Software Developers Gladly Hop on the Cloud Bandwagon

By Paul Krill | InfoWorld

Paul Krill of InfoWorld writes that while debate on mass acceptance of cloud computing rages on, "for software developers, it has become clear that cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Windows Azure are expanding options for their application deployments."

The article cites DataArt's involvement in the cloud computing space:
"At DataArt, a software development outsourcing venture, the company is readying cloud development efforts with some internal development. But DataArt has not yet developed any cloud applications for customers. One of the company's clients wants a cloud-based medical records system. "They're going to build it from the ground up and they want Azure to be their platform for developing," says Roman Chernyshev, DataArt's vice president of engineering. DataArt's client hopes to start out on Azure, then move their application in-house, since it might be cheaper to run its own datacenter once it has thousands of customers, Chernyshev says.

Moving to the cloud means just minor differences for developers
There are some differences in developing cloud applications, such as the need to debug on a staging environment, says Chernyshev. "It's a little bit different, but I can't say that it's more difficult or less difficult. It's just another way of building applications," he says."

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Mobile Apps Make GIS Pocket-Sized

By: Andrew G. Roe

Cadalyst magazine, the leading publication about computer-aided design and related technologies, writes about intensifying battles between rival smartphone providers and the burgeoning market of mobile phone applications. DataArt is featured among innovative mobile application developers for its work on navmii, a new mobile consumer application with location-based services.

"Geographic information systems professionals can benefit from consumer-oriented tools. Navmii, a navigation application from London-based GeoLife that was previously developed for Windows Mobile devices, was recently released for the iPhone and iPod touch. The app uses GPS to provide smart routing, interactive maps, and spoken directions for turn-by-turn navigation. While similar applications were previously available for the iPhone, GeoLife claims Navmii is the first to bring GPS navigation to the iPod touch. Navmii is currently available for the United Kingdom, and will be available for the United States later this winter.

GeoLife's software partner, New York City–based DataArt, helped develop the technology that combined GeoLife's Navmii engine with PosiMotion's G-Fi mobile network and GPS router. The solution uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular telephone technology to establish positioning in a wider range of situations, said Dmitry Bagrov, DataArt's senior vice-president. "At any given moment, you can request the position of your phone," he said, noting that the combination of technologies enables users to dependably find that position even within buildings, unlike conventional GPS."

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DancingDinasour

A leading blog on mainframe computing in the 21st century, DancingDinosaur, ponders whether system z jobs are really available, quoting Alexei Miller, Executive Vice President at DataArt.

“Some large firms have reopened their college hiring” reports Alexei Miller, EVP at DataArt, a software outsourcing firm. “They’re actually talking about shortages of human capital.”

"It is ironic that the big financial firms, for example, slashed IT staffing and, now that the markets appear to be rebounding somewhat, suddenly have projects they need to complete fast. And when they try to call those people back, Miller reports, many already have been picked up by others and aren’t available."

"These projects, he notes, typically involve complex, non-standard work and massive data sets. The routine mainframe project work has long been shipped to India and elsewhere offsite. (DataArt also ships work offshore.) Rather, these are the kinds of projects that deal with pricing, risk, and compliance."

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TravelMole

Managing the traveller lifecycle with mobile.
TravelMole Guest Comment by Marina Kolesnik and Vasily Malinov, DataArt

Senior executives in charge of travel technology at DataArt share their insight with TravelMole, the 450,000+ global online community for travel and tourism professionals, on developing new revenue channels for hospitality and travel services providers, capitalizing on users’ social networking habits and location-based services, and maintaining customer loyalty.

"Travellers’ initial planning and booking phases present the best opportunity for hospitality companies to interact with customers throughout the entire lifecycle and secure new, incremental revenues. ...The most critical phase in building and maintaining customer loyalty is during the traveller’s stay, where service is an essential component of their experience. By knowing a guest’s favorite drink or newspaper, hospitality companies can greatly enhance and personalize customers’ experiences.
Hospitality companies can also develop various mobile applications, such as allowing reception desks to know when guests are in close proximity to the hotel. This allows the hotel to be prepared for guests to arrive, making them feel more welcome, as well as streamline check in, avoid long lines and reduce wait time.
By connecting with travellers before, during and after a stay, travel and hospitality companies will improve their customer loyalty and revenue generation."

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Risk Management: The Pros And Cons Of Building Your Own System

Alexander Makeyenkov, Senior VP of Capital Markets at DataArt, collaborated on a by-lined article for FINalternatives, the premier, independent source for news on the alternative investment industry. The article focuses on the culture, policies and procedures necessary for effective risk management at hedge funds and discusses what it takes to develop internal risk management architecture. Besides the tools necessary for implementing an effective risk management system, Makeyenkov addresses the ongoing debate of Build vs. Buy.

"If anything can be learned from the current crisis it is that risk management needs to be part of a core strategy of any investment firm," writes Makeyenkov. "What this means is that risk management systems need to be part of the core strength of any hedge fund that wants to stand out. For such hedge funds, buying an off-the-shelf product may be a first step in developing risk management architecture, but it shouldn’t be the only step... Depending on the complexity of the fund’s portfolio, the vendor system may not be capable of handling certain instruments. In such situations, the solution may involve either building an internal system to handle these instruments or purchasing an additional vendor system(s).. While ensuring seamless dataflow and building custom reporting that integrates all the systems is a big task in itself, there is an even a bigger issue. At the end of the day, a risk manager needs to have a complete picture of portfolio exposures. Such a picture needs to incorporate correlations among various products that exist in disparate systems. Building a tool to bring all these exposures together is akin to developing a complete risk system from scratch."

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