DataArt has worked extensively with implementing OpenTravel specifications and accompanies fellow organizations across travel, tourism and hospitality to identify solutions that meet electronic distribution supply chain challenges. Enterprises are currently facing operational barriers with an influx of disparate communication and data deliverly networks hampering exchanges across travel industry sectors. Members will collaborate to develop a flexible specification framework, improving suppliers and distributors’ communication channels, enhancing productivity, profitability and driving quality engagements for customers, partners and industry affiliates.

“We’re always pleased when respected technology providers join OpenTravel,” says Valyn Perini, CEO of OpenTravel. “Our main goal is to increase the relevance of our specification and extend its reach. DataArt can provide OpenTravel valuable input based on its client needs and implementation, while enhancing the value of our scheme to the travel industry at large.”

Recent work within travel and hospitality has positioned DataArt as an experienced and trusted provider of distribution solutions to the travel industry. In 2011, DataArt was selected as dedicated engineering partner to VacationRoost, a leading U.S.-based vacation rental and service provider with an online booking inventory of over 150,000 professionally managed vacation rentals, to expand its in-house technology efforts. This year, DataArt also worked with Digital Visitor, an award-winning social media agency, to complete its third-generation Visitor Review application, “VR3.”

“DataArt is committed to supporting the open standards community which is directly aligned with many of our travel industry clients’ interoperability needs,” said Greg Abbott, Senior Vice President of Travel and Hospitality at DataArt. “Along with our fellow members, we look forward to upholding the exchange model and assisting to forge open specifications and future methodologies.”

NEW YORK – March 20, 2012 – DataArt, a custom software development firm that builds advanced solutions for select industries, today announced completion of mobile banking apps for Plastyc, which provide its UPside Visa cardholders with a complete range of banking services on-the-go. Starting today, Plastyc's mobile apps can be downloaded from both, the Android Market and the Apple app store.

UPside Visa is Plastyc's award-winning prepaid program offering a premium suite of affordable banking services tailored for the up-and-coming youth and underbanked markets. The new UPside Visa mobile apps developed for Plastyc by DataArt, allow a full range of personal banking services on a smart phone, from checking balances and reviewing transaction histories to activating a new account, signing up for direct deposit, redeeming cash back points, paying bills, transferring funds to friends and issuing paper checks.

“DataArt helped us deploy the most comprehensive mobile banking applications in the prepaid market, simultaneously on two technical platforms - Android and iOS - in record time,” said Patrice Peyret, CEO of Plastyc.

“We now have extended our platform capabilities to all three major software environments: Microsoft .Net, Google Android and Apple iOS, thanks to DataArt's experienced teams”, added Justin Surman, CTO of Plastyc. “We were also able to address the specific security challenges of mobile applications by leveraging DataArt's prior experience in developing software for large financial institutions.”

In addition to using their UPside card anywhere Visa debit is accepted, the apps let cardholders use their smartphones to manage accounts, load funds, pay online, send paper checks, send customer service requests or redeem cash back points.

“This was a remarkable project for DataArt, which required an unprecedented level of rich functionality and security technologies baked into a mobile financial app, all delivered in a very tight timeframe,” said Alexei Miller, Executive Vice President of DataArt. “We are grateful for Plastyc's continued trust in DataArt and for their product and architecture leadership on this project.”

DataArt’s rapid prototyping enabled Plastyc to deliver multiple mobile banking services for its customers with superior security measures. The apps include the highest levels of security to protect account information. All local data is encrypted with the key stored on the server-side, so the cached data can’t be extracted even if the device is lost. Sensitive information such as full card numbers is never stored or transmitted to the device, and all server communications are protected and server’s SSL certificate thumbprint is verified to prevent any tampering attacks. The client authentication is implemented with best-in-class practices and protects applications from replay attacks. The apps require an additional password for all spending transactions. The user is logged out automatically after five minutes of inactivity.

DataArt has worked with Plastyc on a number of development projects since 2006, including the back-end systems for Plastyc’s iBankUp prepaid card portal and new mobile banking and payments platform.

DataArt’s mobile technologies team is well versed in mobile Web/HTML5 development and all modern mobile platforms including iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 & 8, WebOS, RIM OS and Symbian. The firm has created cutting-edge mobile apps for blue-chip brands, including an auto maker, a high-fashion house, pharmaceutical companies, an airline and numerous digital media agencies.

DataArt was engaged by Savvient to develop a platform that would put control back in the hands of healthcare providers and alleviate constraints on the business processes and flow. The CloudRecords is a family of five different applications serving one purpose, which allow clinical staff and patients to gather, manage and review all administrative and medical data:

• Practice management
• User management
• Different practice specialties
• Charting
• Intelligent data entry
• Graphical data entry
• Scheduling
• Co-Management
• Patient portal
• Clinical decision support
• Diagnostic equipment integration
• E-prescribing
• Custom adjustments

“CloudRecords is a direct response to the emerging needs and complexities of today's healthcare field,” said Eugene Goland, President of DataArt. “DataArt has built this fully-certified EHR solution for Savvient to deliver the usability, reliability and productivity required by today’s healthcare professionals.”

DataArt undertook the certification process, starting with requirements analysis, implementation, testing and communication with certification authorities in which CloudRecords achieved Complete Ambulatory EHR certification status, positioning it among top EHR providers on the market. It is also a testament to the high quality, security, and completeness of the application and its compliance with all modern healthcare industry standards (ICD-9, CPT, LOINC, HL7, HL7 CCD, CCR, ASTM CCR, RxNorm), traceability & reporting (PQRI, Submission to immunization registries, statistical reports, public health surveillance), clinical decision support, and Electronic prescribing.

Certification enables Savvient clients to participate in meaningful use incentive programs to achieve health and efficiency goals. By putting into action and meaningfully using an EHR system, providers will reap benefits beyond financial incentives–such as reduction in errors, availability of records and data, reminders and alerts, clinical decision support, and e-prescribing/refill automation.

“In DataArt we found a rare technology partner who has experience and skills to build software compliant with industry standards and support it through certification,” said Arthur Benjamin, CEO of Savvient.

Savvient was formed in 2009 by experienced physicians, developers and business entrepreneurs eager to create a platform which would answer to the demands of today’s patient care. DataArt has been the primary development partner for Savvient from the start, taking the product through all stages of development, from initial brief, design, planning and implementation to certification and medical practice integration.

• Real-time analytics joins big cloud family: With 150% cloud-related client growth in 2011, DataArt expects 2012 to be the year of the “Big Cloud Family”. Members include Cloud, Mobile, Embedded, Big Data and Data Analytics which are concurrently accelerating in evolution and popularity. Real-time analytics was formerly an outsider as tools were not productized in contrast with those designed for cloud technologies. However, this year presents a potential shift as industries and consumers realize the vast benefits from simplified decision making to deepened transparency. Availability will broaden, underpinning projects related to Big Data, Data Analytics and Social Web Mining.

• Personalized travel: 65% of DataArt’s travel clients requested mobile and social media applications in 2011. This year, companies will tap into additional creative strategies, experimenting with burgeoning engagement channels to create a personalized experience for the end traveler. Savvy start-ups are pressuring larger enterprises for access to invaluable data previously locked. Facilitators like Facebook and Twitter have opened the information floodgates, users want more and large legacy companies struggle to change at pace. 

• Hosted services maturation: Last year, DataArt saw the consumerisation of mobile platforms spur a web-based products explosion. Cloud hosted services have set the stage for continued momentum. Highly availability Infrastructure as Service platforms will remain the preferred hosting solution for Mobile Application and Services enabling application scalability, rapid deployment, faster ROI and predictable cost. Cross-platform messaging systems providing two way on-demand device-aware messaging capabilities will also support cloud based systems for targeted advertising and other engagement initiatives.

• Clinical data transparency: The industry demand for data sharing improvement will be a high priority for healthcare IT solution providers. Health Information Exchange organizations will be tasked to provide safer and more timely access to clinical data to advance coordination of care, support real-time decision making and provide data to identify high risk groups/individuals and support analysis of doctor’s performance. 

• Transformation of Clean Tech and Embedded markets: Green energy popularity has steadily grown and became more affordable due to the mass production of formerly customized solutions. With increasing availability of System on Chip (SoC) solutions and with growing support of development community energy saving and monitoring solutions are moving from a luxury to common household practice. In the embedded world, manufacturers of SoC will continue to promote their solutions to the development community, particularly for home automation and energy monitoring solutions. The support is available in form of subsidized development boards, better access to technical documentation, tutorials, wiki and community driven content. Many of recent developments are focused around removing the boundaries between hardware and software that would help develop better-integrated solutions and apply modern software development practices in the world of embedded solutions and inspire software developers to explore embedded systems.

• New generation of market data providers: From the financial sector, DataArt anticipates technology spend will continue to be influenced by regulations in credit risk and capital management, presenting the range of challenges exclusive to the financial services industry.  A new generation of market data providers requiring development initiatives in OTC and complex derivatives will emerge, driving the need for real-time applications. There will also be an increased push toward the cloud, particularly towards public cloud and PaaS providers along with upturn in interest in mobile tablet applications.

Financial Services and Healthcare practices were once again the top performing divisions of DataArt, contributing 35% and 15% respectively to overall company revenue. 15 new client wins in the financial technology sector validate the company’s industry expertise in the key areas of portfolio and risk management, derivatives and market data application development. Among DataArt’s new clients are some of the most innovative and well respected firms, including IPM, a leading European hedge fund, Ocado, the UK’s leading online supermarket and ThinkEco, a New York City-based company developing software energy-efficiency solutions for businesses and consumers.

To support market demands and enhance client communication, DataArt opened a state-of-the-art European headquarters in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, bringing the total company headcount to 700 in eight offices world-wide. DataArt’s business expertise, strong management and growth were recognized by prestigious industry organizations, including the 2011 Global Services 100 List and Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Private U.S. Companies. DataArt was also voted the Best IT Employer in Ukraine for 2011. The year culminated with DataArt on the forefront of technology innovations, completing a roster of enterprise and mobile solutions while tapping into emerging trends and development channels such as cloud, Big Data and embedded technologies.

“DataArt’s continued growth validates the company’s strategy of providing bespoke software development services to the mid-size companies who value fast time-to-market, flexible engagement options and specialized domain expertise,” said Eugene Goland, President of DataArt. “We continue to see that this sector is underserved by both generic, “all things to all people” outsourcing providers who focus on building low cost ODCs, and the large-scale, “brand”-driven providers who tailor their best offerings to the very large clients.”

ThinkEco develops hardware and software energy-efficiency solutions for businesses and consumers. Its patent-pending modlet® (for “modern outlet”) features intelligent engineering and algorithms to provide a simple, low-cost and easy-to-use solution for saving money and energy on electronic appliances. Once plugged into a standard outlet, the ThinkEco modlet gives users remote control access to all their plugged-in devices through its built-in wireless connectivity, and offers an intuitive method to save money. More specifically, the modlet tracks power consumption of plugged-in devices, allows users to set custom energy-saving schedules for them, and tracks the users’ overall saving performance for users.

DataArt has been engaged by ThinkEco to develop parts of the ThinkEco modlet technology platform, including the modlet iPhone and Android apps, cloud infrastructure (web and DB servers), and client-side application software. Integrating into ThinkEco’s core product R&D, DataArt added scalability and expanded the mobile platform, enabling availability across a range of devices. The resulting ThinkEco modlet apps allow users to monitor power consumption at each plug, remotely turn plugged-in devices on/off, view custom energy-saving scheduling plans and provision real-time access to effectively track and adjust usage costs.

“We developed the modlet and our energy efficiency sensor technologies to make it easier for consumers, business, OEM’s, utilities and large enterprises to save energy and money from the electrical waste from plugged-in devices, and DataArt immediately got what we want to do,” said Jun Shimada, chief technology officer and a founder of ThinkEco. “We want to enable the internet of things as we expand our productive partnership with DataArt.”

“ThinkEco offers a convenient portal to maintaining an eco and budget friendly lifestyle,” said Artyom Astafurov, SVP and Chief Innovation Officer of DataArt. “DataArt development teams live on the greener side of the fence and our continued collaboration will support ThinkEco’s sustainability initiatives, empowering users to control their carbon footprint as well as their energy costs.”