Automation is taking tasks which are currently being done manually, and either helping them be done more efficiently, or having a program complete the work entirely on its own (autonomously).  Automation is one of the primary focuses when calculating ROI (return on investment).  Automation can be as complicated as implementing a machine learning solution, to as simple as a program which automatically produces a report that is needed each month.

Integration is usually thought of as a complicated process where two systems have to be manipulated into working with one another, but it’s usually one of the simplest types of projects.  The basics of the process involve reading information from one format, manipulating the data if necessary, and writing the altered data to the destination.  Temporary files, records in a database, or Message Queue entries are generally used for a variety of reasons including scalability, speed, and to allow for auditing.

Most programs are moving towards a web-based development environment, especially with sights set to moving to the cloud for many companies.  Generally, there are two major categories for a website, they can be Marketing based, or functional such as a customer portal.  Our projects tend to be more functional, but we do create dynamically editable website which can also serve the needs of the Marketing team.

New web-based development will be targeted towards Azure development.  All development and beta sites will be hosted on Microsoft Azure, and we highly suggest hosting them there as well.