Enterprise Adaptive Software

About

The interpretation gap between IT and business is closed as build and future change are now quickly implemented exactly as required. The result is people will embrace ownership of their processes feel empowered individually and collectively to deliver on their agreed outcomes. Fear of change is removed indeed welcomed to improve the work environment.     Enterprise Adaptive Software represents the future Some supporting quotes in context of how it works that should give you comfort that you are making the right decision for operational IT in your business. Bill Gates “….there's been this holy grail of development forever, which is that you shouldn't have to write so much [procedural] code,". "We're investing very heavily to say that customization of applications, the dream, the quest, we call it, should take a tenth as much code as it takes today." "You should be able to do things on a declarative basis,"…. working on the declarative modelling language” “project”. “It's something that will change software development but more like in a five- to eight-year timeframe than overnight” This speech by Bill Gates in 2008 mirrors the original R&D commencing some 10 earlier to achieve precisely what he predicts using declarative with models removing need to code. George Colony CEO Forrester Research “If we don’t get from IT to BT [Business Technology] we’re going to have more disasters like our present mortgage meltdown. Why? Because IT creates impenetrable systems that human beings can’t manage. BT is about human beings back in control.” This exchange with Forrester just sums up why there is a need to re-focus Enterprise Software to put people as the driver not IT; a philosophy adopted by Adaptive Software Naomi Bloom leading independent thought leader in enterprise software “Writing less code to achieve great business applications was my focus in that 1984 article, and it remains so today.  Being able to do this is critical if we’re going to realize the full potential of information technology” “….how those models can become applications without any code being written or even generated”. “…”If your Enterprise vendor isn't pretty far down this path, their future isn't very bright” This Adaptive Software builds application via an easily understood “model” with generic tasks as objects and using declarative sets up the application ready to run Pekka Huttunen, Senior Executive with Accenture High –Tech Group, “Emphasis should be on an integrated technology stack that supports vertical applications and standard and custom offerings” An important aspect of an Adaptive Software tool is it a unified stack of capabilities with low technology overhead Thomas Koulopoulos, Chairman Delphi Group a leader in BPM thinking  “The problem is simple. We've built enterprise applications that force us to live inside of the box instead of connecting us to all of the content, resources, and data outside of the box.” “…..look at some of the breakthrough advances in ACM (Adaptive Case Management) that will take the applications that support knowledge work well outside of the box, connecting us to way we really work”. Adaptive Case Management is a custom built application for case management. Supporting the BPM discipline ACM has started to recognise these issues allowing users to determine what is really needed with a customer centric approach allowing dynamic presentation of required data as required by users at any point. This ACM movement is now gaining recognition. Adaptive Software can build any Adaptive Application including ACM; exactly as business requires. This new but proven approach delivers on many of the visions expressed above and by many others. It could be described as 6th Generation Language “6GL”, placing build in hands of business not relying on programmers. Java and C++ are regarded as 3GL so this is a long over due development for enterprise software. New Adaptive Software builds trust What gets specified gets delivered - quickly Real time information/measurement from source supporting empowerment Full audit trail who did what for how long Rules driven that organise and enforce compliance as required Users engaged and views acknowledged in building improvements Adaptive Software is a future proof investment Software that can change as business requirements change Separates business logic which never changes from constantly evolving delivery technologies (web mobile etc) The core design built to cater for all eventualities in business Business relationship (not technology) driven Built in capability to use legacy information as required and plan program retiring old legacy Adaptive Software delivers human interaction and knowledge management Human to Human interactions in the business are the prime driver with systems supporting to supply information to the right person at the right time in the right place. There are 5 basic attributes that come with Adaptive Software to aid human creativity, collaboration and innovation delivery Human Connection visibility with roles and performers, each with its own properties and responsibilities. Structured connectivity to allow people to manage their interactions with others better, with clear goal directed outcomes which can involve multiple asynchronous channels, each for a different purpose. Time management to support in a structured manner on or off line work that includes the mental effort people invest in researching, comparing, considering, deciding, and generally turning information into knowledge and ideas. Non Prescriptive sequencing of people’s activity within  structure that has flexibility for users yet retain an overall control management    Processes change processes - human activities are concerned often with solving problems, or making something happen. Such activities routinely start in the same fashion - by establishing a way of proceeding - which methodology to use, which tools are required, which people should be consulted, and so on. Further, this is not a one-time thing - it happens continually throughout the life of the process. This is the greatest challenge for supporting software and Adaptive Software has the flexibility to start this journey evidenced allowing user’s choice at run time and its unrivalled ability for rapid change. CLIENTS AND EXPERIENCE UK Sport - Case management handling assessment and payment scheduling of grant awards and organisation of events. “We chose [this software] because of its flexibility -- we need to be able to introduce and modify processes very rapidly, and we liked the friendliness of the software.  We were also impressed by the quality of the [technology supplier’s] Professional Services -- their consultants have really become part of our team.” -- Liz Nicholl, Director of Performance Services, UK Sport The following is written by UK Sport executive as a general overview of his experiences. A system that works! UK Sport went live with GMS in January 2001. Before this date, all grant management responsibilities were handled by Sport England via a Service Level Agreement. In April 2000 UK Sport to the decision that all grant management responsibilities would be handled internally and therefore between April 2000 and December 2000 we had to map out a specification of the system and ensure that a working system was in place by January 2001. This target was met largely due to the rapid development and deployment that is available using the [Adaptive Software] product. Considering the success rate of large IT projects this was an achievement in itself. Maintaining data on Commitments. As a lottery funder, UK Sport is required to produce its Lottery Accounts on a commitment basis. GMS was therefore designed to log all award information on a commitment. Pre-GMS we did not have a system for recording commitments and therefore to produce the year end accounts was a mammoth task largely done on a manual basis which is open to error and unworkable. Reporting: UK Sport is able to produce live reports on a range of data at a touch of button. We are constantly asked questions from DCMS or via our internal Communications team about number of athletes on the programme, how much funding invested into different sports etc. Being able to answer questions instantly is a huge benefit, especially as other similar organisations cannot do this so readily. Flexibility: Since 2001, there have been numerous changes to the way UK Sport manages its investment. As our business has changed there has been a necessity to ensure that our system developments can cope with these changes. We have therefore benefited from having a very flexible product that can adapt to our changing needs with little disruption to our operations. Audit Trail: one of the key features of the [Adaptive Software] product is the audit trail that is inbuilt into the Manager module. This is always a “selling point” whenever we have internal or external auditors review our processes, with one auditor commenting that it was the best audit trail he had seen on an IT system. Note: Before installation of the new adaptive applications at UK Sport 20 administrators were handling c500 grants in 2000; the number of administrators is in now 4 handling over 1200 application a year on top of on going commitments. A recent quote from a user working on improving how they work sums up the change in culture Adaptive Software can bring to a business. “Great to meet with you this morning and see the work you have done. It captures all my weird and wonderful ideas and all done without telling me that I am expecting too much!” A benchmarking exercise was undertaken in 2011 by DCMS on administration cost of Grant bodies. The following is an extract: “UK Sport was the most efficient of the statutory funders in all criteria groups, though it also had the lowest income. On current income, with or without Forum definitions, it spent just 4.4 per cent of its £56.5m [only lottery grants] turnover on grant making. Sport England, by contrast, spent 12.3 per cent on current income without Forum definition.  The Arts Council was not far behind, on 10.5 per cent.” Other external quotes over the years “At first our technical director was more than a little sceptical of claim to having created a ‘declarative programming’ environment. The concept of declarative programming has, in recent years, become very topical, with much speculation as to its potential from market leaders. Most people however still consider it to be something of a myth; great in theory but a long way off. To our surprise this myth was quickly dispelled. [This technology company] have designed, built and deployed a production grade declarative programming environment that has already seen years of commercial use. The amount of time, money and expertise put into the development of their innovative approach is clear; the result is a powerful robust programming environment that remains far ahead of its time.” Managing Director Zeiter Ltd - Specialists in bespoke web-based business applications and data services. ".....has re-written the rule book for application building." -- Oracle Press release “…turning around applications for the New Opportunity Fund … in amazingly short time-frames is a great achievement … was quicker and cheaper than the other available alternatives.” -- Partner, Price Waterhouse Coopers "The software is an innovative and powerful application development tool which is business process rather than software vendor driven."  BT Evaluation Off the cuff real comments: “It will knock your socks off”, “It will save you millions” “Why do it any other way?” SPEED TO DELIVER/MARKET The emphasis with Adaptive Software is now placed on understanding the process step by step what is required to deliver on the objectives.  Once users realise that their views matter and can be readily reflected in the application it becomes an easy quick exercise to build the first prototype in the graphical build (see below).  The user form is the most important task type and for early iterations can be simple in design but showing how data is presented or collected (for technical detail on web see below).  Once knowledge on what is being proposed is available a rule of thumb on time to build the first working application is the number of forms can represent the number of man days. Often the big challenge for any new requirement is use of legacy systems and data. The way to “think” is to treat the project as a “green field” with unfettered thinking recognising that going through the process the needs to “use” such legacy are in context. The Adaptive Software tool is able to orchestrate all this as required; so think and visualise wrapping the dynamic green field around the brown field of legacy. To get started select an example of your process requirement and we will quickly show in action. This will encourage your people to start thinking “outside the box” how to improve their working environment.   The development environment is available for self use or can be carried out by a trusted supplier. The technology overhead is low making suitable for use by SMEs as either a user or supplier of an “IT” service or product. The skills required are business analyst oriented but basic understanding of databases and IT in general helps. Training is measured in days but working on a real project will be a very quick learning experience.   COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES The creation of this “6GL” Enterprise Adaptive Software has been along journey over two decades working with early adopters with a steep learning curve for all. We now focus on the distribution “exploitation” model. Given this is the start of effectively “commoditising” business software we need to “think outside the box” just as our technology allows for end users We recognise that end users want access to domain knowledge of their business to help optimise their support systems. As an enabling technology we are therefore seeking to bring on board partners big and small who can individually or collaboratively with their customers quickly build valuable Intellectual Property Rights in the Adaptive Software Applications.   The software readily supports shared services allowing multiple user groups each with a customised approach. This will allow a partner to deliver a service driven model for their customers.  Our model will encourage collaboration on the future development of our technology which will include access to the core code which will include OEM relationships. Where such relationships are established equity involvement is on the agenda.  This is the start of a new “journey” for business software and new ideas are in the pipeline. Such collaboration will ensure a sound basis of future developments. But it will also ensure two important aspects for the future; The technology is the enabler which with wider user experience and active collaboration for the benefit of all will remain a leader in this new approach. A very focused implementation to see rapid distribution to ensure a global presence and not allow the not insignificant vested interests to acquire and delay access by end users and their trusted suppliers of any size who are the real winners. This is a very business focused approach and technology and that has been the real challenge as traditional IT is the gatekeeper to their “domain”. We change this and now IT is recognising the old ways need to change. So join the party be part of the next step in the evolution of Enterprise Software.  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION A unified “6GL” Adaptive Software Technology Process engine  to ensure all works to plan Rules engine reflecting real world of compliance  Calculation engine automating system work State engine Real time feed back from any point BPM focus on people and their processes Workflow everything connected in right order  Audit trail, events, escalations = control Rapid prototyping user involvement  in build Time recording supports activity based costing Real time reporting become predictive Prebuilt configurable dashboard operational visibility Build mash ups one screen multiple data sources Linked intelligent Ajax grids enter data only once     Roles and performers people and machines Management hierarchy see who does what and when reallocate work Orchestrating business processes in SOA box a 21st century approach = agility in software Call Web Services wrapped up in a process User interface dynamically created linking people, roles, task type and data via forms for specific instances, web or client server TAG library connecting to data resulting in build and maintenance of the resulting web page is simplified as the developer only has to work with mark-up and not code Content handler and in memory work capability to ensure high performance. Pre-built templates for custom documents, letters, e-mails, messages etc dynamically populated with instance specific data and edit capability in browser Simplified table creation in Oracle Database Process and task versioning control Server Side Message Queue XML runtime and design Gateways SaaS, Platform as-a-service and Cloud Computing all supported Technical detail on web build What does it do? Enables Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) to be created for Web users, similar to the functionality of an installed application, but using thin-client technology Allows data from any source to be linked and presented together acting as an Enterprise Service Bus (“ESB”) for either read-only or update purposes, including graphs and charts Provides capabilities that allow complex forms to be created using mark-up language only, requiring minimal development effort Painlessly deals with all the complexities of creating Business Applications using Web Technology, include state awareness, intelligent grids and transactional processing Provides a library of all the essential JavaScript functions for a business application – little, if any, additional functions are needed to create feature-rich forms How does it Work? It is written in Java® and consists of a custom JSP Tag Library, a JavaScript function library and the server-side Java® forms engine Forms are powered using the popular Java® Server Pages (JSP) technology Connections to data stores are achieved using JDBC drivers, HTTP/SOAP or pluggable adaptors, as appropriate AJAX calls are used for data retrieval and storage, driven via the Custom JSP Tag Library Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) compatible methods are used for user authentication A Java® EE Servlet Container is utilised, such as Apache Tomcat, IBM Websphere or Oracle Weblogic, as the Web Server.