BlueSoft Pulse: Where Business Meets Technology — 5/2024

Greetings, tech enthusiasts! Welcome to the fifth issue of BlueSoft Pulse—your go-to source for all things IT on LinkedIn. As always, we're here to sprinkle your feed with cutting-edge insights and ensure you remain ahead in the ever-evolving world of technology.?

What is our grand purpose? We aim to be your essential guide through the complex technology ecosystem.

But BlueSoft Pulse is not just a source of information; it's also an active and lively community. Share your thoughts, ask questions, and connect with other tech enthusiasts and our experts.?

Are you prepared to elevate your understanding of technology? Join us on this bi-weekly odyssey of exploration and breakthroughs with BlueSoft Pulse. The adventure awaits!?

Dive deep into the world of digital transformation and discover how it can revolutionize your organization's processes, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth. We'll also share case studies to illustrate real-world success stories.?

Gartner Forecasts Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 6.8% in 2024?

After a pandemic boom, the speed of growth within IT Services slowed down the past two years – and according to Gartner, “The overall IT spending growth rate for 2023 was 3.3%, only a 0.3% increase from 2022. This was largely due to change fatigue among CIOs”. This slow-down, combined with an uncertain market situation, caused a lot of recent layoffs and put a question mark on the further development of the IT Services industry. But it looks like the trend is positively changing again, and “Momentum will regain in 2024, with overall IT spending increasing 6.8%”.??

The challenge, as always, is how to leverage business optimism and the will to invest. Gartner predicts that a recent increase in IT budgets will be spent by enterprises investing in organizational efficiency and optimization projects. This won’t be just achieved by introducing new technologies, but also by focusing on transforming existing processes & tech to bring more business value. And in BlueSoft, we have a dedicated offering to achieve that.??

Our Expert's Voice:?

Our Business Value Delivery Excellence framework is a bridge between Business & IT Strategy – and IT Delivery initiatives. We have created a dedicated offering covering AI Adoption, Platform Engineering, MVP Discovery & Delivery, Software Supply Chain Security, Architecture & Practices Acceleration with Team Topologies methodology and Cloud Enablement – glued together as a strategic approach focused on achieving business goals. We partner our Clients within their transformation journey, making Gartner’s view that “IT has moved out of the back office, through the front office and is now revenue producing” our Customers reality and competitive advantage.?

— Krzysztof Ha?asa , Digital Transformation Advisor at BlueSoft?

Feeling inspired? Watch the Gartner webinar “IT Spend Forecast 4Q23: What to Expect in 2024 and Beyond” and get a better sense of where enterprises could focus their IT spending in the new year, factoring in technology sectors, industries, and regions.?

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing industries across the board. Discover how AI solutions can be integrated into your organization to enhance decision-making, automate processes, and drive business efficiency.?

AI and Agile — do they work??

SMART MOVES presents several key conclusions in their article regarding the application of Agile methodology in AI projects:?

— Al development should be agile: The Agile philosophy, focused on progress, value, and cooperation, is suitable for AI but requires adjustments in practice.?

— Greater input from non-technical stakeholders: Agile promotes transparency and allows for a more significant contribution from non-technical individuals who can co-create the shape of the product.?

— Tools supporting Agile in AI: The use of Agile-supportive tools combined with MLOps can positively influence the team's mindset and organizational capabilities, helping in planning tasks and monitoring progress.?

— Managing risk and uncertainty: Agile aids in managing risk and uncertainty, which is particularly important in AI where outcomes can be unpredictable.?

— Undefined AI model development path: Unlike traditional software development, where the problem is assumed to be “solvable” from the start, the path to the goal in AI is not predefined and may require changing direction during the project.?

— Diversity of AI projects: AI projects are varied, from experimental to more production-focused, and each requires flexibility in the management process.?

— Agile process in ML projects: The Agile process should be based on progress, value, and cooperation, with value defined by technical metrics and their correlation with business KPIs.?

— Engagement of all stakeholders: It's essential that all stakeholders are involved in as many development phases as possible, which increases transparency and improves project management.?

The author emphasizes that Agile is suitable for AI projects and can contribute to the faster release of a better product. Agile not only facilitates team and task management but also supports the reproducibility of experiments and the building of the project's information structure. The iterative nature of Agile methodologies is ideal for developing the most promising experiments and AI projects.?

Expert’s voice:?

Agile must evolve to be effectively applied in AI projects, requiring a return to its methodological foundations, focusing on continuous improvement, adaptation, and collaboration with an emphasis on speed, flexibility, and resilience crucial in the dynamic world of AI. The Agile of the future must be fluid and agile, enabling iterative experiments and rapid data learning while remaining open to innovation and new approaches. Agile development in AI projects assumes that every team member, regardless of technical knowledge, contributes to shaping the product, and increasing process transparency. This philosophy promotes a culture of experimentation, with adaptability to changing needs and challenges as a key aspect. Agile in AI also supports organizational agility, where every aspect of the company's operations relates to the methodology's values and principles. Product and project leaders must understand that Agile is a philosophy of continuous development and adaptation that needs to be cultivated at all organizational levels, crucial for the future of agility and its effectiveness in new applications. Thus, Agile not only keeps up with technological changes but also enables the creation of innovative AI solutions that meet real business and social needs.?

— Marzena Nizio? (Janiszewska) , Agile Transition Advisor at BlueSoft ?

Dive into the world of Platform Engineering, where we discuss the importance of a solid foundation for IT solutions. Gain insights into designing and building robust, scalable platforms that can drive your business forward.?

KubeCon Europe 2024 Highlights?

KubeCon Europe 2024 marked a record-breaking attendance with over 12,000 participants and hundreds of companies, highlighting the significant value seen in the Cloud Native and Open Source ecosystem. Platform Engineering and AI/ML emerged as the hottest areas of discussion, underscoring trends predicted by Gartner in 2023. This multitude and popularity confirm Kubernetes' pivotal role in supporting companies through the construction of Internal Developer Platforms and facilitating the full ML and LLM model lifecycle—from data preparation, and fine-tuning, to model deployment and integration into business-centric products.?

The strong emphasis on Platform Engineering and AI at KubeCon Europe 2024 validates the direction we've chosen for our company—leveraging an Internal Developer Platform to support the adoption of Generative AI technologies in product teams, a stance also highlighted in Gartner's report "Organizing Product and Platform Teams to Scale Generative AI Delivery". Drawing from our experience in developing "StarBoost for AI" our Internal Developer Platform for AI Delivery teams, we advocate for the integration of Kubernetes ecosystems to support the entire LLM model lifecycle.?

The ability of Kubernetes to support GPU workloads and to serve Large Language Models from an organization's infrastructure addresses key challenges facing companies today: AI Security & Data Privacy, Model Performance (e.g., tokens per second) crucial in client-facing products, and, last but not least, cost optimization, which becomes increasingly important at scale.?If our arguments haven't convinced you, I invite you to check out the excellent presentation by Maciej Mazur at KubeCon in Paris. He showcases an example of using Kubernetes to build a Government-wide AI Cloud for over a thousand teams!?

— Patryk B?k , Solution Architect of BlueSoft ’s “StarBoost for AI” Platform?

Embrace the cloud era with insights on cloud migration, security, and the benefits of adopting cloud services. Learn how BlueSoft's cloud solutions can help you stay agile and secure in an ever-changing landscape.?

Maximizing Business Efficiency Through Strategic Multi-Cloud Investments

The Information Week article mentions the survey proving that 98% of enterprises using a public cloud have adopted a multi-cloud infrastructure provider strategy. It proves the widespread recognition of the multi-cloud benefits, including cost savings, flexibility, and innovation enablement. It emphasizes that the cloud is not just another infrastructure provider, but a gateway to modern and innovative business practices.?

According to similar surveys, big enterprises (1000+ employees) are more likely to implement a multi-cloud strategy with an impact on both the public and private clouds, compared to SMEs.?

Expert’s Voice:?

Is adopting multi-cloud for everyone? Large enterprises can afford it by building private data centers, which comes with huge operational and maintenance efforts. Vendor lock-in? We are all “locked-in” by using open-source software or reusing publicly accessible libraries. Don’t forget - the more you are using, the better rates you may negotiate. Rapid scalability? True, only if your needs outgrow the capabilities of one cloud service provider. Resiliency? This can be achieved by architecting applications across different regions. Taking advantage of the unique strengths of various cloud providers, along with data sovereignty are also valid reasons to consider a multi-cloud strategy!?

— Bartosz Pietroń , IT Architect at BlueSoft?

Are you ready to go multi-cloud? BlueSoft’s team of experts, including AWS, Azure, GCP, and Alibaba can assist you in selecting and evaluating the perfect strategy tailored to your business needs.?

Discover firsthand accounts of how BlueSoft's solutions have empowered organizations to overcome challenges and achieve their business goals. Real-world success stories that demonstrate the impact of our services.?

Implementing and launching an integration solution for GATX?

Discover how GATX Rail Europe, in collaboration with BlueSoft, revolutionized railcar leasing across over 20 European countries by implementing a cutting-edge integration solution. Managing a fleet of about 30,000 wagons, GATX equipped each with telematics devices, ensuring the accurate and timely delivery of telematics data to customers. ?

The solution, designed to be highly available, error-proof, and scalable, integrates 34 telematics platforms, processing over 20,000 messages per hour with technologies like EC2 and Lambda. ?

This case study showcases the synergy of expertise and innovation, offering insights into achieving operational excellence in the railcar leasing industry. ?

For an in-depth look at how this project sets new industry standards, read the full Success Story here:

Stay tuned for our next issue, where we'll delve into the exciting world of Digital Transformation.