”MJØLNER’S DATA EXPLORATION AND WATSON ANALYTICS GOT US REALLY FAR.” Peter Enevoldsen, Head of Department, SEGES IT
1st Issue 2016
EDITORIAL
2016: DISRUPTION, IOT & COGNITIVE COMPUTING 2016 is already proving to be a busy year at our end. These
Learn how we turned data into business-critical insights
first few months have brought us around the globe with
for SEGES, what Cashmaster has done to create a new
hackathons across Europe, partner meetings in the States,
and modern interface for their market-leading cash
and a roundtrip in China to meet new business partners.
management products, and why high-end graphics and instant response are so important for Mettler Toledo.
Wherever we go, it seems that disruption, IoT, and Cognitive Computing are the topics on everyone’s minds.
My hope is that these stories inspire you to embark on
It is a joy to experience how the market is truly warming
your next digital adventure. We will be here to help you
up to what we have been pushing for a few years now. The
meet your goal.
market is finally ready to unwrap the potentials of IoT, and we are ready to help them get there.
Best Regards,
In this edition of Mjølner UPDATE, we bring you three cases, an overview of Mjølner’s 2015, and specific advise on which development method to choose for you next cross-platform app development project.
Brian Gottorp Jeppesen, CEO
UPDATE
CASE
SEGES: FROM DATA TO BUSINESS-CRITICAL INSIGHTS Agriculture is a global industry today, challenging farmers to reinvent their businesses to become more profitable and efficient than ever before. SEGES is owned by Danish farmers and is focused on driving innovation processes to secure the competitiveness of Danish agriculture.
The fact that we cannot give 360-degree advice regarding a specific farm or an industry challenge, just because we do not know what data we have across the organization, is unacceptable in 2016. With Mjølner’s approach to data exploration and Watson Analytics, we were able to get really far in overcomming this challenge. - Peter Enevoldsen, Head of Department, SEGES IT
SEGES collects massive amounts of data, containing detailed information about all aspects of Danish agriculture. Connecting data in the right way holds a huge and business-critical potential and can give Danish farmers a global competitive advantage.
Bringing together field experts from across the organization, asking the right questions, and knowing how the technology works, allowed us to find the business insights we were searching for.
A Search across Organizational Siloes
By exploring SEGES’ existing data, involving stakeholders, and asking the right questions, we were able to create business insights. Insights that strengthen SEGES’ position as a leading agricultural advisor. One question we found and answered was this one:
SEGES and Mjølner teamed up to explore the business potential hiding in SEGES’ existing data. As many large organizations, SEGES struggled to get a complete overview of their data and how it is interlinked. Another challenge was to break the silo-thinking, forcing different stakeholders to join forces in finding the insights they could actually use.
Climate Affects Milk Production Profits
• How does climate and temperature affect the profits on milk production?
To answer the question, we needed information about milk, geography, weather, etc. With organizational and technical understanding and the use of Watson Analytics, we were able to connect the necessary data and present it visually in a short amount of time.
With SEGES, we went through a regular extract, transform and load (ETL) process. Close collaboration with field experts was essential to get data coupled right, enabling us to answer questions in a new and better way.
Can We Help You Find Insights in Your Exisitng Data? SEGES now has the insights on how climate parameters impact the quality of the milk. These insights enable SEGES to provide Danish farmers with even better counselling and hereby help farmers stay competitive and economically viable.
Plug ‘n’ Play? We Are Getting There… In spite of what many analytics software vendors might tell you, the process of collecting data and refining it is still mostly manual.
Brian Gottorp Jeppesen, CEO brj@mjolner.dk +45 41 95 36 26
CASE 2015
2015 IN REVIEW: A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR Three awards, four Mjølner-babies, and 19 new colleagues are just some of our 2015 gains. Peek at Mjølner’s 2015 with this infographic. Top three of what our customers sought our advice on:
IT Growth Comet of the Year
IoT BIG DATA CLOUD 300+
people attended our seminars about:
Denmark´s 2nd Best IT Workplace Denmark’s 5th Best SME Workplace
TECH DESIGN and BUSINESS
The Mjølner Team
We welcomed 19 new colleagues.
24 %
76 %
Average of years at Mjølner: 5,4 We ate 9400 pieces of fruit and 7050 carrots.
4 new Mjølner babies entered the world.
We celebrated 9 anniversaries. 75 years in total.
Average age: 37,3 years
SERVICE CASE
WHICH BUSINESS INSIGHTS ARE HIDING IN YOUR DATA? Data is the competitive edge for market-leading businesses today. Most businesses already collect massive amounts of data. What sets the market-leaders apart is their ability to use data to identify new opportunities and exploit these in new business-boosting ways. Mjølner’s Data Exploration Week package is designed to get you started fast. Data Exploration week With a minimum of resources and in a short time frame, we explore your existing data and turn them into business insights. In just one week, this is what you get:
Short and intense sessions to find valuable insights in your existing data. A visual dashboard prototype that communicates the insights effectively. An outline of ideas to build upon your newfound insights.
DATA EXPLORATION WEEK
CASE
HIGH-END GRAPHICS & INSTANT RESPONSE FOR METTLER TOLEDO Mjølner and our sister company, Draupner Graphics, helped Mettler Toledo with the graphical user interface (GUI) development of one of their precision balances. We integrated the GUI framework, TouchGFX, with Mettler Toledo’s existing software in order to achieve high-end graphics with instant response. Mettler Toledo is a global provider of precision instruments and services. For this particular project, they wanted to create a user-friendly state-of-the-art product with a visually great, fast, and precise GUI.
Using the TouchGFX GUI Framework After evaluating the functions and capabilities of TouchGFX, Mettler Toledo decided on using the GUI framework as an integrated part of their existing software. This was to maximize the performance of their Arm Cortex-M hardware, and boost their GUI development process.
TouchGFX enables us to easily create GUIs with great performance and outstanding graphics on different screen sizes. When you know the basics, it is a very powerful framework, which enables fast development with a stateof-the-art product as the end-result. – Software Project Manager, Mettler Toledo
Integrating the Frameworks Aside from taking part in the extensive GUI development and designing the software architecture, we helped Mettler Toledo integrate TouchGFX with their own framework. One of Mjølner’s TouchGFX developers worked on-site for six months at Mettler Toledo’s headquarter in Switzerland, where he refined existing GUI elements in TouchGFX.
Shared Code Base for Different Screen Sizes Creating large and complex applications is always a challenging task. An important consideration for Mettler Toledo was the number of different screen sizes. We reduced the time spent on customizing graphics and GUI maintenance by creating one shared code base for all the different screen sizes. As Mettler Toledo needed a user-friendly and intuitive menu, sparring and alignment across academic fields was vital in order to create a successful product. Mettler Toledo now has a TouchGFX-based product they are very satisfied with. Visit touchgfx.com to learn more about the framework.
CASE TECH
SMOOTH, QUICK & RELIABLE ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS My patience is short lived. Yours probably is too. If an app is not smooth, quick, and reliable, regardless of platform and internet connection, I will not use it. But, how can you build apps that match these demands? Read on to learn what you should consider.
Web apps are essentially just websites optimized to run on smartphone browsers. You cannot access the phone's native functions, unless the web browser supports them specifically. You can develop these apps using common web technologies such as HTML and JavaScript.
Native apps are developed directly in the OS, which I was recently at a conference where information about speakers, locations, etc., was available in an app. The app was web-based, the go-to choice when you need something developed quickly for multiple platforms. 2000+ participants were trying to access the same network simultaneously, making the app unbelievably slow. A native app designed to work offline, would have been much better.
Four Types of Cross-Platform App Development For a long time, there were only two ways to go with cross-platform app development: great but expensive native apps, or cheap but poor web apps. Today there are two more to choose from: hybrid apps and Xamarin apps. Here’s a rundown of all four development methods.
allows you to utilize all features supported. Android apps are made in Java, iOS in Objective-C or Swift, and Windows Phone apps are built in .NET. It is not possible to share the code between apps, making it necessary to develop an app for each platform.
Hybrid app are web apps wrapped in a native app containing a WebView. Like native apps, a hybrid app has total access to all the phone’s functionalities – eg. camera, switches, sensors – but they must be converted to JavaScript functions before they are accessible. The hybrid method is a mix of the two development methods above.
Xamarin apps are basically native, but everything is written in .NET. Xamarin makes it possible to translate .NET code so that it can run as a native app across iOS and Android platforms. You can reuse an average of 70-80% of the code across operating systems. Only the user interface must be built specifically for each platform.
HTML 5 / Web Apps
Hybrid Appss
Native Apps
Xamarin
Web Only
Native & Web
Native Only
Native Only (.NET)
Code Portability
High
High
None
High
Access to Native API’s
Low
Moderate
High
High
Device Specific Feature Use
None
Moderate
High
High
Advanced Graphics
Low
Moderate
High
High
UI / UX
Low
Moderate
High
High
Upgrade Flexibility
High
Moderate
Low
Low
Store Visibility
Low
High
High
High
Performance
Low
Low
High
High
Cost
Low
Low / Moderat
High
Moderate
Development Language
For more information contact:
Frederik Johansen, Cloud & Mobility Evangelist fwj@mjolner.dk +45 41 95 36 56
CASE
CASHMASTER: THE RIGHT TOUCH AT THE RIGHT TIME TouchGFX is an important tool for Cashmaster as they move towards creating a cash management product with a modern interface that reflects current trends for a richer user experience – one of Mjølner’s specialties. Cashmaster is a global designer and manufacturer of cash management solutions. Based in Scotland, their customer base extends to leading supermarkets, restaurants, banks, and convenience stores worldwide.
Effective Development across the North Sea Cashmaster’s TouchGFX License has been an important tool in their strategy to move towards a more modern, user-friendly and customer-focused interface on their cash management products.
in line with their schedule, all done across the North Sea.
Achieving the Right Touch The proof of concept was successful, with all desired functionalities and features fulfilled. The next stage was to move from prototype to the final designed UI, which would reflect Cashmaster’s goals to produce a truly market-leading, highly intuitive user experience. Over the course of our two-day User Interface Concept workshop, we co-created everything Cashmaster needed to build a modern and intuitive interface.
In order to complete the proof of concept stage, Cashmaster combined their TouchGFX license with our User Interface Prototype package.
The UI workshop allowed us to bring our two teams together and design something outstanding. Being guided by the Mjølner team’s expertise and experience allowed us to accomplish beyond our expectations and through the process we gained valuable insights that we can apply to future projects. – David Welsh, Business Project Manager, Cashmaster.
A startup, a status, and a delivery meeting – all held virtually – and some structured correspondence was all it took. Cashmaster had their proof of concept completed
At the workshop, we came to a definite concept scope, created a general structure and flow of the interface, and explored the style and tone of the graphical design.
“
The process of getting from our UI design files to a working demo on our preferred hardware was very smooth. The Mjølner team’s expertise was absolutely integral to this and allowed us to meet our schedule. TouchGFX Experts Mjølner created TouchGFX back in 2011. As the interest for TouchGFX took off, we created Draupner Graphics in order to service customers better. Mjølner’s expertise in developing high-end products on low-resource hardware using TouchGFX is second to none. With our unique mix of development and UI competences, we match the needs of most TouchGFX users. Our services are made to fit our customers’ needs and with a structured and tested workflow, you are guaranteed to get what you need as effectively as possible.
David Welsh, Business Project Manager, Cashmaster.
SEGES: FROM DATA TO BUSINESS-CRITICAL INSIGHTS 2015 IN REVIEW: A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR WHICH BUSINESS INSIGHTS ARE HIDING IN YOUR DATA? HIGH-END GRAPHICS AND INSTANT RESPONSE FOR METTLER TOLEDO SMOOTH, QUICK & RELIABLE ACROSS PLATFORMS CASHMASTER: THE RIGHT TOUCH AT THE RIGHT TIME
Mjølner Informatics A/S
Finlandsgade 10, DK-8200 Aarhus N
+45 70 27 43 43
www.mjolner.dk
info@mjolner.dk