Who Uses Go? Companies That Use Go and What Go Is Used For

In 2007, Google wanted to improve its programming efficiency for its networked machines with concurrent users using multicore processors and extensive databases. Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson came up with Go. In March 2012, Go was one of the coding languages that became available to the public. The latest version is 1.17, released on August 16, 2021. 

Go became popular among developers because it’s a simple, type-safe language, and it’s one of the easiest programming languages to learn. In this article, we will discuss who uses Go and what it’s used for, including the type of professionals that use it.

What Is Go?

Go is one of the leading modern coding languages that emphasizes simplicity, reliability, and execution speed. Go developers mixed the practical and efficient language features of other popular languages. It combines C’s static typing and fast execution time with Python’s and JavaScript’s simple and concise readable syntax. In addition, it has built-in functions like memory safety through using virtual memory, garbage collection, and static type checking.

Go is used for front end and backend services. The built-in testing frameworks are great for backend projects. Backend developers can utilize Go to meet server-side requirements that need as little memory as possible. It also doesn’t lag even with a network of concurrent multi-users. Many businesses are using this modern programming language for this reason.

How Popular Is Go?

Go is gaining a foothold as a scripting language for developers. It is the primary language of choice for those using Google products. Below are some facts that attest to the popularity of Go. 

• It ranked 13th for most popular programming language worldwide. Based on the Popularity of Programming Language (PYPL) index as of January 2022, Go is ranked 13 most popular, worldwide. 
• It gained more popularity in 2022 than it had in 2021. In the TIOBE Index for January 2022, Go went up to thirteenth place from fourteenth place in 2021.
• Go is the fourteenth most commonly used programming language for developers. According to Insight’s 2021 Developer Survey, more than 10 percent of its respondents reported using it. Moreover, 62.74 percent of those that had taken the survey said that they love using Go.

What Is Go Used For? 

Initially, Go was designed and used for high-performance networking and infrastructure programs. Over the years, various industries and business sectors have adopted the use of Go because of its superior processing of large workloads. Listed below are some of the uses of Go.

Cloud-Based Application Development

Go is excellent for various cloud services and computing platforms. It is ideal for a large cloud-distributed system and scalable network servers. Go is used to develop different cloud-computing tools, like Dockers and Kubernetes, and the cloud-based email service of Google, known as Gmail. Major cloud services providers, such as Microsoft’s Azure and AWS Lambda, have switched to Go.

Operate and Maintain Media Platforms 

Go is the primary language that runs and manages music broadcasts on SoundCloud and video streams on YouTube. These online media platforms have extensive volumes of data on their virtual memory and cache service that needs to be accessed and distributed to their vast user base.

Go’s HSL protocols and speedy executions are perfect for concurrent users and network needs, providing consumers with smooth streaming and minimal disruptions.

Online Booking Systems

Online booking systems on service apps like Uber, Delivery Hero, and Trivago, are made with Go. Uber’s Geobase is written in Go, while Delivery Hero’s microservice cloud-based architecture uses Docker and Kubernetes cloud tools created with Go. Go makes it easy to manage apps and seamlessly them with other platforms. Moreover, the lines of code for order services and payments are easy to configure and expand. 

Cyber Security

Cyber security is gaining popularity and is expected to continue to grow as an industry. The static typing of Go, which is used in servers and cloud environments, is ideal for cyber security. 1Password protects the passwords and valuable, sensitive business information of over 60,000 enterprises. Its backend server, the 1Password Administrator Tools, was made with Go. 

List of Go Companies: Overview

List of Companies That Use Go, Expanded

Besides Google, many companies started using Go as their language of choice for their coding needs. Below you will find detailed information about the ten most well-known companies that use Go.

1Password

1Password is the most popular secure enterprise password manager. It’s the easiest and safest way to store logins, passwords, and other valuable, sensitive information like credit card details. 1Password’s backend server uses the Go language for its administrator tools. It allows business owners to manage 1Password for their company, making account recovery easy and secure. 

Average Salaries for 1Password Employees Who Use Go

• Senior Full Stack Engineer | $155,000
• Front End Web Development Engineer | $108,000
• Desktop Software Developer | $97,000

Alibaba

Alibaba is an international technology company engaged in ecommerce, retail, and technology. Its container engine, PouchContainer, was written in Go. It can run any program with high isolation, low storage requirements, and a shorter runtime. PouchContainer was deployed across hundreds of nodes, resulting in secure and seamless online transactions on Alibaba’s app and website.

Average Salaries for Alibaba Employees Who Use Go

• Front End Web Developer | $115,000
• DevOps Engineer | $152,000
• Distribution Systems Engineer | $100,000

American Express

American Express (Amex) is globally known for its credit card products and integrated payments processing. In 2016, Amex looked for a programming language with high concurrency and low latency for its payments and rewards platform. Amex tested Go along with other programming languages, and it outperformed the others, living up to its claims. Also, Go’s garbage collector helped improve Amex’s real-time transaction processing. 

Average Salaries for American Express Employees Who Use Go

• DevOps Engineer | $112,000
• Database Engineer | $121,751
• App Developer | $106,619

Capital One

Capital One is an American bank holding company. It specializes in tech-driven financial products such as credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts. One of its offerings is the Credit Offers API, which allows affiliate partners like CreditCards.com and Bankrate to show users various credit card options. Created in 2016 with Go, the API would recognize if a customer received a product offer or promo. 

Average Salaries for Capital One Employees Who Use Go

• Automation Engineer | $108,655
• Database Developer | $118,540
• Cloud Engineer | $128,780

Dropbox

Dropbox is a cloud storage, file syncing, and client software service. Because of the company’s rising user base, it needed to find new ways to scale systems effectively. Dropbox’s performance-critical backends were moved from Python to Go for greater concurrency support and speedier runtime. 

It also released several Golang libraries to aid in the improvement of cache services and the standard error interface. In 2020, Dropbox began transitioning to a serverless managed platform. The goal is to reduce code tangles and the engineering teams’ workload. 

Average Salaries for Dropbox Employees Who Use Go

• Automation Engineer | $138,787
• Infrastructure Engineer | $180,286
• Machine Learning Engineer | $167,757

Riot Games

Riot Games, Inc. is a video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer. Riot Games is best known for its flagship product, League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena game. Its developers use Go on most of its coding needs. 

Docker runtime is utilized by the deployment tool to install and manage the lifecycle of services. From supervising a gaming server operation to purchasing various products, Riot Games’ entire backend microservice architecture is built on Go services.

Average Salaries for Riot Games Employees Who Use Go

• DevOps Engineer | $130,224
• Infrastructure Engineer | $121,784
• Platform Engineer | $183,486

Samsara

Samsara Inc. is an Internet of Things (IoT) company that designs and manufactures sensor systems with cloud-based analytics and remote networking. Its Go-based industrial IoT platform keeps track of vehicle and equipment fleets.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) safety programs, real-time visibility, and an integrated ecosystem are all part of the platform. Samsara’s backend services run on Go, including their own open-source GraphQ, cloud settings, and firmware.

Average Salaries for Samsara Employees Who Use Go

• Backend Developer | $192,000
• Full Stack Engineer | $188,692
• Application Developer | $100,753

Slack

Slack is a commercial collaboration and communication application with over 10 million users. Many IRC-style features are available, including permanent chat rooms grouped by topic, private groups, and direct messaging. Due to its growing user base, Slack developers had to find ways to enhance feature performance and ensure its ability to operate under heavy load.

Its engineering teams use Go for load testing and scaling its job queues. Go’s concurrency is ideal for Slack’s chat servers that perform many functions. Its high scalability and fast runtime are perfect for building messaging applications.

Average Salaries for Slack Employees Who Use Go

• Integration Engineer | $98,900
• Site Reliability Engineer | $115,654
• Platform Engineer | $98,900

Twitch

Twitch is a live video game streaming platform. It focuses on real-time video games, esports competitions, music, and creative content broadcasts. Twitch used Go to develop an RPC framework called Twrip, a means of communication between backend servers. It is used to provide the highest quality of video streams for its users.

Average Salaries for Twitch Employees Who Use Go

• DevOps Engineer | $138,863
• Full Stack Developer | $199,558
• Application Security Engineer | $191,000

Uber

Uber is a multinational ride-hailing company whose servers are built with Go. Due to its high performance and low latency, Uber uses Go to write its services, such as GeoFence and GeoBase. Its GeoFence lookups show users the available vehicle and calculate the prices based on distances. Riders and drivers are paired via Geobase, one of the most current Uber services created in Golang. 

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Average Salaries for Uber Employees Who Use Go

• Full Stack Developer | $143,351
• Android Developer | $153,900
• Cloud Engineer | $134,631

Go Bootcamps: Who Uses Go to Teach Students How to Code? 

Bootcamps are one way of intensively learning a subject in less time. Below are three bootcamps that can help you learn the Go language to further your career.

• Refractory. It offers a full-time, online mobile development coding bootcamp on Go language. It also has an internship system as part of its learning methodology. 
• Fullstack Academy. This bootcamp provides students with the opportunity to learn Go through its part-time immersive program. Learners will become accustomed to the uses of Go through video lectures and various coding workshops. 
• Codeboxx. The school teaches Go to students via its full stack development program. Through its extensive curriculum, it provides learners with detailed knowledge regarding web development and information systems.

Which Real-World Go Use Case Is Right for Me?

As technology progresses, there is an increased demand for more efficient results when creating new programming languages. The adoption of the Go programming language can lead to faster and more efficient coding, which results in higher productivity. 

Many companies are moving their backend services to Go, increasing the demands for Go professionals. Now is the best time to learn this programming language for application and web development if you are considering changing jobs or just advancing your developer career.

Uses of Go FAQ