Rich Internet applications and their brainchild, software-as-a-service (SaaS), are expensive to build. Today they represent the most challenging development process yet.
Regev Yativ, Magic Software's President & CEO for the Americas tells Enterprise Systems how to get around the complexity of building and deploying RIA and SaaS in this article just out.
Other collateral news - we have a new case study now available - this one is about FKB - a Liechtenstein-based health insurance provider that, using uniPaaS, has become the largest health insurance provider in Lichtenstein with the lowest operating costs in the industry for both Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
Website news, we've added even more new items to our solutions section - this time focusing on Magic Software's solutions for specific industry verticals - so far we have healthcare, manufacturing, finance, government and logistics - along with relevant case studies that describe some of the real-life challenges and implementations in each industry.
And lastly, the first of two Get IT Together seminars is happening in Connecticut today. Last minute places are still available for the Nov 12th event in San Diego. If you are interested in attending ring as soon as possible to reserve your place on - 949 250 1718.
60% of companies in a recent AIG Consulting poll were found to suffer from marginally successful technology projects or outright project failures.
A full half of this number experienced project ‘runaways' which take too long to deliver, consume too much budget, or under-deliver on functionality.
The Get IT together seminar is designed specifically to address the problems that lead to IT project failure.
How? By helping organizations to optimize their software systems and IT departments to better deliver business results.
Attendees can expect to learn:
- How to align IT department objectives with your overall business goals
- How to better streamline the application development process
- How to more effectively deliver IT projects
- How to get your business applications working together
- How to ensure your current goals answer future business needs
If you are a CEO, CIO or IT manager these issues should already be sounding alarm bells in your head.
To find out more about seminar sessions topics and times, speakers and locations, visit the Get IT together website.
To secure an invitation online register or contact Glenn Johnson direct on +1 949 250 1718 or email glenn_johnson@magicsoftware.com.
We've spoken previously about the need for Information Technology to evolve into Business Technology.
Here's how Forrester explains things:
Every aspect of the enterprise is increasingly embodied in the technology it uses, from process application-driven business operations to Internet-based interactions with customers and suppliers. Although today, only a few enterprises recognize the implications of this trend, within five years most will realize that this "business technology" (BT) is vital to delivering business results. Enterprises will embrace the competitive potential of technology and actively manage its use. BT providers will hone offerings to enhance business results, flexibility, and configurability.
I understand from this the following:
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Technology is becoming more important to all aspects of a business' operations.
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Companies will soon realize (if not already) that to remain competitive they need their information technology to deliver real business results.
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Companies that aquire IT systems that focus on 'business' delivery rather than 'technology' will end up the winners - by cutting their operational costs, improving productivity and increasing market share.
So if you're an enterprise company with an internal IT department or an ISV trying to stay afload against giant SaaS vendors here's your chance to gain a step ahead:
Magic Software is holding a special, one day seminar this November in the United States:
Get IT together will give you the knowledge and tools to more effectively utilize your IT resources and deliver quantifiable business results in a reasonable time.
The seminar is equally suited for business executives and IT professionals alike.
Get IT together is being held in only two locations -
- Uncasville, Connecticut on November 10
- San Diego, California on November 12
This seminar will feature some of industry's leading technology experts in the fields of application development, RIA, SaaS, business integration and IT business optimization.
If you're based in the US, or going to be travelling in the US in the second week of November, don't miss out on your chance to attend this FREE day.
In today's business and economic environment there is literally nothing more important that you can be doing right now than learning how to leverage your IT to perform more for your business.
For more information visit http://www.getittogether.us/ or speak directly to my US collegue Glenn Johnson. You can also give him a call to reserve your place on the number below:
To reserve your place now call: 949 250 1718
Unlike many, I've never actually believed that this recession was just another minor 'bleep' on the never-ending spiral of growth. IT companies in particular continue to feel the heat, and because they are providing services that are vital for enabling business activity, their performance remains a strong weather vein in gauging the health of modern economies.
US economist Peter Schiff explains the overall situation lucidly. He was also one of the only voices to predict the current situation back 4 or even 5 years ago.
What does this mean for businesses then? According to Schiff, the solution is to encourage savings and production (not something that's happening either in the US or UK at the moment by the way). It's also a difficult task to achieve when taken together. And as a result, individual businesses are going to continue feeling the squeeze in the coming months and perhaps years unless they act wisely now.
But those that do act now, will survive to reap the profits later. The need for products and services will never go away. A recession is simply the market's way of correcting over-spending, unjustified investment and overconfidence (brings to mind the Enron story!), otherwise known as a 'bubble'. But it also sorts the wheat from the chaff. Only the smarter, stronger companies survive. But as we saw with the Dot Com clear-out, those companies will a real, competitive offering, not only have a better chance of surviving, but go on to thrive.
This means looking for smarter ways to ensure productivity - now. For IT this means changing corporate habits and adopting a new set of rules:
- Use solutions that allow you to get more value and productivity from existing technologies (code-free integration tools are a good step in the right direction).
- Acquire only solutions that are future-proof (metadata solutions will ensure easy adaptation to future technology platforms and new business requirements).
- Look for ways to combine skill sets and technologies (such as adopting an end-to-end application platform to build RIA and SaaS rather than a Microsoft or Adobe front-end product that then requires you to buy back-end solutions and resources separately).
- Ensure that business goals are the top priority in every corporate function, including IT (a metadata platform helps because it's simple enough for business decision makers to follow the IT process - and it enables faster and more effective application prototyping).
- Remain open to different technologies - don't be fooled by some big-spend vendors who pour millions into making their technology look convincing - and look out for hidden costs that aren't mentioned in the sales pitch.
Great blog post by our very own Glenn Johnson on the important need for ISV's to get with what he calls the 'ambient enterprise'.
Here's a quote from his article:
"The difference between the ambient enterprise and a business that simply tolerates Web 2.0 is in the degree to which the company embraces online interactivity through both a culture shift and a corresponding technical shift that incorporates the evolving semantic web and integration technologies."
Speaking of which - here's an example of how that culture shift in social networking is taking place - and the fact that I'm posting it is proof that it works - its' time to get with the social networking program:
As we are all well aware, economic conditions have changed. In response, enterprises are hunting for new methods and tools to effectively build, use and maintain business applications.
Have a look at how Magic Software deals with the challenge with this 5 point strategy white paper. Along with each point of advice, the paper also asks a 'developer's dilemma question' - and then answers each with explanations from the world of metadata-driven end-to-end platforms.
Just click the screen-image above to download the full white paper. Happy reading!
In our previous post we established that too many IT projects are failing. By 'failure' we mean one or more of the following three things:
1. Not completed on-time
2. Not delivered on-budget
3. Doesn't answer the requirement brief
These three factors are particularly sore points today because of the recession. When budgets are tight the benefits of building business applications can be easily outweighed by the costs and effort involved.
That's why many are now opting for Cloud-based solutions that mitigate the risks and costs involved in building and deploying applications in-house.
Well, why not just opt for a SaaS solution like Salesforce.com then? The answer is that while Salesforce.com may be perfect for many enterprises and businesses, it ties you to the Force.com platform.
There is therefore, some insecurity knowing that your mission-critical data is held on another company's servers. There's also a limited scope in how much customization you can demand from your provider. One size generally fits all. And in some instances, this may not be good enough for businesses attempting to differentiate themselves from their competitors in today's tough economic climate.
What's needed then is a platform that can develop powerful, modern applications, such as Rich Internet Applications and SaaS, at low cost, while minimizing the chance of project 'runaways' and which combines the input of both IT specialists and business managers.
Not an easy order to fill.
So, what exactly does uniPaaS offer that's so different?
Well, it can be summarized in 3 short points:
1. uniPaaS is an end-to-end environment for software developers.
2. uniPaaS is based upon a metadata engine.
3. uniPaaS applications can run in multiple deployment modes.
Each of these three points deserves its own entirely dedicated post. So coming up we will deal exclusively with point 1 - uniPaaS' end-to-end environment - and what that means for businesses trying to deliver on-time, on-budget and according to project specs.