The Chicago Programming Community Welcomes the uniPaaS Jet RAWcross America Tour

The uniPaaS Jet RAWcross America tour rolls into Chicago today. Chicago’s people reflect both the pioneer spirit and the prudent decision making that caused this region to thrive and Chicago to emerge in the 19th Century as the business capital of America’s heartland. Despite the region’s image for pork bellies and soybeans, the enterprise software development community in Chicago and across the Midwest is comprised of developers from some of America’s largest businesses.

In 1990, a function point analyst at the Allstate Life Insurance Company of Chicago, Illinois performed a function point analysis of a Magic application known as the LANmark system. They validated more than 60,000 function points in the application. At $1,000 per function point according to the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group, that makes the application worth in excess of $60,000,000. In other words, that’s how much it should have cost to build this massive life insurance administration system. But because the programs were created with the application platform known today as uniPaaS, it took six developers only 18 months at a cost of less than $2,000,000. That’s a $58,000,000 savings over traditional methods. And as reported in the book PROFIT, Cybertek, EDS, and Tracor Computing had all failed in previous attempts to create the same system. Each one spent more than $30,000,000 and then simply stopped trying. Perhaps this story will bring some perspective to the idea that uniPaaS Jet is “just” a single developer version. Just think of the kind of complex applications that a single developer can create with such a productive platform. As discussed elsewhere, metadata-driven development methodologies are the key to this productivity. What does that mean? Simply that the uniPaaS application platform eliminates “low level” programming and achieves the ideal balance between simplicity and capability. Art Pennington’s well documented story about the success of Magic Software’s application platform in the annuities and life insurance industry had its birth in the State of Illinois. Three years after Allstate performed this analysis they became a publicly traded company. Today, Allstate is a Fortune 100 Company with assets of more than $133 billion. Allstate, you’re in good hands.

Across the state another mega Magic Software customer, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the $63 billion agribusiness giant with 29,000 employees, created its own logistics management system for its seed division. ADM has a fleet of 7 ocean going vessels, 700 trucks, 1600 trailers, 1700 barges and 24,700 railroad cars. That’s a lot of mobile assets to track and manage.

After RAWcross America finishes their meetup in Chicago they will be on to the Big Apple: New York City.

CHICAGO, IL
Saturday, January 8th @ 7 - 9 pm
Vertigo Sky Lounge @ Dana Hotel (2 West Erie | Chicago)
Contact: April@RAWartists.org / Chicago@RAWartists.org

NEW YORK CITY, NYC
Monday, January 10th @ 6 - 8 pm
Snap (248 W 14th St | New York)
Contact: Dawn@RAWartists.org / Newyork@RAWartists.org

*PROFIT (Arlington Heights, Illinois: Profit Research Institute, 2007, p. 7-8).

Sacramento Software Development Community Waves at the uniPaaS Jet RAWmobile

The uniPaaS Jet RAWCross America Tour Rolls through Sacramento
The uniPaaS Jet RAW Mobile is appropriately enough a Dodge Journey. As RAWartists.org makes their RAWcross America journey from Orange County, California to New York City and back they will be stopping in some pretty interesting places.

Last night they stopped in Sacramento, home of Advanced Business Integrators, a uniPaaS ISV that has accomplished a great deal in the last ten years. ABI makes a workforce management software solution that is ideal for venue management of arenas, stadiums, theaters, performing art centers and other types of event-oriented facilities with highly variable staffing requirements. In fact, ABI Mastermind is the world’s premier workforce management solution. More than half of the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB teams play in facilities whose workforces are managed by ABI Mastermind on the uniPaaS application platform.

In Sacramento, the uniPaaS Jet RAWMobile drove past the ARCO Arena, home of the Sacramento Kings where ABI Mastermind makes sure all the personnel get what they need and are where they need to be to provide for the security, safety, comfort and entertainment of their audience.

Although Sacramento is not known as a programming hub, you might be surprised by all the programming jobs at software companies in the Greater Sacramento area. And according to the Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento’s high tech workers earn twice the average salary for the area.

Better yet, software development is a great business for an entrepreneur because you can basically build your product out of thin air (or electrons). Becoming a uniPaaS Independent Software Vendor (ISV) may be the best decision you've ever made. Using uniPaaS application platform technology enables ISVs to develop advanced business applications based upon real Rich Internet Application (RIA) innovation. You will even be in position to take advantage of the coming cloud computing and SaaS revolution.

So how would you go about building your own startup software business in the Sacramento area (or wherever you live?) First of all, you can start by downloading the free uniPaaS Jet development software. This will allow one developer to create as many single user applications as you want and distribute them to an unlimited number of users. I call it the 1:1:infinity formula for business success. One programmer. One User. Infinite repeatability.

Second, you will need to learn to use uniPaaS Jet, so then you should download the free self-paced training materials.

Third, you need to develop ideas. Start by looking at the free uniPaaS Jet RIA demo online to figure out what’s possible. Download the source code for fun. Finally, build an application that you will be proud of. It may simply be a resume or portfolio piece or it may be a commercial application that you plan to sell to that infinite universe of potential users.

The next stop on the RAWcross America tour will be Portland Oregon home of a growing mobile software development community. And then the tour is on to Seattle, Washington. Not exactly Redmond, but Seattle is a big software town nonetheless. See you on the road!

RAWcross America Rolls Through the Bay Area Promoting Emerging Artists and Programmers

The RAWcross America tour has begun its coast-to-coast trip sponsored by Magic Software Enterprises. As RAWartists.org expands their network of emerging artists nationwide they will be extending them an invitation to enter the uniPaaS Jet Viral Video Competition.



On top of that they will be taking the uniPaaS Jet RAWmobile coast-to-coast emblazoned with the uniPaaS Jet logo and it may even be picking up some more stickers along the way (stay tuned). “RAWartists.org is all about featuring the work of a mostly younger generation of emerging artists,” says Heidi Luerra, founder of RAWartists.org. “We think uniPaaS Jet is an ideal sponsor because of its similar goals of bringing the vision of an accelerated development process to a new generation of software developers. Our artists will be invited to showcase their amazing talents in the uniPaaS Jet viral video competition, thereby focusing the attention of a powerful social media system on both emerging artists and uniPaaS Jet.”

Since the RAW Artists organization promotes a wide variety of art forms, we could be seeing uniPaaS Jet viral videos submitted by painters, sculptors, hairdressers, models, makeup artists, fashion designers, musicians, performance artists, jewelery designers and yes, filmmakers.

I love the “Powered by uniPaaS Jet” banner across the top of the news page on RAWartists.org. This is the concept car that we approved. But as Matthew Klahorst, Marketing Director for RAWartists.org explained, when they went to actually rent the SUV, it turned out to be red. The rental car company laughed at them when they tried to reserve an SUV by color. (Note to Rental Car Company: If you need help modifying your software to allow for a color request field, I know a few uniPaaS programmers who might be able to enhance and extend your applications).

Yesterday those amazing RAW Artists shot a uniPaaS Jet “commercial” in front of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and last night they had a meet and greet in Berkeley. I wonder if they stopped in front of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum or the San Francisco Courts where uniPaaS applications have been running things for years.
The tour lands in Portland to promote emerging artists on January 1st. They got some nice local publicity about that event. Portland isn’t exactly known as a programming center but there have been some signs of an emerging mobile development community in Portland that it would be great to connect uniPaaS Jet to. So just as these startup mobile software development companies in Portland begin to emerge, the RAWcross America tour is coming through town. For a more corporate look and feel, the RAWcross America tour could pose in front of the Rose Quarter, Portland’s famed events center where a uniPaaS application called ABI Mastermind is doing all the workforce management needed.

It may seem like a right-brain, left-brain conflict for a company with an emerging cloud application platform to be sponsoring a tour by a band of wandering artists. But sometimes you just have to roll with it. Travel on RAWcross America. We'll see you at the next stop!

uniPaaS Is Ready For the World Series

When the Major League Baseball World Series begins at 7:30 p.m. ET time Wednesday at AT&T Park in San Francisco there will be plenty of drama: the San Francisco Giants vs. the Texas Rangers, Lincecum vs. Lee, Bruce Bochy vs. Ron Washington.

But you won’t have to worry about the logistics of the game. Parking attendants will direct traffic, Gate Keepers will take tickets, security personnel will return lost children to their parents, and Concession Chefs will serve up thousands of hot dogs. Deployment of that staff takes place through a Magic uniPaaS application called ABI Mastermind by Advanced Business Integrators.

So much of what we take for granted in life happens simply because a software application developed in Magic Software’s uniPaaS application platform just does its job. The morning after the game local newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, the San Jose Mercury News and the Fort-Worth Star Telegram will deliver the results of the game in the sports section. In fact, those newspapers alone will print more than 2,000,000 copies and an application by Burt Technologies developed in Magic Software’s uniPaaS application platform will manage the entire insertion process.

Not even malcontents will be spared from touching a Magic Software application. Any citations issued from illegal parking to ticket scalping will no doubt engage software applications developed in Magic Software’s uniPaaS running at the San Francisco Courts.

Court system software, newspaper insert management systems and workforce administration software may not seem exactly glamorous or exciting or dramatic. Certainly not as dramatic as the opening game of the World Series, but believe me, if the software necessary to pull off an event like the World Series didn’t work. You’d hear about it.

The reliability of Magic Software’s business application platform and integration technology has caused us to be relied upon over the years by leading organizations such as the United Nations, UPS, Sun Life, Sony, and CBS.

About Magic Software
Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: MGIC) is a global provider of on-premise and cloud-enabled application platform solutions – including full client, rich internet applications (RIA), mobile or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) modes – and business and process integration solutions. Magic Software has 13 offices worldwide and a presence in over 50 countries with a global network of ISVs, system integrators, value-added distributors and resellers, as well as consulting and OEM partners. The company’s award-winning, code-free solutions give partners and customers the power to leverage existing IT resources, enhance business agility and focus on core business priorities. Magic Software’s technological approach, product roadmap and corporate strategy are recognized by leading industry analysts. Magic Software has partnerships with global IT leaders including SAP AG, salesforce.com, IBM and Oracle.

To learn more about uniPaaS Jet, visit the Magic Software blog.