolving rapidly, which has reduced boilerplate code and increased productivity, making work more enjoyable.

Also, almost everything is now cloud-based. Technologies such as AWS bring enormous advantages, but this also means that programmers now need to be much more familiar with cloud architecture rather than focusing purely on their code.

The pace of work is also more dynamic. Releases are more frequent and require constant learning and adaptation.

The biggest change is the advent of AI, which I use as a tool for discussing ideas and speeding up routine tasks, but not for critical implementations. It is a valuable assistant, but it requires a careful and responsible approach.

Which new technologies or versions of Java do you think will have the greatest impact in 2025?

Over the past 10 years or so, the Java ecosystem has undergone continuous improvements. This applies to the language itself, as well as to the JVM and accompanying Java tools.

In my opinion, the technology that has had and will continue to have the greatest impact is undoubtedly Project Loom.

For me, this is a revolution in Java—virtual threads enable huge improvements in system performance and scalability without the need for particularly complex changes to the existing code or additional infrastructure resources.

Added to this are Structured Concurrency and Scoped Values, which further improve Java’s concurrency model and lead to more efficient management of parallel tasks.

At the same time, developments in the JVM and improvements in garbage collection make the ecosystem faster, lighter, and better optimized for cloud environments, a factor that is key for modern platforms and microservice architectures.

To what extent can Java adapt to cloud environments, microservices, and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)?

I think Java is quite successful in adapting to industry requirements, mainly due to the development of the JVM itself, as well as frameworks such as Spring.

For example, effective management of hardware resources such as memory and CPU, due to the fact that the JVM is “resource-aware” to the container in which the application is deployed.

At the same time, modern Garbage Collection algorithms reduce overhead and make applications more stable and economical in cloud infrastructure.

The Spring Boot + Spring Cloud stack itself is the de facto standard in application development, specifically microservices in cloud environments.

It provides tools for service discovery, load balancing, centralized configuration, and much more.

This enables the Java ecosystem to create standalone, lightweight, fast-starting, fast, and easily scalable applications.

In my opinion, Java is not just adapting, but rather setting the standard in the industry.

What is the role of the open-source community and how does it support the development of Java?

The open-source community is perhaps one of the biggest forces behind the popularity and development of the ecosystem.

The OpenJDK project allows many companies and individual engineers to contribute improvements to the language, JVM, and tooling, which accelerates innovation and eliminates the risk of dependence on a single vendor. Without this model, the evolution of Java would be significantly slower and probably more expensive.

Open JDK allows everyone to have their own distribution, which they control without relying on a single vendor, and to use it according to their needs.

Many of today’s technologies in the ecosystem are due to it: Spring, Maven, Gradle, and many others arose precisely because the community had to solve a practical problem. Imagine dependency management without Maven/Gradle.

Every programmer can also challenge themselves and try to improve their skills by reviewing or even trying to contribute to an open source project.

I personally haven’t gotten there yet, but maybe in the future.

In short, I think that much of Java’s progress is due precisely to the active, strong, and innovative open-source culture behind it.

How do you keep your knowledge up to date in such a dynamic environment?

I try to keep my knowledge up to date by regularly reading articles, documentation, and technical blogs when time allows. Although I don’t always manage to pay attention to all the books and materials, I try to keep up with key developments in the ecosystem.

The team environment also plays a big role: conversations with colleagues, code reviews, and working on common tasks often reveal new approaches and technologies.

In my opinion, learning from other engineers is one of the most valuable things, regardless of position. The possibilities of the language are endless, and there is always something new to learn.

Here, I need to give a shoutout to one of my colleagues, Stefan Ivanov, who also works at Paysafe. He was the one who opened my eyes to virtual threads, which I had overlooked. Exactly one month later, I was already using them.

Do you think Java will remain one of the leading languages, and why?

I am convinced that Java will remain among the leading languages for many years to come. A huge part of global software—corporate systems, critical infrastructure, and government applications—is built on Java, and such a foundation cannot be replaced easily or quickly.

In practice, there is no other language that has proven itself and can consistently do a better job.

When we add the continuous innovations in the language and the JVM, as well as the strong open-source community, Java not only maintains its position but continues to evolve and become more accessible and attractive to new engineers.

The material and image are provided by Paysafe