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We help medium/large enterprises reduce the complexity and cost of their information systems.

We are software architects, and take an architectural approach to our client projects.

If you've found that your software systems are no longer "soft" (that indeed they are so brittle you are afraid to touch them), we might be able to help. Generally, the problem is not the technology the software was built in, or the equipment you've deployed; more often than not we find it is the accumulation of many applications and many interfaces that leads to an environment where change is a nightmare.

We're not devleopers or software vendors. We're architects. And like a building architect, we will first help you better understand your as-is state and how it hampers progress. We will then help you articulate what you want your systems to do. We will help craft a future state where change can be accommodated without massive side effects. Finally, we will plan a set of projects that will allow you to get there incrementally, avoiding "big bang" implementation projects.

Two of our specialities are Service Oriented Architecture (which we've found, when well designed, can greatly reduce the cost and impact of integration) and Semantic Technology (most of the complexity of traditional systems is in the complexity of their schema which are rarely well understood).

If you'd like to discuss how we might help you reign in complexity, contact Mark Andre at (970) 402-1474 or marka[at]semanticarts.com.

PS: There are also a lot of good articles on this site on these ideas and many other topics.

 How Smart Firms Use the Recession to Prepare 
It seems like every time we turn around we hear of another company cancelling a major systems project. That’s a shame; many of these projects were worthwhile. Some were still on the drawing boards; others had a considerable amount already invested; and, sadly, some cancellations came with pink slips.

   But there’s no real point in mourning. We need to collectively pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and figure out what’s next.

   One of the things we’ve been espousing for a decade now is the idea of improving your architecture one manageable project at a time. When you take the long view, you recognize several things:

·        Historically, failing to take the long view has led to a large number of applications that were opportunistically integrated together in a fashion that now nearly stops forward progress.

·        A future architecture is possible, where each application or service does one thing and does it well, and can be replaced with relative ease.

·        You will be doing many more application replacement and enhancement projects over the years. Rather than making the overall systems of systems worse, you could be using the opportunity to make things incrementally better.

   Understanding, organizing and planning for a better future takes time. And when you’re in the midst of a major project rollout, time is one thing that seems to be in short supply.

   Let’s look at this recession and the cancellation of projects as the glass being half full: the noise and distraction of the mega project has subsided. Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I had six hours to chop down a tree I’d spend four sharpening my axe.” Seems like a once-in-a-decade opportunity to spend some quality time to understand your existing architecture better, determine what you’d like your future architecture to look like, and what a series of projects to get there might look like.

   When the recovery comes, you’ll be ready.

 Upcoming Events 

Seminar: Designing and Building Business Ontologies

Check back for this year's schedule, which is still under development.

If you'd like an on-site course customized for your company, please contact us at 970-490-2224 or send an email to info <at> semanticarts.com.

 Past events 

The Archives

Reports of past conferences and presentations are on the Articles page, right-hand column.

 Today's Featured Article 
The Enterprise Ontology
We believe that within a few years the enterprise ontology will become one of the foundational pieces to most information system work within major enterprises. What is it? How can you use it? What does a good one look like?
read more...
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