At a time when Moore’s Law on chip power seems to be reaching its limits, researchers are looking into a new computer architecture capable of delivering a much higher level of performance. Hence the idea of the quantum computer which, unlike the conventional bit-based architecture, offers storage based on qubits. In practice, while a bit contains just a 0 or a 1, a qubit can store more complex information since it deals with a 0 and a 1 that are superposed. In addition, qubits use the quantum properties of matter to represent both the state of 0 and 1, whereas conventional bits can only operate with one unit of information at a time, so either the state of 0 or the state of 1. In other words (and without going into technological details), qubits are able to take on two configurations simultaneously, which gives them extreme speed.

By doing so, much more complex problems can be dealt with much more quickly. Google, for example, recently announced it succeeded in executing an extremely complex operation, which would have required more than 10.000 years for a conventional supercomputer, in just over 3 minutes using its quantum computer Sycamore. That information was quickly ‘put into perspective’ by Google’s sworn enemy, IBM, which claims to have discovered a classic algorithm capable of performing a similar operation on an equally classic computer in ‘only’ two and a half days.

Currently, Google, IBM and Microsoft – and most probably China – are working on quantum computers. But they struggle to pass the 53 qubits mark, as they face qubit stability problems in their quantum state, which requires very specific conditions: the atoms must be simple, cold (-270 °C) and isolated from the outside world (absolute vacuum). On top of that, the applications developed for today’s computers need to be completely rewritten for quantum computers.

New areas

Still, there are some unsuspected prospects. In fields as diverse and varied as health care (development of new drugs, big data processing), transportation (autonomous cars), energy management (optimization of resources, simulation of energy savings), security (protection against cyberattacks), simulation (fluid dynamics in construction), aeronautics (aircraft construction), financial services (risk optimization and fraud detection) and production (supply chain management), quantum computing’s processing capacity could find its true calling. In short, all sectors whose success depends on computing power and the ability to process large amounts of data could benefit from quantum computing.

The challenge is to highlight the areas where the use of quantum computing will lead to better results than conventional systems. Initially, business managers will have to learn about the potential of this new technology, without being overwhelmed by it. Why not select an activity where quantum computing is clearly the right answer and launch a pilot project? Easy access to this technology is now possible thanks to the cloud. This is particularly the case with Amazon Braket, which provides an environment for designing, testing and executing quantum algorithms.

Microsoft offers Azure Quantum, consisting of preconfigured building blocks and algorithms, as well as quantum simulators and a real quantum computer. A pioneer of quantum computing technology, IBM, implemented its IBM Q Experience with a Qiskit framework and a graphical and user-friendly Circuit Composer interface. Google provides the opportunity to experiment with quantum computing through Google Playground, including an Integrated Development Environment and a scripting language to develop and experiment with quantum algorithms.

Ecosystem

Beyond the infrastructure, a project related to quantum computing also needs an ecosystem, associating partners capable of mastering both the client’s business and IT strategy, making sure the technology is implemented for the benefit of innovation and digital transformation. As a company specializing in the architecture and transformation of information systems, Aprico Consultants is committed to the digital transformation of its clients by providing them with the flexibility, performance and competitiveness they need to strengthen their position in the market. This transformation involves the implementation of innovative processes as well as the development of cutting-edge products, inspired by a constant search for innovation. Aprico Consultants collaborates with its clients to translate their strategies, objectives and constraints into pragmatic innovation programs that deliver real added value and a tangible return on investment.

By 2024, analysts estimate that the quantum applications market will be worth 2 to 5 billion dollars. They also warn the technology’s major breakthrough is expected fairly soon. As a result, companies that invest in quantum computing give their competitors a really hard time to catch up. Analysts also consider that the value creation generated by quantum computing is expected to reach 35 to 75 billion dollars per year. “The quantum computing revolution is only a matter of time. Companies that don’t invest are at risk. They will miss out on powerful growth drivers, or even disappear.”

More information: marketing@aprico-consult.com

NL versie zie verder – UK version see under

Depuis 19 ans déjà, les rédactions de Trends et de Trends-Tendance mettent à l’honneur les Gazelles dans chaque province du pays. Le titre de Gazelle est reconnu dans le monde des affaires en raison de sa réputation nationale et de sa reconnaissance régionale. Pour mériter ce titre envié, les entreprises doivent être en pleine croissance et représenter une source d’énergie pour l’économie du pays et une réelle source d’inspiration pour les entrepreneurs.

Fondée en 1998 par Christophe Delcorte pour accompagner les entreprises dans leurs projets de transformation numérique, Aprico propose une approche originale de conduite de projets informatiques. Concrètement, l’entreprise assiste ses clients à la fois sur le plan stratégique et opérationnel. Ainsi, Aprico collabore à la refonte des processus métier, à la définition de la stratégie d’architecture ou encore à la mise en place de structures IT optimales. Et en parallèle, elle prend en charge la conduite et la mise en œuvre concrète de programmes et projets de transformation numérique. « Nous nous différencions d’autres prestataires de services par notre positionnement transversal, explique Christophe Delcorte, fondateur et CEO d’Aprico. Nous déclinons d’abord les modèles métiers des entreprises en plans et projets à la fois concrets et en cohérence avec la réalité de terrain du client. Et ensuite seulement, nous les accompagnons dans l’implémentation de leur projet IT en veillant, à chaque étape, à fédérer les différents intervenants métier et IT au travers d’un processus rigoureux de conduite du changement. Et à la demande du client, nous pouvons assumer la responsabilité totale d’un projet. »

Par ailleurs, Aprico a mis au point une méthodologie de travail originale dont les mots-clés sont ‘smart’, ‘lean’ et ‘agile’. « Les entreprises doivent constamment remettre en question leur fonctionnement à tous les niveaux opérationnels, qu’il s’agisse de l’administration, de la production, du marketing, de la logistique, etc. Or le numérique et la technologie doivent leur permettre d’optimiser ces différents processus », souligne encore Christophe Delcorte. Désormais, toutes les entreprises doivent se réinventer, avec l’ambition d’améliorer ses performances et sa compétitivité. Pour relever ces défis, elles recherchent des partenaires non seulement fiables, mais aussi compétents et innovants.

Fort de ce positionnement, Aprico connaît depuis plusieurs années une croissance à deux chiffres. Ainsi, la société a réalisé l’an dernier un chiffre d’affaires de plus de 15 millions d’euros avec environ 150 consultants experts. Ses clients sont essentiellement des grandes et moyennes entreprises localisées en Europe, avec un accent particulier sur la Belgique et la France. Il s’agit tant de sociétés privées que d’organismes publics. Avec un taux de rétention des clients de 96% !

Pour desservir ces clients, Aprico s’appuie non seulement sur des équipes locales (une centaine de consultants tant employés que freelances), mais aussi sur son antenne en Tunisie (une cinquantaine d’ingénieurs civils) pour la mise en œuvre de projets informatiques ainsi que pour le développement de solutions dans des délais rapides et à des coûts compétitifs. Et pour soutenir sa croissance, Aprico est constamment à la recherche de nouveaux profils, même si elle peut se prévaloir d’un turn-over inférieur à 5%, grâce notamment à une excellente ambiance de travail, un travail intéressant et varié, un plan de carrière attractif, des formations et surtout un esprit d’équipe.

A propos des Trends Gazelles 2020

Les Gazelles de Trends et Trends/Tendances sont sélectionnées sur base de chiffres réels (sur les cinq dernières années) de croissance en termes de chiffre d’affaires, de personnel (notamment de création d’emplois) et de cash-flow. En outre, l’entreprise doit faire preuve de suffisamment d’indépendance opérationnelle. Trois catégories sont distinguées : petites entreprises (moins de 1 million € de CA), moyennes entreprises (de 1 à 10 millions € de CA) et grandes entreprises (plus de 10 millions € de CA).

A propos d’Aprico Consultants

Aprico Consultants est une société de conseil spécialisée dans l’architecture et la transformation des systèmes d’information. En accélérant résolument les processus de transformation numérique, la société fournit à ses clients la flexibilité, la performance et la compétitivité nécessaires pour leur permettre de renforcer leur position sur le marché. Aprico Consultants collabore avec ses clients pour traduire la stratégie de l’entreprise, ses objectifs et ses contraintes en programmes de transformation pragmatiques qui délivrent une véritable valeur ajoutée et un retour sur investissement avéré.

Aprico Consultants verkozen tot Trends Gazelle 2020 voor Vlaams-Brabant

Het Belgische consultancybedrijf Aprico Consultants is door de redacties van Trends en Trends-Tendances verkozen tot Trends Gazelle 2020 voor Vlaams-Brabant in de categorie middelgrote bedrijven. De titel bekroont het succes van deze dynamische Zaventemse onderneming met specialisatie in digitale transformatie.

Al 19 jaar gaan de redacties van Trends en Trends-Tendances elk jaar op zoek naar de Trends Gazellen van elke provincie. De titel van Gazelle wordt door de bedrijfswereld gekoesterd omwille van de nationale bekendheid en de regionale erkenning. Bij de verkiezing tot Trends Gazelle spelen drie criteria mee. De laureaten moeten in volle groei zijn, de nationale economie vooruithelpen en een inspiratiebron vormen voor andere ondernemers.

Aprico Consultants werd in 1998 opgericht door Christophe Delcorte, met als doel bedrijven te begeleiden bij hun digitale transformatie. Vandaag doet Aprico dat door IT-projecten op een originele manier aan te pakken. Concreet staat het bedrijf zijn klanten zowel op strategisch als operationeel vlak bij. Zo wordt Aprico ingeschakeld voor het herinrichten van bedrijfsprocessen, het definiëren van de strategie rond de IT-architectuur en het opzetten van een optimale IT-structuur. Tegelijk begeleiden en implementeren de consultants van Aprico concrete programma’s en projecten rond digitale transformatie. “We onderscheiden ons van andere dienstverleners door onze crossfunctionele positionering”, zegt Christophe Delcorte, oprichter en CEO van Aprico. “We starten altijd met de vertaling van de bedrijfsmodellen van onze klanten naar plannen en projecten die concreet zijn en in lijn liggen met de realiteit op de werkvloer. Pas daarna begeleiden we ze bij de implementatie van hun IT-project. Daarbij gaat in elke fase veel aandacht naar het samenbrengen van alle betrokken actoren (IT-functies, maar ook uit andere domeinen) tijdens een strikt gemonitord proces van change management. Als klanten ons dat vragen, kunnen we ook de volledige verantwoordelijkheid voor een project op ons nemen.”

Aprico heeft een originele werkmethode uitgewerkt, gebaseerd op drie kernwoorden: ‘smart’, ‘lean’ en ‘agile’. “Bedrijven moeten hun werking continu in vraag stellen. Dat geldt op alle operationele niveaus, van de administratie over de productie tot de marketing en de logistiek. De digitalisering en de technologische vooruitgang kunnen hen helpen bij de optimalisatie van elk van dieze processen”, aldus Christophe Delcorte. “Vandaag moeten alle bedrijven zich heruitvinden om hun prestaties te verbeteren en hun concurrentiekracht te verhogen. Om hen bij te staan bij deze uitdagingen gaan ze op zoek naar partners die niet alleen betrouwbaar zijn, maar ook de juiste competenties hebben en innovatie hoog in het vaandel dragen.”

Op basis van die positionering laat Aprico al verschillende jaren dubbele groeicijfers noteren. Zo realiseerde het bedrijf vorig jaar een omzet van meer dan 15 miljoen euro, met zo’n 150 consultants. Het klantenbestand bestaat voornamelijk uit grote en middelgrote Europese bedrijven, vooral uit België en Frankrijk. Die bedrijven komen zowel uit de private als de publieke sector. Tot de klanten behoren onder meer het Waals Gewest, de Franse Gemeenschap, het IFAPME, het Agence du Numérique, Ores, BNP Paribas Fortis, AG Insurance, Coreso, Entso-E, het UCM, Interparking, Medasys en Oresys. Het behoud van klanten bedraagt maar liefst 96%!

Voor de ondersteuning van zijn klanten rekent Aprico op zijn lokale teams (een honderdtal consultants, zowel in loondienst als freelancers), maar daarnaast doet het bedrijf ook een beroep op een Tunesische partner (met een vijftigtal burgerlijk ingenieurs) voor de implementatie van IT-projecten en voor de snelle ontwikkeling van oplossingen aan scherpe prijzen. Om verder te kunnen groeien zoekt Aprico constant naar nieuwe profielen. Nochtans is het personeelsverloop lager dan 5%, onder meer dankzij de uitstekende werksfeer, de interessante en gevarieerde jobinhoud, aantrekkelijke doorgroeimogelijkheden, opleidingen en vooral een goede teamgeest.

Over Trends Gazellen 2020

Trends Gazellen worden geselecteerd op basis van reële groeicijfers (van de laatste vijf jaar), zowel qua omzet als qua personeel (vooral door jobcreatie) en cashflow. Bovendien moeten Gazellen kunnen aantonen dat ze operationeel voldoende onafhankelijk zijn. De redacties van Trends en Trends-Tendances onderscheiden drie categorieën: kleine ondernemingen (minder dan 1 miljoen euro omzet), middelgrote ondernemingen (1 tot 10 miljoen euro omzet) en grote ondernemingen (meer dan 10 miljoen euro omzet).

Over Aprico Consultants

Aprico Consultants is gespecialiseerd in de architectuur en de transformatie van IT-systemen. Door het digitale transformatieproces van zijn klanten resoluut te versnellen, zorgt Aprico ervoor dat bedrijven over de flexibiliteit, de prestaties en het concurrentievermogen beschikken om hun marktpositie te verstevigen. Aprico Consultants werkt samen met zijn klanten om de bedrijfsstrategie, de doelstellingen en de verplichtingen te vertalen naar pragmatische transformatieprogramma’s die een reële meerwaarde en een gegarandeerde return on investment opleveren.

Aprico Consultants nominated ‘Trends Gazelle 2020’ for Flemish Brabant

The Belgian consultancy company Aprico Consultants has been awarded by the magazines Trends and Trends-Tendances the title of ‘Gazelle 2020 for the province of Flemish Brabant’ in the category of the medium-sized enterprises. This title is the recognition for the success of a dynamic Belgian company specialized in the field of digital transformation.

For 19 years already, the editors of Trends and Trends-Tendances are honoring the ‘Gazelles’ in every province of the country. The title of ‘Gazelle’ is recognized in the business world because of its national reputation and regional recognition. In order to earn this enviable title, companies must be growing and be a driver of the national economy as well as a real source of inspiration for entrepreneurs.

Aprico was founded in 1998 by Christophe Delcorte to support companies in their digital transformation projects. Aprico offers an original approach to IT project management. The company assists its clients at strategic and operational level. Aprico helps them to redesign business processes, define the architectural strategy and implement optimal IT structures. It is also responsible for the management and concrete implementation of digital transformation programs and projects.

“We distinguish ourselves from other service providers by our transversal positioning”, explains Christophe Delcorte, Aprico’s founder and CEO. “First, we convert the business models of the companies into concrete plans and projects in accordance with the reality of our customers. Subsequently, we support them for the implementation of their IT project by bringing together the different business and IT stakeholders throughout a rigorous change management process. At the customer’s request, we can take full responsibility for a project.”

Furthermore, Aprico has developed an original working methodology whose keywords are ‘smart’, ‘lean’ and ‘agile’. “Companies must constantly question their functioning at all operational levels: administration, production, marketing, logistics… However, digital transformation and technology must allow them to optimize these different processes”, according to Christophe Delcorte. From now on, all companies must reinvent themselves, with the ambition to improve their performance and competitiveness. In order to meet these challenges, they are looking for reliable, competent and innovative partners.

By this strong positioning, Aprico has known a double-digit growth for several years already. Last year, the company achieved a turnover of more than 15 million euros with circa 150 expert consultants. Its customers are mainly large and medium-sized enterprises located in Europe (with a particular focus on Belgium and France). It concerns private companies as well as public bodies, and in particular: the Walloon Region, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the IFAPME, the Digital Agency, Ores, BNP Paribas Fortis, AG Insurance, Coreso, Entso-E, UCM, Interparking, Medasys and Oresys. The customer retention rate: 96%!

In order to satisfy these customers, Aprico doesn’t only rely on local teams (some 100 consultants; employees as well as freelancers), but also on its branch in Tunisia (about 50 civil engineers) for the implementation of IT projects as well as for the quick development of solutions at competitive costs. To support its growth, Aprico is constantly looking for new profiles, even if it can rely on a turnover of less than 5%, thanks to an excellent working atmosphere, interesting and varied work, an attractive career plan, trainings and team spirit, above all.

About ‘Trends Gazelles 2020’

The ‘Gazelles’ of Trends and Trends/Tendances are selected on the basis of actual figures (over the past 5 years) of growth in terms of turnover, staff (job creation in particular) and cash flow. Moreover, the company must prove to be sufficiently operationally independent. There are three categories: small businesses (turnover of less than € 1 million), medium-sized enterprises (turnover from € 1 to 10 million) and large companies (turnover of more than € 10 million).

About Aprico Consultants

Aprico Consultants is a consulting company specialized in the field of architecture and transformation of information systems. By resolutely accelerating the digital transformation processes, the company provides its customers with the flexibility, performance and competitiveness required to allow them to strengthen their market position. Aprico Consultants collaborates with its clients in order to convert the strategy, goals and constraints of the company into pragmatic transformation programs that deliver real added value and a proven return on investment.

More information: marketing@aprico-consult.com

As we mentioned in a previous blog post, security can no longer be considered as a stand-alone responsibility, entrusted to a specific team, even ultra-specialized, at the end of the design process. In fact, security has become a shared responsibility and is integrated end-to-end throughout the entire development cycle. Hence the concept of DevSecOps: designed to integrate application and infrastructure security early in the process and to automate the workflow between the different stakeholders as much as possible. It is clear that the agility that is necessary for the digital transformation of a company requires a closer collaboration between specialists in networks, security, infrastructure, storage and development, far away from the silos that are still all too present at a lot of organizations.

Security first
In a DevSecOps approach, the security team is responsible for testing the product before it goes into production. Any flaws that are found, are fed back to the development team, allowing it to take a closer look and solve the problems. In this scenario, security specialists are often perceived as ‘troublemakers’ and as a cost center, as they may delay the deployment of a product. Because security is an extremely complex matter, security experts tend to be only in contact with each other. They often are reluctant to communicate outside of their department, as they feel the inevitable mistrust that is surrounding the security team. Because after all, their tools are extremely sophisticated and thus inaccessible to other IT profiles. In other words, it comes as no surprise that ‘Sec’ often follows behind ‘Dev’ and comes before ‘Ops’.

Sure, the rise of technologies and concepts such as cloud, containers and micro-services, as well as agile development and mixed teams with business and IT profiles, should pave the way towards truly integrated DevSecOps. But the reality is often quite different.

In fact, security checks, guidelines, coding standards and policies need to be fully integrated into the software development process. To achieve this goal, security needs to be considered as an integral part of the process: ‘Sec’ comes first, then ‘Dev’, then ‘Ops’. That approach allows the security team – if necessary in collaboration with an architect or senior developer – to define the policies at the very beginning of the project. These policies may include secure coding standards, rules to avoid unsafe encryption and APIs, instructions for the use of static or dynamic analysis, testing guidelines, and so on. The goal is to make sure that developers produce secure code for their everyday tasks and to automate operations as much as possible.

From theory to practice
It seems inevitable that this type of security – designed from the onset – puts additional constraints on developers. But the integrated and incremental SecDevOps approach allows for tracking vulnerabilities more effectively, compared to the traditional security audit at the end of the development process.

Of course, security is often still seen as an add-on or a simple control process before going live with an application. And yes, sometimes it is difficult to correct errors while the product is still under development. But it is important to see security as a step in the developer’s daily workflow. It must be integrated into the software development process.

To successfully complete a SecDevOps approach, three elements have to be combined. First of all, the processes. It is important to formalize the development and deployment processes within a framework of strictly defined responsibilities. Secondly, the tools. They must be shared by all stakeholders and be part of a continuous integration platform. And finally, the people. Development, security and production teams must share common goals. Do not neglect the cultural differences between the IT profiles of the teams and make sure that the general management backs the project and ensures regular monitoring, ideally based on specific metrics.

Aprico helps companies innovate and rethink their business processes by putting security at the center of their strategic thinking. We share best practices, technologies and organizational models that allow organizations to open up to the outside world and share information securely. More information: marketing@aprico-consult.com

For any CIO, the main priority is and remains to guarantee an optimal, functioning IT infrastructure, especially at a time when IT platforms become more and more interconnected and have to be available 24/7/365. Of course, the cloud can provide an answer to this challenge, even if it is advisable to ensure optimal and constant control over the systems in that case (notably with know-how that is kept internally).

Likewise, controlling costs in an uncertain economic climate will undoubtedly be at the top of the CIO’s agenda, without necessarily going into fallback mode and lowering ambitions. In this context, both outsourcing and the cloud can help reduce expenses. It is clear that in a increasingly competitive environment, IT must position itself as one of the engines of innovation and of the inevitable digital transformation every company should be setting up these days.

To further reduce costs, automation offers an interesting alternative. The first targets are standardized and repetitive tasks, such as first level support (helpdesk) or the allocation of basic IT resources. Freed up personnel can be reassigned to functions with a higher added value for the organization. But at the same time, consultancy firm Forrester believes that cutting costs is a recipe for failure in today’s environment.

Influencer
Still according to Forrester, people are an important key to success. To be successful, the IT department will have to raise the skills level of its teams in operations, development and security. Likewise, it will be a question of inciting these teams to work in a more harmonious and concerted way, in particular within the framework of DevOps strategies or, even better, SecDevOps (see our previous blogs). In terms of collaboration, IT teams will have to work closely with the business, as business and IT alignment is now essential if the company wants to become agile and reactive.

In addition, given the growing complexity of systems (especially in security), the establishment of ecosystems, not only internally, but also with external partners (suppliers in particular), will be essential.

Likewise, the CIO himself will have to play a new role, not only of facilitator, but also of leader within the organization. As part of the management committee, the CIO has an influence on the company’s decision-making, not only about IT, but also on a strategic level. In this regard, the modern CIO will be less of a geek and more of a specialist on the organizational level of the company.

Use the data

The CIO needs to look for ways to make more use of available data and transform this data into information, by implementing, among other things, analytics and big data processing solutions. These solutions will not only be used by the IT department, but also by the employees of various other departments, including marketing, HR and logistics. This is part of the ultimate challenge of digital transformation: changing and optimizing traditional business processes into digital flows.

In this context, security and governance are key success factors. Next to the obvious human factor, that is. Don’t forget that every transformation involves changes in habits and behaviour, which individuals usually don’t pick up naturally and which require a lot of communication and training. And in the context of the war for talent, the retention of employees, especially in IT, is more important than ever before.

Finally, the CIO shouldn’t neglect or underestimate new technologies and innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual and augmented reality, edge computing and blockchain.

According to Forrester, companies that stand out today are integrating change and uncertainty to improve the user, employee and customer experience. They take advantage of technology without being enslaved to it, and innovate with the support of the CIO. The companies whose CIO’s are still too attached to administrative and financial management are less well placed to achieve their objectives.

Partnership

As the CIO wants to focus on these initiatives, he makes sure to surround himself with the right people and organizations, both internally and externally. A partner like Aprico combines cutting-edge expertise with perfect management, applied to both technology and the customer’s business. This approach allows us to develop and implement innovative ICT offers that aim at improving the productivity, efficiency and profitability of our customers. This way, they become stronger and are ready to face all current technological challenges.

According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle 2019, there are as many as 37 (!) emerging AI technologies. Some of them are still on the technological breakthrough curve. A majority has passed the peak of the hype cycle, but only two have already reached the maturity stage: GPU acceleration (Graphical Processing Unit, especially for studying neural networks) and voice recognition.

Five basic trends

Five major technologies, Gartner states, should be of interest to the CIO and the board of a company.

Augmented intelligence brings together a set of solutions focused on the individual, meant to improve teamwork, reduce errors and relieve repetitive and time-consuming tasks. The ultimate goal is to have more efficient and productive employees. Chatbots or conversational agents will impact all activities where interaction with a human is essential. Chatbots can be based on voice, text, or both, and rely on responses in the form of scripts. They can be used in human resources, helpdesks or self-service applications, as well as in customer service.

Another widely established technology is machine learning, designed to solve business problems by enabling the understanding of trends, the prediction of market developments or the anticipation of maintenance operations. It should be noted, however, that Gartner already considers ML to be in the phase of ‘disillusionment’, justifying its position only by the misuse of technology. The governance of AI – rather a trend than a technology – brings together reflections on the ethics of AI as well as the measures to be put in place to avoid bias, discrimination and other negative implications related to the inappropriate use of AI. Finally, Gartner defines a category of intelligent business applications that are improved by some form of intelligence, such as Office 365, ERP and CRM solutions, analytics applications, and more.

Beyond these basic trends, other types of AI are gradually on the rise in companies. This is the case with deep learning for image and voice recognition and classification, or for reinforcement learning, in which case systems learn automatically by trial and error.

Adoption rate
According to a study by KPMG International and HFS Research, only 20 to 30% of organizations worldwide have decided not to invest in AI or have no plans to do so. By contrast, two-thirds of companies already explore the possibilities offered by AI technology, while 17% claim they have already carried out large-scale AI deployments. In addition, 36% have launched pilot projects or are in the deployment phase, mainly in the areas of intelligent analytics and process automation through robotics.

In its Global CEO Survey, consulting company PwC estimates that 85% of CEOs of large companies agree that AI will fundamentally change the way business is done in the next five years. According to PwC, 39% of European companies have launched AI initiatives, while 6% have already introduced the technology on a large scale and 4% believe that AI is fundamental to their activities.

Finally, according to a study published by Microsoft and EY last summer, 90% of Belgian companies’ boards consider AI an important matter. In addition, 86% believe that AI will optimize their operations and 71% say that it will transform their products and services. 71% think AI will help them attract new clients and 62% are convinced AI will help their employees to work more efficiently. In addition, 76% use AI for predictions (for example, ‘which client is likely to leave’), compared to 62% for intelligent automation (mainly logistics) and 62% for sales analytics (including product demand forecasts). Finally, 38% use AI to improve customer experience (using chatbots) or customer service.

Partner
To help choose the AI technology that is most appropriate and that offers the best return on investment, a company is interested in working with a reliable and experienced partner. Aprico Consultants is a consulting firm specializing in architecture and information systems transformation. By accelerating digital transformation processes, we provide our customers with the flexibility, performance and competitiveness they need to strengthen their position in the market. Aprico Consultants works closely together with customers to translate their strategy, objectives and constraints into pragmatic transformation programs that deliver real added value and proven return on investment. For more information: marketing@aprico-consult.com

In our previous blogs, we described why alignment between business and IT is essential, as it results in greater agility coming from the implementation of processes such as DevOps (close alignment between the development and IT operations teams) and NoOps (automation of deployment, monitoring and admin of applications and underlying infrastructure), associated with serverless and containers.

End to end
In the past, development and operations teams worked in sequence. The modern enterprise, however, can no longer afford weeks, months or perhaps even years to deploy new applications. Therefore, it is necessary to have both teams work closely together as part of an agile development strategy. Similarly, security can no longer be considered as a separate team, only joining the project at the very end of the design process. In fact, security becomes a shared responsibility, based on end-to-end integration: hence the concept of DevSecOps.

The DevSecOps concept aims to design application and infrastructure security from the very start of the design process, as well as to automate the workflow between the different teams as much as possible. That is why we talk about integrated security here, and not about the traditional security perimeter that protects applications and data. In the world of DevSecOps, security teams participate in defining and preventing potential threats from the very start of the project, and remain involved throughout the entire process. Cloud, container and micro-service technologies facilitate the integration of security features and ensure greater consistency of deployed solutions.

People and automation
When we look beyond the purely technological solution, it goes without saying that collaboration remains above all a question of people. As a result, it is necessary to put in place an environment that supports collaboration and communication, in order to detect any risk of vulnerability as soon as it occurs in the development process. Our consultants prefer a smooth transition: deploying a methodology in a small pilot team before scaling up, simplifying manual control processes, implementing continuous code testing, including business, development, security and operations teams in project governance, containerizing solutions to isolate the functions of a specific system, automating audit operations, and more.

DevSecOps also requires a new corporate culture, rethinking everyone’s responsibilities by dropping silos and creating a new model for team engagement. Surprising as it may seem, it is especially at the level of the security teams that this new approach will have to be appreciated and accepted, since security now becomes a joint responsibility and is no longer the exclusive field of a specialized team. DevSecOps counts on a type of security that is no longer based on controls (such as firewalls), but becomes context-aware. Indeed, because of the internet and the cloud, security is no longer limited to the perimeter of the organization.

A new paradigm
At all levels of the organization, the DevSecOps approach requires a change in culture and behaviour. Hence the obligation to involve senior management in this new approach, to make sure that IT and business are on the same page and communicate in full transparency. Ultimately, DevSecOps will reduce costs, shorten test phases and help manage the entire application life cycle.

As DevOps is growing rapidly (75% of respondents would have reached this level of maturity), a recent survey by Sonatype (‘DevSecOps Community Survey 2019’, conducted with some 6,000 IT professionals and developers) shows the integration of security remains insufficient.

To help clients throughout this transformation, Aprico Consultants collaborates with them to translate their companies’ strategies, objectives and constraints into pragmatic transformation programs that deliver real added value and a proven return on investment.

Aprico Consultants enables its customers to accelerate their digital transformation processes with the flexibility, performance and competitiveness they need to strengthen their position in the market. For more information on DevSecOps and our consultancy services, contact us: marketing@aprico-consult.com

In the past, most business data was managed in structured operational databases. But under the pressure of sales and marketing, companies have been looking for new sources of information. As a result, messaging, social networks and the Internet are more and more often consulted to enrich organization’s knowledge, not to mention geolocation data or statistics and graphs. These new media require the use of specific collection and analysis tools.

Open source engine
In the early 2010s, Shay Banon, the founder of the Compass Project, wrote his own version of Compass to provide a distributed solution for using JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) and Java through http requests. That made the search engine usable with any programming language. In 2012, he set up the ElasticSearch company, together with Steven Shuurman.

In practice, ElasticSearch is a NoSQL database that searches any type of document using text-based indexing, all through a REST interface, eliminating the need for different types of search mechanisms. The database has an adaptable architecture and allows you to perform searches in real time and at very high speed. The solution looks into the actual text, not just into an index. ElasticSearch relies on Lucene’s open source Apache-based search engine and is able to store large volumes of documents that can be analyzed in (near) real time.

ElasticSearch is distributed on several servers, meaning that it is possible to route requests, run processes in parallel, replicate data in case of failure and increase the system’s indexing capacity. In fact, the stored data is spread over several nodes.

Strictly speaking, ElasticSearch is not a search system that connects to data and allows to display results, but rather a scalable (thanks to its distribution on several machines) and easily managed backbone, supporting REST calls.

In addition to its scalability – hence its name – ElasticSearch is particularly effective. It is possible to analyze billions of records in a few seconds. ElasticSearch is also multilingual, which is a significant asset in a country like Belgium. And ther’s more. The ‘completion suggester’ already offers relevant results while the user is writing the query, improving the accuracy of the search. Finally, ElasticSearch does not require definitions, such as index, type or field, before the indexing process. When a new object is subsequently indexed with a new property, it is automatically added to the mapping definitions.

Applications
At a time when companies store and analyze more and more unstructured data, especially from messaging and from social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, an adapted search engine is needed. ElasticSearch’s scalability and ability to search for data in near real-time are important assets. What’s more, the product proves to be stable and user-friendly.

Moreover, in the era of big data, ElasticSearch can be positioned as a complement to solutions like Hadoop or Solr, especially considering its ease of use and ability to support very large volumes of data (in Petabytes). In this case, ElasticSearch can be used as the front-end of the Hadoop framework.

At the same time, ElasticSearch can also be used for logging and log analysis, especially in combination with a dashboarding and analysis tool, for collecting and combining public data (tweets or hashtags), for full text search, for the collection and analysis of event and measurement data, as well as for data visualization, for example in combination with Kibana.

Implementing ElasticSearch, however, requires not only technological knowledge, but also a perfect understanding of the customer’s business. Who else but your trusted IT partner can understand your strategy, needs and goals? Aprico Consultants’ ElasticSearch team of experts helps, guides, facilitates and coordinates such projects to enable faster implementation, increase efficiency and reduce project costs.

For more information: marketing@aprico-consult.com

Will container technology become as widespread as application virtualisation? Although the concept of the container already exists since the beginning of this century (in particular with Linux), the success of Docker (the most popular and most used open source containerisation platform based on Linux) since 2013 has reinvigorated the use of containers.

The advantages

In fact, a container is a complete development environment integrating the application, all of its dependencies, libraries, binary files and runtime files within one single ‘package’. Consequently, it is a virtual envelope integrating anything an application needs in order to function. Remark: unlike server virtualisation or virtual machines, containers don’t have an operating system, but rely on the OS of the server on which they are deployed.

Another advantage of containers is their size, since they only ‘weigh’ a few tens of megabytes, versus several gigabytes for virtual machines and their complete operating systems, which allows to increase portability. Moreover, virtual machines may need several minutes to start and run their applications, while containers can start almost immediately.

Moreover, containerisation is more flexible and modular since a complex application can be split into modules (database, interface…) rather than stored in one single container. This is called the ‘technique of microservices’ (please refer to a previous blog). Since these modules are lightweight, they can be managed easily and activated ‘on the fly’ when a need is emitted. Remark: there are many container management systems on the market, whether for Windows or Linux, but also among the main cloud providers.

Finally, a technology such as Docker allows to deploy a locally tested application in production on almost any cloud, while the operation can be complicated in the case of virtualisation.

In order to convince people of the importance of containerisation, in 2014, IBM published a performance comparison between Docker and KVM, concluding that containers equal or exceed the performance of virtualisation. In 2017, this opinion was shared by the University of Lund in Sweden, which compared containers to VMware virtualisation and came to the same conclusion. The only constraint: containers created under Linux aren’t compatible with Microsoft and vice versa, which is not the case for traditional virtualisation.

Deployment

As you can see, containerisation appears to be a solution to increase the elasticity of an application and to improve its performance since each module is optimised for its specific use. Furthermore, the development of applications is faster and their continuous deployment is simplified because in case of modification only the code of the module concerned must be adapted, not the entire application. For this same reason, operational maintenance will be easier.

Additional remark: by means of containers, the developer enjoys more autonomy and freedom of action because he can work inside the container, without having to request the creation of a virtual machine. Moreover, the developer will benefit from an application stack closer to that of the production environment, which will lead to a more fluid production launch, in principle.

Container security, sometimes considered worse than that of virtual machines (since the insulation is intrinsically linked to the VM technology), has significantly improved in recent years, especially at Docker’s, which now integrates a signature platform.

Assistance

However, we should not conclude too soon that virtualisation has had its day and that the container is the magic solution. As a matter of fact, it will be necessary to adequately assist the developer, for instance when his container will have to be deployed on a more classic production infrastructure (Software-as-a-Service platform, virtual machine…).

In practice, the IT service provider can assist the development team in a whole series of value-added services: advice on the choice of architecture and deployment methods, provisioning of the processing or storage capacity, partitioning, making monitoring tools available, settings according to specific needs…

In short, the development team will have to be closer to the infrastructure (this is exactly the challenge of the DevOps approach) as well as to its IT service provider to increase efficiency and agility, and thus be even more tuned to the business needs.

Partner

To help the internal IT department with the deployment of its IT platforms, the Aprico Enterprise Architecture entity relies on proven methodologies, as well as on tools and referential frameworks. Moreover, our specialists will strive to facilitate the dialogue between the IT department and the business entities in order to implement the solutions most adapted to the business needs. Overall, Aprico’s experts rely on referential frameworks and best practices in enterprise architecture. They aim to identify and to measure the real added value of any new project in order to formulate implementable and relevant recommendations for the organisation. Moreover, Aprico’s architecture specialists are part of the group’s global strategy in terms of integrity, privileged contact with the customers, operational excellence and transparency. More information: marketing@aprico-consult.com

It’s a well-known figure: about 70% of an organization’s total IT budget is spent on ensuring its critical applications function properly. It comes as no wonder then that, according to Deloitte’s “2018 Global CIO Survey”, 69% of companies regard automation and process transformation as a top priority on their digital agenda.

Fully automated

In a NoOps environment as envisioned by Forrester, “the deployment, monitoring and management of applications and the infrastructure on which they run are fully automated,” says Glenn O’Donnell, Senior Analyst and co-author of the report “Augment DevOps with NoOps”. In practice, rather than having the development team test their program in an isolated environment before entrusting it (providing it meets the requirements, of course) to the operations team, the tasks assigned to that automation team are fully automated, whether they are implementation, management or even maintenance tasks. This move towards NoOps is driven by an ever-increasing automation of operations as well as by the cloud – which explains why so many Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) providers offer this type of solution.

In DevOps, on the other hand, the development and operations teams share tasks. And they are closely involved in the whole chain (with an agile rather than a classic waterfall approach), both for code generation and functional changes as well as for the production and the life cycle of the applications.

Serverless

In reality, there are no longer any barriers between development, updates and modifications, testing, deployment, integration and maintenance, all of which are automated. In this context, the use of containers will obviously improve efficiency, agility and security, as applications integrate their complete execution environment. Indeed, these containers are built from a set of isolated microservices (see also our previous blog). And they can be dynamically created and provisioned quite simply, the challenge lying in the use of a provisioning engine smart enough to understand the needs and characteristics of the workload associated with the container. In addition, these containers reduce dependency on traditional virtualization technologies, such as VMware or Hyper-V.

It should be noted that the microservices architecture and the containers are closely linked to the serverless concept. That concept puts the cloud service provider, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform or IBM Cloud, in charge of the execution of some of the code by dynamically allocating resources. Indeed, this code is usually executed in a container and sent as a function.

According to a recent survey among 600 IT decision makers, conducted by the vendor Cloud Foundry, 19% of respondents already use a serverless architecture, while 42% intend to use it in the next two years. In fact, research by MarketsandMarkets estimates that the serverless market will represent 14.93 billion USD in 2023, compared to just 4.25 billion USD in 2018.

Cloud in the centre

To succeed in a NoOps approach, or at least tend towards that goal, the cloud appears as the road to take. It allows your organization to get rid of a number of tasks related to IT operations, while an internal data centre imposes certain constraints such as the provisioning of machines, the management of the network or storage in particular. That said, on this level containers can also contribute part of the answer (see above).

In fact, the cloud will have to come in different ways. Be it, at one end of the spectrum, in the form of a Platform-as-a-Service, where the customer buys access to his applications. Or, at the other end, in the form of a Function-as-a-Service, where the customer pays only for the code he wants to run, depending on the degree of maturity of his organization.

Eventually, NoOps should allow IT to free up resources currently assigned to management tasks, the so-called IT operations. It should also give developers the option of not having to worry about ‘minor’ tasks related to the underlying infrastructure, the operating system, the middleware or the runtime language. Overall, it’s about getting IT teams to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach.

For now, Amazon, Google and Microsoft offer serverless platforms that allow you to get closer and closer to the NoOps concept, while players such as IBM, Alibaba or Oracle offer their own approach. But it is clear that this transition will not happen overnight and requires a higher level of maturity from your IT department.

With this in mind, Aprico has been helping companies transform their business for more than two decades. Therefore, we can share best practices, technologies and organizational models that will allow you to quickly adapt to the current rapid evolutions of your business and IT environment. More information: marketing@aprico-consult.com

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