Big Questions - Brief Answers

Probably not. By taking over dull, repetitive tasks, robots will help people to create more headspace for creative work, and for activities where real human brainpower is required. Robots are tools - controlled by people.

Both, actually. 'Thin AI' are systems that ore more artificial than intelligent - being very good at recognizing patterns. 'Thick AI' are systems that are more intelligent than artificial, as they can find out the patterns themselves. However, like robots, they are still tools - trained by people.

Good, cheap and fast has always been an interesting and challenging mix of objectives in IT/business value delivery. We believe that the combination of an intelligent digital platform / ecosystem, a design-driven approach and holistic thinking, wrapped around with good governance is a key recipe to achieve this.

A distributed architecture is not always better. It really depends on what one wants to achieve. The core idea behind designing systems is that good design is key for defining the type of architecture that you need to fulfill your requirements.

No, we're already beyond the hype phase. IIoT (industrial internet of things) already has many real-life use cases in several industries. It's offering speed, agility and great user experiences - while delivering efficiencies and improved operational excellence for many companies and customers.

The fact that blockchain is a distributed system makes it ultra-scalable and therefore an ideal technology for massive peer-to-peer networks. However, blockchain was not designed to replace the internet; it was designed to offer highly transparent, reliable and viable information repositories in the form of smart ledgers / contracts.

Process, People, Technology: it's about balancing these three elements while designing for digital change. A good place to start can be found in our digital innovation framework - just don't forget it's not about IT, and it's not just about business: it's about creating for people. User-centric design across the enterprise, enabling (digital) eco-systems.

Non-fungible tokens are a way of registering a one-of-a-kind image, video, or any form of digital, or indeed, physical item on a blockchain. It's decentralised and open to scrutiny. NFT stands for a non-fungible token, which means that hidden in those quirky artworks, there's a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a digital ledger using blockchain technology to establish proof of ownership. Essential the same, or similar technology used for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and ether is used to guarantee the uniqueness of each NFT and to prove who owns it. Unlike a unit of bitcoin, however, each NFT is completely unique, so it can't be exchanged like-for-like. The file stores extra information that elevates it above pure currency and brings it into the realm of, well, anything, really. As a result, NFTs have become collectable digital assets that hold value, just like how physical art holds value. Essentially, you can make NFTs from almost anything unique that can be stored digitally and holds value. They're like any other collector's item, like a painting or a vintage action figure, but instead of buying a physical item, you're instead paying for a file and proof that you own the original copy.

Microservices - also known as the microservice architecture - is an architectural style that structures an application as a collection of services that are: Highly maintainable and testable Loosely coupled Independently deployable Organized around business capabilities Owned by a small team The microservice architecture enables the rapid, frequent and reliable delivery of large, complex applications. It also enables an organization to evolve its technology stack. Read this article to learn more about microservices.

In simple language, headless architecture means wrapping up all the business logic and functionalities in a set of APIs, which are powered by the specialized backends and make them available so that any front-end channel can hook into these APIs and provide the customer experience desired for that channel.

Read this article to learn more about omnichannel approaches.

Whether or not passwordless authentication is safe depends on your definition of safe. If safe means harder to crack and less prone to the most common cyberattacks, then yes, passwordless authentication is safe. If by safe you mean, it is impervious to hacking, then no, it’s not safe. There’s no authentication system out there which can’t be hacked. Maybe there is no obvious way to hack it, but it doesn’t mean that the most sophisticated hackers can’t work their way around its defenses. With that said, passwordless techniques are inherently safer than passwords. E.g., to hack a password-based system, a bad actor may use a dictionary attack, which is often considered the most rudimentary hacking technique (keep trying different passwords until you get a match). Even the amateur hackers can perform a dictionary attack. Conversely, it takes a significantly higher level of hacking experience and sophistication to infiltrate a passwordless system. E.g., only the most advanced AI algorithms can enable a hacker to spoof a fingerprint.x

Back in the old days, businesses relied on a developer to write code and create experiences from start to finish. Thankfully, developers no longer have to be a jack of all trades; the load of creating digital experiences has expanded to business users, marketers, customer success teams, and much more. With so many specialties and departments in the mix, modern development requires multiple approaches and solutions to create new applications and services. Following best practices, modern applications should avoid the trap of the monolith by employing component-based design principles. With low coupling and high cohesion, components and services can be assembled into different types of applications. Choosing the right assembly model is a critical part of any successful project. These assembly models can be grouped into three distinct categories: high-code, low-code and no-code. Each assembly model has its own key advantages, and often a combination of these approaches across multiple teams is needed to address all business needs. You may wonder, how do you know which assembly model to use for a particular application? It is actually pretty simple; you just have to decide who owns the assembly of the experience. If it is a code-driven application where the developer owns the assembly, then you want high-code. If it is a content-driven application where the marketer owns the assembly, then you want low-code. If it is a standardized application following more of a “cookie-cutter” model of assembly, then you want no-code.

SaaS: Software as a Service Software as a Service, also known as cloud application services, represents the most commonly utilized option for businesses in the cloud market. SaaS utilizes the internet to deliver applications, which are managed by a third-party vendor, to its users. A majority of SaaS applications run directly through your web browser, which means they do not require any downloads or installations on the client side. SaaS Delivery Due to its web delivery model, SaaS eliminates the need to have IT staff download and install applications on each individual computer. With SaaS, vendors manage all potential technical issues, such as data, middleware, servers, and storage, resulting in streamlined maintenance and support for the business. SaaS Advantages SaaS provides numerous advantages to employees and companies by greatly reducing the time and money spent on tedious tasks such as installing, managing, and upgrading software. This frees up plenty of time for technical staff to spend on more pressing matters and issues within the organization. SaaS Characteristics There are a few ways to help you determine when SaaS is being utilized: Managed from a central location Hosted on a remote server Accessible over the internet Users not responsible for hardware or software updates When to Use SaaS SaaS may be the most beneficial option in several situations, including: Startups or small companies that need to launch ecommerce quickly and don’t have time for server issues or software Short-term projects that require quick, easy, and affordable collaboration Applications that aren’t needed too often, such as tax software Applications that need both web and mobile access SaaS Limitations & Concerns Interoperability. Integration with existing apps and services can be a major concern if the SaaS app is not designed to follow open standards for integration. In this case, organizations may need to design their own integration systems or reduce dependencies with SaaS services, which may not always be possible. Vendor lock-in. Vendors may make it easy to join a service and difficult to get out of it. For instance, the data may not be portable–technically or cost-effectively–across SaaS apps from other vendors without incurring significant cost or inhouse engineering rework. Not every vendor follows standard APIs, protocols, and tools, yet the features could be necessary for certain business tasks. Lack of integration support. Many organizations require deep integrations with on-premise apps, data, and services. The SaaS vendor may offer limited support in this regard, forcing organizations to invest internal resources in designing and managing integrations. The complexity of integrations can further limit how the SaaS app or other dependent services can be used. Data security. Large volumes of data may have to be exchanged to the backend data centers of SaaS apps in order to perform the necessary software functionality. Transferring sensitive business information to public-cloud based SaaS service may result in compromised security and compliance in addition to significant cost for migrating large data workloads. Customization. SaaS apps offer minimal customization capabilities. Since a one-size-fits-all solution does not exist, users may be limited to specific functionality, performance, and integrations as offered by the vendor. In contrast, on-premise solutions that come with several software development kits (SDKs) offer a high degree of customization options. Lack of control. SaaS solutions involves handing control over to the third-party service provider. These controls are not limited to the software–in terms of the version, updates, or appearance–but also the data and governance. Customers may therefore need to redefine their data security and governance models to fit the features and functionality of the SaaS service. Feature limitations. Since SaaS apps often come in a standardized form, the choice of features may be a compromising tradeoff against security, cost, performance, or other organizational policies. Furthermore, vendor lock-in, cost, or security concerns may mean it’s not viable to switch vendors or services to serve new feature requirements in the future. Performance and downtime. Because the vendor controls and manages the SaaS service, your customers now depend on vendors to maintain the service’s security and performance. Planned and unplanned maintenance, cyber-attacks, or network issues may impact the performance of the SaaS app despite adequate service level agreement (SLA) protections in place.

PaaS: Platform as a Service Cloud platform services, also known as Platform as a Service (PaaS), provide cloud components to certain software while being used mainly for applications. PaaS delivers a framework for developers that they can build upon and use to create customized applications. All servers, storage, and networking can be managed by the enterprise or a third-party provider while the developers can maintain management of the applications. PaaS Delivery The delivery model of PaaS is similar to SaaS, except instead of delivering the software over the internet, PaaS provides a platform for software creation. This platform is delivered via the web, giving developers the freedom to concentrate on building the software without having to worry about operating systems, software updates, storage, or infrastructure. PaaS allows businesses to design and create applications that are built into the PaaS with special software components. These applications, sometimes called middleware, are scalable and highly available as they take on certain cloud characteristics. PaaS Advantages No matter the size of your company, using PaaS offers numerous advantages, including: Simple, cost-effective development and deployment of apps Scalable Highly available Developers can customize apps without the headache of maintaining the software Significant reduction in the amount of coding needed Automation of business policy Easy migration to the hybrid model PaaS Characteristics PaaS has many characteristics that define it as a cloud service, including: Builds on virtualization technology, so resources can easily be scaled up or down as your business changes Provides a variety of services to assist with the development, testing, and deployment of apps Accessible to numerous users via the same development application Integrates web services and databases When to Use PaaS Utilizing PaaS is beneficial, sometimes even necessary, in several situations. For example, PaaS can streamline workflows when multiple developers are working on the same development project. If other vendors must be included, PaaS can provide great speed and flexibility to the entire process. PaaS is particularly beneficial if you need to create customized applications. This cloud service also can greatly reduce costs and it can simplify some challenges that come up if you are rapidly developing or deploying an app. PaaS Limitations & Concerns Data security. Organizations can run their own apps and services using PaaS solutions, but the data residing in third-party, vendor-controlled cloud servers poses security risks and concerns. Your security options may be limited as customers may not be able to deploy services with specific hosting policies. Integrations. The complexity of connecting the data stored within an onsite data center or off-premise cloud is increased, which may affect which apps and services can be adopted with the PaaS offering. Particularly when not every component of a legacy IT system is built for the cloud, integration with existing services and infrastructure may be a challenge. Vendor lock-in. Business and technical requirements that drive decisions for a specific PaaS solution may not apply in the future. If the vendor has not provisioned convenient migration policies, switching to alternative PaaS options may not be possible without affecting the business. Customization of legacy systems. PaaS may not be a plug-and-play solution for existing legacy apps and services. Instead, several customizations and configuration changes may be necessary for legacy systems to work with the PaaS service. The resulting customization can result in a complex IT system that may limit the value of the PaaS investment altogether. Runtime issues. In addition to limitations associated with specific apps and services, PaaS solutions may not be optimized for the language and frameworks of your choice. Specific framework versions may not be available or perform optimally with the PaaS service. Customers may not be able to develop custom dependencies with the platform. Operational limitation. Customized cloud operations with management automation workflows may not apply to PaaS solutions, as the platform tends to limit operational capabilities for end users. Although this is intended to reduce the operational burden on end users, the loss of operational control may affect how PaaS solutions are managed, provisioned, and operated.

IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service Cloud infrastructure services, known as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), are made of highly scalable and automated compute resources. IaaS is fully self-service for accessing and monitoring computers, networking, storage, and other services. IaaS allows businesses to purchase resources on-demand and as-needed instead of having to buy hardware outright. IaaS Delivery IaaS delivers cloud computing infrastructure, including servers, network, operating systems, and storage, through virtualization technology. These cloud servers are typically provided to the organization through a dashboard or an API, giving IaaS clients complete control over the entire infrastructure. IaaS provides the same technologies and capabilities as a traditional data center without having to physically maintain or manage all of it. IaaS clients can still access their servers and storage directly, but it is all outsourced through a “virtual data center” in the cloud. As opposed to SaaS or PaaS, IaaS clients are responsible for managing aspects such as applications, runtime, OSes, middleware, and data. However, providers of the IaaS manage the servers, hard drives, networking, virtualization, and storage. Some providers even offer more services beyond the virtualization layer, such as databases or message queuing. IaaS Advantages IaaS offers many advantages, including: The most flexible cloud computing model Easy to automate deployment of storage, networking, servers, and processing power Hardware purchases can be based on consumption Clients retain complete control of their infrastructure Resources can be purchased as-needed Highly scalable IaaS Characteristics Characteristics that define IaaS include: Resources are available as a service Cost varies depending on consumption Services are highly scalable Multiple users on a single piece of hardware Organization retain complete control of the infrastructure Dynamic and flexible When to Use IaaS Just as with SaaS and PaaS, there are specific situations when IaaS is most advantageous. Startups and small companies may prefer IaaS to avoid spending time and money on purchasing and creating hardware and software. Larger companies may prefer to retain complete control over their applications and infrastructure, but they want to purchase only what they actually consume or need. Companies experiencing rapid growth like the scalability of IaaS, and they can change out specific hardware and software easily as their needs evolve. Anytime you are unsure of a new application’s demands, IaaS offers plenty of flexibility and scalability. IaaS Limitations & Concerns Many limitations associated with SaaS and PaaS models – such as data security, cost overruns, vendor lock-in and customization issues – also apply to the IaaS model. Particular limitations to IaaS include: Security. While the customer is in control of the apps, data, middleware, and the OS platform, security threats can still be sourced from the host or other virtual machines (VMs). Insider threat or system vulnerabilities may expose data communication between the host infrastructure and VMs to unauthorized entities. Legacy systems operating in the cloud. While customers can run legacy apps in the cloud, the infrastructure may not be designed to deliver specific controls to secure the legacy apps. Minor enhancement to legacy apps may be required before migrating them to the cloud, possibly leading to new security issues unless adequately tested for security and performance in the IaaS systems. Internal resources and training. Additional resources and training may be required for the workforce to learn how to effectively manage the infrastructure. Customers will be responsible for data security, backup, and business continuity. Due to inadequate control into the infrastructure however, monitoring and management of the resources may be difficult without adequate training and resources available inhouse. Multi-tenant security. Since the hardware resources are dynamically allocated across users as made available, the vendor is required to ensure that other customers cannot access data deposited to storage assets by previous customers. Similarly, customers must rely on the vendor to ensure that VMs are adequately isolated within the multitenant cloud architecture.

Each cloud model offers specific features and functionalities, and it is crucial for your organization to understand the differences. Whether you need cloud-based software for storage options, a smooth platform that allows you to create customized applications, or complete control over your entire infrastructure without having to physically maintain it, there is a cloud service for you. No matter which option you choose, migrating to the cloud is the future of business and technology.

Middleware is software which lies between an operating system and the applications running on it. Essentially functioning as hidden translation layer, middleware enables communication and data management for distributed applications. It is sometimes called plumbing, as it connects two applications together so data and databases can be easily passed between the “pipe.” Using middleware allows users to perform such requests as submitting forms on a web browser or allowing the web server to return dynamic web pages based on a user’s profile. Common middleware examples include database middleware, application server middleware, message-oriented middleware, web middleware and transaction-processing monitors. Each programme typically provides messaging services so that different applications can communicate using messaging frameworks like simple object access protocol (SOAP), web services, representational state transfer (REST) and JavaScript object notation (JSON). While all middleware performs communication functions, the type a company chooses to use will depend on what service is being used and what type of information needs to be communicated. This can include security authentication, transaction management, message queues, applications servers, web servers and directories. Middleware can also be used for distributed processing with actions occurring in real time rather than sending data back and forth.

Stateful services keep track of sessions or transactions and react differently to the same inputs based on that history. Stateless services rely on clients to maintain sessions and center around operations that manipulate resources, rather than the state.

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a software technology that makes it easy to build, deploy, and manage software robots that emulate humans actions interacting with digital systems and software. Just like people, software robots can do things like understand what’s on a screen, complete the right keystrokes, navigate systems, identify and extract data, and perform a wide range of defined actions. But software robots can do it faster and more consistently than people, without the need to get up and stretch or take a coffee break.

With the right approach, you can accelerate your innovative and differentiating business while advancing your backend at a slower pace. The key for getting your IT “up to speed” is simply finding the right rate at which you should modify each of your systems. As defined in Gartner’s glossary, pace layering is “a methodology for categorizing, selecting, managing and governing applications to support business change, differentiation and innovation.” Using this approach enables you to make the most of your architecture and every module by evolving each at the pace most appropriate for its individual function and needs. Pace layering is about organizing architecture change, basing it on modules’ specific requirements to adapt them individually – and more efficiently. To bring more visibility to the structure, the pace layered architecture classifies systems into three decipherable layers: record, differentiation, and innovation: Record: Serving as the base for all operations, systems of record sit on the bottom of the architecture hierarchy, managing critical master data and processing core transactions. Differentiation: These mid-level systems are typically tailored SaaS applications or part of a complete suite and have unique processes and capabilities, such as improved customer support. While once similar across most organizations, this stack is now more often specific to each company’s objectives. Innovation: Sitting at the top level, these customer-facing systems are where companies can truly make the difference against the competition – allowing them to be creative and explore new business models. Gartner’s pace layering strategy isn’t a new idea. A long-standing fundamental concept, this approach has simply fallen out of sight and should be given another look by organizations looking to modernize their IT landscape.

Machine learning is a subfield of artificial intelligence, which is broadly defined as the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior. Artificial intelligence systems are used to perform complex tasks in a way that is similar to how humans solve problems.

A design system is a documented catalog of components and styles used within a product, including how and why each should be implemented. While design systems are often confused with style guides and pattern libraries, a design system is more strategic and high-reaching. In fact, pattern libraries and style guides are both pieces of the design system.

One definition is the following: "Enterprise architecture (EA) is the process of translating business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change by creating, communicating, and improving the key principles and models that describe the enterprise’s future state and enable its evolution." This, however, might not be really helping you further. Have a look at this e-book to learn what EA is in a more visual and understandable manner.

A transitional architecture is a useful practice used when replacing legacy systems. Much like scaffolding might be built, reconfigured and finally removed during construction or renovation of a building, you often need interim architectural steps during legacy displacement. Transitional architectures will be removed or replaced later on, but they're not just throwaway work given the important role they play in reducing risk and allowing a difficult problem to be broken into smaller steps. Thus they help with avoiding the trap of defaulting to a "big bang" legacy replacement approach, because you cannot make smaller interim steps line up with a final architectural vision. Care is needed to make sure the architectural "scaffolding" is eventually removed, lest it just become technical debt later on.

We recommend organizations assess inclusive design as a way of making sure accessibility is treated as a first-class requirement. All too often requirements around accessibility and inclusivity are ignored until just before, if not just after, the release of software. The cheapest and simplest way to accommodate these requirements, while also providing early feedback to teams, is to incorporate them fully into the development process. In the past, we've highlighted techniques that perform a "shift-left" for security and cross-functional requirements; one perspective on this technique is that it achieves the same goal for accessibility.

Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language with dynamic semantics. Its high-level built in data structures, combined with dynamic typing and dynamic binding, make it very attractive for Rapid Application Development, as well as for use as a scripting or glue language to connect existing components together. Python's simple, easy to learn syntax emphasizes readability and therefore reduces the cost of program maintenance. Python supports modules and packages, which encourages program modularity and code reuse. The Python interpreter and the extensive standard library are available in source or binary form without charge for all major platforms, and can be freely distributed. Often, programmers fall in love with Python because of the increased productivity it provides. Since there is no compilation step, the edit-test-debug cycle is incredibly fast. Debugging Python programs is easy: a bug or bad input will never cause a segmentation fault. Instead, when the interpreter discovers an error, it raises an exception. When the program doesn't catch the exception, the interpreter prints a stack trace. A source level debugger allows inspection of local and global variables, evaluation of arbitrary expressions, setting breakpoints, stepping through the code a line at a time, and so on. The debugger is written in Python itself, testifying to Python's introspective power. On the other hand, often the quickest way to debug a program is to add a few print statements to the source: the fast edit-test-debug cycle makes this simple approach very effective.

An Enterprise Low-code application platform (LCAP) provides rapid application development and deployment using low-code and no-code techniques such as declarative, model-driven application design and development together with the simplified one-button deployment of applications. An LCAP typically creates metadata and interprets that metadata at runtime and abstracts the underlying server infrastructure for ease of use; many also allow optional procedural programming extensions. LCAP supports: UI capabilities via responsive web and mobile apps Orchestration or choreography of pages, business process, and decisions or business rules Built-in database "One button" deployment of applications

Metaverse is a kind of virtual world. With this technology, people can enter the digital world through virtual identity. In this virtual space, people also get a chance to hang out, shop, and meet friends. Metaverse combines several technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, machine learning, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence. Where did the concept come from? The concept of Metaverse is not new. It was conceptualised about three decades ago in 1992. American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson then described the Metaverse in his novel 'Snow Crush'. In the following thirty years, the technology to make it a reality has gradually evolved. Notably, Facebook is not the first company to work on Metaverse. Before Facebook, in 2017, startup Decentraland worked on the same concept. On its website, users can find a different virtual world that has its own currency and economy. A user will be able to reach any virtual world through Metaverse. In an example of how it may play out, you spot a showroom during a virtual tour. You can shop there and after that, your order placed virtually will actually reach the address you have given. Metaverse is currently being used on a trial basis. The technology is expected to reach common users soon and with that, it can potentially be a major leap in the digital space.

At its core, Azure is a public cloud computing platform—with solutions including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) that can be used for services such as analytics, virtual computing, storage, networking, and much more. It can be used to replace or supplement your on-premise servers. Microsoft Azure – IaaS, PaaS and SaaS: Flexible – Move compute resources up and down as needed Open – Supports almost any OS, language, tool, or framework Reliable – 99.95% availability SLA and 24×7 tech support Global – Data housed in geo-synchronous data centers Economical – Only pay for what you use

Low-code is the shortened term for low-code platforms which are application development platforms that offer the user the ability to build applications with existing elements while being able to integrate code into them. While no-code and low code are often referenced together, they have a clear demarcation in terms of the technical understanding required to operate the different platforms. These platforms may not be accessible to total beginners but are good tor those who have a technical mindset in business backgrounds.

Agile software development refers to a software development methodologies that are based on iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams. The four major principles for agile project management, with the goal of developing better software, are: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan

Business applications are software that are used by businesses to fulfill their specific needs. This could mean a leave tracking software for the human relations department, an inventory tracking software for a warehouse, or a project management timeline software for the services department. Business applications can be anything that a team requires to fulfill their functions adequately. Furthermore, these are software that are best understood by the function that utilizes them.

Business Process Automation (BPA) simplifies business processes through technical solutions that automate manual repetitive tasks. This helps the workforce to restructure time to more important issues when routine work is completed in much lesser time through automation. Business Process Automation concentrates on decreasing the number of manual tasks. This leads to higher efficiency and productivity. A variety of tools and applications have been developed with this purpose in mind. The risk of human error during processes such as data input is removed along with other potential obstacles.

Business process management (BPM) is about conducting business in the most efficient way possible. In other words, BPM is the process of designing, monitoring, managing, and executing inter-related business processes. This means that you bring various processes in your organization together and optimize them for the overall welfare of the company.

Case management software is a tool that can help you manage cases that are information-centric service requests, incidents that need to be resolved, or an investigation that needs to be undertaken. This software is a digital tool that can help you take your cases from offline to online. This software can also help you organize, analyze, and share all of the information related to a certain case, without wading through tedious forms and confusing procedures. This can greatly benefit your customer service or client servicing departments in speeding up their processes, which can lead to happier customers. Case management software can be particularly useful, as every process or workflow may not need a standard number of steps. If there’s a process that can be resolved faster with fewer steps, the user can determine and set the steps, hence assigning the perfect workflow for that specific issue or case. This ability to manipulate the workflow and process associated with a case makes case management software indispensable for organizations, or non-profits, who aim to keep their customers happy at all times.

‘Citizen Developer’, a very popular low code no code terms, is a relatively new term that has been coined by a research firm called Gartner, which specializes in technological research. By their definition, “A citizen developer is a user who creates new business applications for consumption by others using development and runtime environments sanctioned by corporate IT.” In essence for no-code and low-code platforms, citizen developers are those who use the software to create new and improved applications for their business units.

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. The data is stored on cloud (public, private, or hybrid) and the vendor takes care of the security and uptime. Businesses do not need to spend on additional infrastructure, resources, or data privacy within their own premises. It is a service that takes care of it all in one shot. You also do not need physical space because everything is on the cloud. One of the highlights here is that you can get cloud computing solutions specific to your business needs. You won’t be paying extra for space or services that you do not use.

A composable business can be imagined as Lego blocks that can be arranged, rearranged, and discarded as necessary. In comparison, consider an inflexible, monolithic organization that is slow to evolve and difficult to change (like cinderblock). Composable businesses can respond quickly to market shifts by assembling and disassembling various components.

Digitalization in most cases in business refers to improving business processes, business functions, business operations, and more by leveraging the new technology the digital space provides. It allows new systems to be set up in the context of digitalization to make business easier and achieve any/ all benefits the business may have in mind. Digitalized businesses can lead to digital businesses and increased scope for business growth. On average, digitalization in this sense of the word is seen as the middle step towards digital transformation and the creation of digital revenue streams.

Digitization is a conceptual term that holds many associations across a variety of literature. Digitization is the term for creating a digital version of analog things. It is converting physical matter into digital format. For example paper documents, microfilm images, photographs, and more into bits and bytes that define them. All in all, digitization is the simple process of re-representing non-digital data in a digital format that can then be used by the computing system in a variety of ways and for different functions. Thus, in this whole process, nothing of the original document is lost. While in many cases the original item is destroyed to clear up space, but in any case, it lives on in digital forms.

As per Gartner, Hyperautomation deals with the application of advanced technologies, including intelligent business management software (iBPMS), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to increasingly automate processes and augment humans. Hyperautomation extends across a range of tools that can be automated, but also refers to the sophistication of the automation (i.e., discover, analyze, design, automate, measure, monitor, reassess.)

Low-code no-code development has tools to solve all the problems that were stated above. While they are not the same as traditional app development, they help solve the problems the original app development systems create. While there are lots of tools that help in many different ways, LCNC at the core of it is software that helps create and enable new applications to help a business grow.

Omni-channel application development refers to finding ways to unify the creation of an application across platforms. This means if you are creating a corporate expense management system, and you want it to work the same on desktop and mobile, it can be created all at once. This means that the code from the no-code or low-code system is created to remain compatible and malleable regardless of the platform.

The name says it all! On-premise software is literally present on a company’s premises. It is installed within the office and uses the business’ servers. Everything related to this software right from installation to maintenance and everything in between is in the hands of the office. It requires quite a lot of infrastructure and additional resources. Complete ownership is the biggest attraction in this case despite the inflated cost.

Process mining is a set of approaches that discovers real processes through the use of event logs, monitors them, and work towards improving them. It is an analytical approach through which knowledge is extracted from the organization’s systems. Through this process, organizations can detect errors and bottlenecks based on the facts instead of relying on conjectures. Overall, it covers the following: Checking the conformance of business processes Automated business process discovery Analyzing performance

Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a form of agile software development methodology that prioritizes rapid prototype iteration and releases, the use of software, and user feedback over strict planning and requirements recording as in the case of the Waterfall method. Most low-code and no-code platforms are built based on RAD principles.

Shadow IT is the use of information technology systems, devices, software, applications, and services without explicit IT department approval.

Workflow automation is the automation of steps involved in the workflow to execute your tasks efficiently with consistent and accurate results every time the workflow is executed. In other words, workflow automation is a series of automated actions created for the steps in a business workflow process.

An event-driven architecture uses events to trigger and communicate between decoupled services and is common in modern applications built with microservices. An event is a change in state, or an update, like an item being placed in a shopping cart on an e-commerce website. Events can either carry the state (the item purchased, its price, and a delivery address) or events can be identifiers (a notification that an order was shipped). Event-driven architectures have three key components: event producers, event routers, and event consumers. A producer publishes an event to the router, which filters and pushes the events to consumers. Producer services and consumer services are decoupled, which allows them to be scaled, updated, and deployed independently.

MACH architecture is a set of technology principles behind new, best-of-breed technology platforms. The acronym stands for Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless: Microservices: Individual pieces of business functionality that are independently developed, deployed and managed. API-first: All functionality is exposed through an API, making it possible to tie together two or more applications or services. Cloud-Native SaaS: Software-as-a-Service that leverages the full capabilities of the cloud, beyond storage and hosting, including elastic scaling of highly available resources. Functionality is updated manually, eliminating the need for upgrade management. Headless: The front-end user experience is completely decoupled from the back-end logic, allowing for complete design freedom in creating the user interface and for connecting to other channels and devices (i.e. existing applications, IoT, A/R, Vending Machines, sensors, etc.). While it’s a relatively new term in the industry, MACH is quickly gaining popularity for how it helps businesses. MACH technologies support a composable enterprise meaning every component is pluggable, scalable, replaceable, and can be continuously improved. MACH architecture gives businesses the freedom to choose from the best tools on the market, and maintain a structure that makes it easy to add, replace, or remove those tools in the future. Read more about MACH in our blog.