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2019

Digital
Digest
PREFACE
We would like to present, with great pleasure, the inaugural volume of technical magazine,
“Digital Digest.”

This monthly edition captures technology specific learning that BCT caters.

The purpose of this edition is to provide much needed sci-tech news, articles, case studies,
white papers and activities for every BCTian through an easy accessible medium.

Digital Digest will be one of the best ways not only to remain up-to-date with the latest tech
updates but to also apply techniques of leading-edge, large-scale, high-performance
technical methods. Any latest news covering tech topics like digital transformation, big
data, mobile apps, cloud storage, data servers, security, and software will be the phrases you
will be seeing and experiencing forth. This publication is geared towards the business and
information technology professionals of the world

With warm regards

BCT -L&D
 Digital
IN ORDER TO CREATE AN ENGAGING LEARNING EXPERIENCE,
THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTOR IS OPTIONAL, BUT THE ROLE OF
LEARNER IS ESSENTIAL. - BERNARD BULL
Digest
FROM THE LEADER’S DESK
Dear Fellow BCTians,

I am delighted to introduce the first edition of Digital Digest newsletter.

In BCT, we intend to make it a regular publication and to use it to keep
you in touch with latest digital news and developments related to digital
transformation initiatives and happenings relevant to BCT products &
offerings. We also intend to report discussions and events coverage in
this space along with frequent updates of relevant digital market news.

The launch of BCT Digital and dt360 by our Chairperson and our
beloved CEO had been a major directional thrust consolidating all our IP
initiatives and bringing dedicated focus for transformational initiatives in our Product and Core services business.
In the IP space we had brought significant wins with dropThought globally across all major locations we are
present, Asymmetrix significantly in India and in Middle East, Retina Renewables in India, US, South America,
Australia, CueTrans Suite across Oman, India and expanding in to other GCC locations.

In the last few years we had demonstrated significant maturity in executing transformational initiatives in the US,
complex digital transformation consulting with Tibco product & solution stack across the Middle East &
US. These were possible with the dedication and focus of our sales team, presales, solution architects, consultants
and engineers who brought in lot of passion and innovation in their work.

Through this digest, we would like to have the best practices shared relevant to our field of focus and where the
markets are heading along with views from our associates on their experiences of adding value to our stakeholders.

I would like to welcome all of you to contribute to the Digital Digest activity and to its proliferation. Best wishes to
the L&D team to sustain and make this initiative a huge success for peer learning amongst all of us

Rajasekaran Panchatcharam (RajP)

Chief Product Officer
HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS
REVOLUTIONIZING THE FINTECH INDUSTRY
Jaya Vaidhyanathan,
President - BFSI
The application of disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain has resulted in the birth of
advance smart systems that adapt and learn from surroundings

Digital transformation and modern technologies have impacted

every single industry that exists, and the banking industry is no
different. In fact, technology has touched upon the banking industry
to such a large extent that the union of both has given birth to what is
now called „FinTech‟. In an interview with DataQuest, Jaya
Vaidhyanathan, President, Bahwan CyberTek, gives insights on how
new age technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine
learning and so on are revolutionizing FinTech, and what more
consumers can expect on the same in future.

How are new age technologies like artificial intelligence, machine

learning, predictive analytics and block chain transforming the
FinTech Space?
Fintech solutions provided by Bahwan CyberTek
Technology has impacted the financial sector in such a massive way
At Bahwan CyberTek (BCT), we strive to deliver sustainable
that it has brought about the union of two industries calling it –
transformation to customers which allows them to function with
Financial Technology (FinTech). This is a testament on the change it
agility and create new business models besides being ready for the
has catalyzed. Today, the assimilation of disruptive technologies in
changes and challenges of the future.
financial services has helped in leveraging multi-stakeholder
collaboration. Industry 4.0 is driving the quest to enable
Combining our domain expertise and understanding of industry
technological interventions to see transformations resulting in
challenges and regulatory nuances, BCT has developed a suite of
automation of backend business processes which in turn reduces the
digital products and industry solution. These are designed to
turnaround time creating a seamless customer experience.
address business challenges, increase margins, improve customer
experience and help organisations seize new growth opportunities
The application of disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence
by leveraging our experience in analytics, machine learning, AI,
(AI), machine learning (ML) and block chain has resulted in the
IoT and other digital technologies. Our solutions are built in three
birth of advance smart systems that adapt and learn from
main areas – Predictive Analytics, Digital Experience and Digital
surroundings. Each technology has enabled the FinTech industry to
Journey Management.
evolve and be a better version of itself every day; AI and ML
brought in automation to mundane tasks and enables predictive
In the predictive analytics area, BCT specializes in the Risk
analysis to mitigate risks. Blockchain and cloud allows sensitive data
Management area within the BFSI space – commonly known as
to be safe yet accessible at all times, and most importantly all this
Regulatory Technology (Reg-Tech) through the Asymmetrix
also enhances customer experience with chatbots, virtual assistance
product suite. Asymmetrix is a comprehensive Risk Management
and assurance that customers‟ money is safe.
suite spanning across Credit risk (through Early Warning System),
Liquidity risk, Model risk and Operational risk. The modular
How can the FinTech industry be beneficial for SMBs in India?
solution suite allows for implementation of each module
FinTech has revolutionized the business space by providing services
separately, and empowers banks to be fully compliant with the
to smaller businesses that were previously reserved for large, and
latest regulatory standards.
corporate clients. Financial institutions are now looking forward to
In the energy and utilities space, BCT‟s Real-time predictive
prioritizing, building a scalable digital framework for small and
analytics product Cuecent RETINA offers advanced solutions for
medium sized businesses (SMB).
asset performance enhancement and operations improvement.
Digital dis-intermediation has brought customers closer to financial
In a digital era where customers and other stakeholders expect
service providers in areas like credit and insurance, through
lively experience to be delivered even by brands in “serious”
technology solutions covering business origination and credit risk
industries like banking or manufacturing, BCT‟s suite of digital
appraisal. This way, Fintech startups have contributed in a big way,
experience solutions comprising DropThought, Pulse, and
to the growth of low-value, high-volume transactions with banking
CueTrack provides a range of solutions like real-time feedback
grade security standards.
tracking and analytics, social media sentiment analytics and end-
to-end case management.
BCT‟s Digital journey management suite for Oil and Gas and
For further reading and source: Supply Chain verticals – CueTrans enables organisations keep
https://www.dqindia.com/artificial-intelligence-revolutionizing-fintech- internal operations in sync through end-to-end planning,
industry-jaya-vaidhyanathan-bahwan-cybertek/ optimization and tracking of logistics operations.
 IBM Maximo and IoT
Krishnanand,
Associate Vice President,
COMP HEADS - EAM

Maximo is one of the widely used Enterprise Asset Management
(EAM) software across asset intensive industries. In most of these
industries, traditional asset maintenance approach embraced were
time-based, where the assets were taken for Preventive Maintenance
(PM) under scheduled intervals and Maximo was very effective in
handling this process.
However, statistics proves that this approach is ineffective with
40 % of PM cost spent on assets with negligible effect on uptime,
30 % of PM activities carried out too frequently and
45 % of all maintenance efforts were ineffective.
Warnings and Alerts for the assets are configured in the Watson
IoT platform which monitors the real time parameters and
triggers actions based on predefined rules.
MAHI comes with several calculations from industry
experience and still has the flexibility to override those with
custom calculations for Asset Health Index (AHI). AHI is
continually monitored and updated through the real time stream
of data. Together with data from all sources, predefined rules,
Asset health scorecard definitions, MAHI provides a single
source of truth for the end to end Asset management.

Maximo Asset Health So the end result of this approach MAHI in a glance gives insight on remaining useful life,
Insight (MAHI) is an was consumption of expensive Maintenance and Failure History and real time Asset condition.
application built by IBM resources and potentially introducing It lets businesses capture knowledge about how asset health is
to open up Maximo to failure by disrupting stable systems assessed and then use these insights to perform maintenance
the world of Internet of otherwise. only when needed.
Things and enable real It also helps the business user for the repair or replace decisions
time condition based The ideal methodology involves a of the asset and manage the end-to-end asset life cycle.
maintenance. PM program where there is an
optimization and prioritization of Recent studies have shown that IoT based asset management
PM plans, maintenance efforts and has proven to deliver considerable benefits on its
costs tied to the current health of implementation and expected to gather significant momentum
Asset in the years to come.
rather than at scheduled intervals. Subscribing to the new PM
methodology demands a three stage approach to monitor, analyze
asset historical and real time data, intervention at right time before
failure and prioritize / optimize resources.

IBM Maximo Asset Health Insight (MAHI) is an application built by

IBM to open up Maximo to the world of Internet of Things and
enable real time condition based maintenance.
MAHI is built on IBM Watson IoT platform, which integrates all the
sensor data of assets to the IoT platform through IBM Bluemix. IBM
Bluemix enables device management through registration and setup
of sensors in the cloud platform.

In addition to the sensor data, data from various sources like

SCADA, historian, ERP, IoT enabled devices and Weather can be
readily integrated to the IoT platform giving a holistic insight.
DATA ETHICS
Ramkumar Iyer,
Principal Architect, COE - ASYMMETRIX
It has become a mantra to proclaim that “Data is the new It is important to note that unlike Further given the evolving
Oil” in the age of the algorithm. Typically there are three oil, which for instance gets spent in nature of technology,
prongs to a modern firm: a few consumption instances, consumers have to be a
cannot be duplicated, or which constant participant in data
 Data, cannot be repurposed easily, or for ethics along with businesses
 Algorithms which Meta information has limited rather, than it being limited to
 Infrastructure value; data can be reused, a one-time transaction.
duplicated, repurposed or valued at
As infrastructure gets commoditized by the cloud, and a Meta data level. As a simple example, on the
algorithms become open source; it is data that has been
chosen as a strategic differentiator by many firms. Hence it ubiquitous smartphone, every time a user updates an application, any
is being equated to the modern day oil. changes to data permission models have to be revalidated with minimum
Data can flow from human, non-human and mixed effort by consumer. Typically, end consumers are concerned mostly on
endpoints. control of their data, protect-ability, and being provided options and value
Since AI has not yet reached a point where it can substitute around their data, and dimensions like say portability.
a human, human generated data still has a value, and has
been critical and successful today for the rise of Web 2.0 or However, newer and more informed generations of customers may impose
read-write/ (I/O) web. In this article, the focus is typically newer requirements for which businesses have to be aware. For example,
on data that is human generated. the introduction of VR technology and widespread adoption of wearable
technology, will again pose a set of challenges as consumers and business
Before we can look at human generated data (which is a mix try to understand the data ethics dimension.
of structured or unstructured), it is important to note that
unlike oil, which for instance gets spent in a few Technological solutions like Blockchain with Smart Contracts are
consumption instances, cannot be duplicated, or which promising to make Data Ethics decentralized, standardized and distributed
cannot be repurposed easily, or for which meta information and hold promise in the future.
has limited value; data can be reused, duplicated,
repurposed or valued at a meta data level. Realizing these
qualities, firms have built all types of innovative business
models. Ethics, which can be loosely defined as a set of
It is data that has been
moral values, has always been a competitive differentiator
of business. Hence, for data based businesses, defining data
chosen as a strategic
ethics is of importance.
differentiator by many
Data Ethics in transactions among knowledgeable
businesses can be enforced through traditional contractual
firms. Hence it is being
mechanisms like agreements that are focused around
ownership or purpose of use. However, it is only in the case
equated to the modern
of end consumers, where businesses have faced challenges
with consumers, given the complexity of the data related
day oil.
issues.
 AGILE AS A PROCESS VS.
AGILE AS A CONCEPT
Shrinath V

While the team manages to have fortnightly releases (potentially shippable

increments, but usually with caveats), the weight of the process slows
A few days ago, I was talking to a friend of mine who down the team over the longer team.
works in the innovation department of a bank. He had When I was the product owner/product manager for one of Nokia‟s maps
driven a small but important project within the bank using apps, we were newly experimenting with Agile. The app itself had
Agile. He had built an app that let the field team keep track components built across different teams, and had dependencies on new
of important information, and report information back. The features in the operating system. Each team was trying to work in an agile
app simplified a lot of the work that the field team needed manner, but managing complexity across teams became a huge challenge.
to do, especially around reporting, and When one of the core teams slipped on the deliverable for a dependency,
gave instant analytics to senior all other teams‟ plans went haywire. While we had planned out
management. EPICs and sprints, we often found that the progress was slow
Some stick on to
He was elated about how quickly he was Agile fundamentals, and would end up negotiating many features that we had to
able drop just to keep the app stable. Needless to say, all teams
but most others ended up being frustrated. The business/product teams were
to get the project done using Agile
fallback to some formfrustrated because our asks
compared
to the regular way of doing things. I confess
of Hybrid Agile – were compromised, while the tech teams were frustrated that
I did not share his enthusiasm. I‟ve seen my
doing some things the they had to rewrite a lot of the software code because of
share of Agile transformation attempts, and Agile changing dependencies or not having enough clarity in the
I‟ve seen firsthand the havoc it creates way and the others beginning.
before the organization settles down. When the waterfall way.
large organizations that are used to a way of Agile as a concept
doing things first brush against Agile, they I spoke with multiple firms on their agile implementation journeys. While
usually try one of two things: many had faced similar challenges, there were a couple of firms that had
• Do a pilot project to test feasibility and/or decided that they would follow Agile as a concept, and not a process.
• Shift whole hog into the Agile methodology and get
Agile coaches to help the transition How was this different?
For starters, teams sat and figured out which components would be best
Many organizations start with a vision of embracing Agile, developed using Agile. They realized that some components that were core
but find that the transition is difficult. The shift slows them to the experience would require time and iterations. For these, they decided
down due to the enormous changes required in the ways of to first build the hook APIs for other components and simulate outputs for
working. Over multiple discussions with development these. Later, they would experiment with the different ways of building the
leads & architects across organizations, I have realized there core components.
is a fundamental difference in the way they see Agile. They also observed a couple of sprints and decided to change their cadence
for effectiveness: one firm decided to move to a 3 week sprint for a section
Agile as a process of the work as they figured 2 weeks was too constraining. Another decided
Though Agile is meant to help plan on the go, many to work only in 2-month sprints.
organizations are unable to let go of the process of planning. They were also flexible on time requirements for different members. One
They place a lot of focus on getting everything ready for of the teams in a firm I spoke to, discussed how best to use UX. They
sprints: getting user stories and acceptance criteria fleshed realized that in stressing on the detailed specs for every sprint, they left no
out; ensuring there is a deliverable, however small, every time to test important ideas.
two weeks; rigorously testing every small bit and In one of the projects, we had tried something similar out. I had an
documenting elements in some central repository. architect and UX designer sit with me for a couple of days before we
The aim of these teams seems to be maximizing began the project, and we sketched out a blueprint of the interactions and
development output. But in the process, they sacrifice ideas core architecture. We then presented this to the team as an early sketch.
that are not mature and consumer understanding. Once we factored in the team comments, we used the sketch as a high-
level reference guide for the project.
The scrum master‟s primary objective here is to ensure that During the actual sprints, we would use the reference guide to clarify
everyone has enough to work on during a sprint. Hence points without having to spec out each and every detail. This also helped
there is immense pressure on the product manager/product the QA team build their functionality tests quickly.
owner to complete the set of user stories with valid As a product owner, I also found that this freed up time I would have spent
acceptance criteria. discussing every feature/criteria with the team. I could use the time to plan
Product owners are on a perennial run to complete stories ahead on the overall product roadmap. While these are observations I have
for the upcoming sprint, and have very little time or energy culled from my experience and conversations with practitioners, it is by no
for other activities like understanding market and user means authoritative or complete. I realize others would have had varying
needs. UX designers also face a lot of pressure to details experiences with Agile.
specs for stories, leaving little or no time for exploration of
 JAVA in 2019
Quick learning tips

1) Learn JAVA 8
There are a lot of Java developers who are backed up with an experience
of about 6 or 8 years, but still, they have not got to terms with using
features of Java 8 like Lambda Expressions, different default methods
and the Java Stream API. If you can get a good grip on these features of
Java 8, you already are ahead of the competition.

2) Good knowledge of Java API and libraries

Being one of the most solid programming languages out there, Java has
the second biggest Stack Overflow community, which outlines a crucial
6) Enhance your knowledge of working around design patterns
role in the development of the entire Java ecosystem. Java APIs and
The importance of design patterns in software development
Libraries constitute a big part of the ecosystem. Knowledge related to
is surely not hidden from you if you are an object-oriented
vital APIs and libraries, third-party libraries, and Java Development Kit
software developer with some experience. Design pattern
is considered as an essential attribute for a good Java developer. While
helps to depict the relations between the object and classes.
the knowledge of every single API and all elements in the library is not
If the naming of objects and classes gets done
expected from a Java developer, the refinements regarding crucial APIs
systematically, the recurring issue in these object-oriented
and libraries should be there for sure.
systems gets addressed.
Be it a regular employee or even a freelancer, a deep
3) Learn Spring Framework (Spring Boot)
understanding of design patterns is always going to be a big
Now, this is a platform that is essential for you as a Java developer
plus.
without a doubt. The spring framework allows a developer to create
applications from some pretty old Java objects and is also very useful in
7) Get acquainted with JVM languages
Java SE programming as well. Most Java development companies take
While learning new languages is always great for you
the help of spring framework like Spring MVC, Spring Cloud, and
personally and professionally, developing a habit to learn
Spring Boot to develop a web application and REST APIs. A good Java
new programming languages apart from Java will help you
developer is also aware of the advantages that the spring framework
with the development in Java applications. For instance,
offers such as making local Java methods a remote process and also
Kotlin is a static programming language which operates on
make Java methods execute within a database transaction.
Java virtual machines and can be used further for
compilation into JavaScript code or LLVM compiler too.
4) Refine your Unit Testing skills
Taking up and learning new languages of programming
Advanced unit testing skills are to be found in every conditioned Java
helps you in making a comparison between the advantages
programmer. This is an essential factor that separates great Java
and drawbacks that will, in turn, help you in creating better
developers from ordinary ones. As a professional Java developer, you
codes. Help in Android development through it is another
should always write unit tests for your code because it helps in the
plus.
validation of the code at the time of behaviour testing or state testing.
Most companies today make sure that as a Java Developer, you have an Final Take Away…
understanding of the different tools used for automation testing, unit If you want to become a pro Java developer and learn new
testing, integration testing, and performance testing. coding and Java programming skills, exploring and showing
due diligence to the above tips are bound to take you a long
5) Focus on JVM Internals way into the game. Of course, you cannot learn everything
Even as a beginner in Java, you are expected to know Java Virtual all in a single go. Select a particular tip and then proceed
Machine (JVM), a critical factor of JRE (Java Runtime Environment). towards enhancing it. Be mindful of learning Java 8 as a
Understanding JVM means a much better understanding of Java as a healthy working experience in Java 8 is essential for
programming language. JVM will assist you in solving complicated developing any application.
issues during the programming process. As a Java developer, you should
also be aware of the JVM restrictions on a stack and the standard errors
that a lot of Java developers make.
Click below for a Java guide
Visual studio code for java the ultimate guide
Sources: https://www.goodworklabs.com/java-developer-tips/
 BCT TECH
CROSSWORD
Activity Corner

Participate in this puzzle and get a chance to be chosen among 3 winners. Send in your entries to
BCT-L&D@bahwancybertek.com

ACROSS

1- Extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects

8 - Tracks customers‟ feedback and provides powerful actionable insights
5 - Comprehensive social sentiment analytics platform which helps to track and monitor and respond to customer posts
across social media channels. It comes with advanced NLP engines and semantic learning capabilities
3 - Integrated Logistics & Transportation products suite

DOWN

9 - Enterprise Asset Management software solution originally developed by Project Software & Development Inc (PSDI)
with the first commercial version released 34 years ago
6 - A comprehensive suite of risk management solutions for the financial services industry
10 - Integrated analytics platform with powerful capabilities to collect, validate and process data from multiple data sources
7 - Comprehensive customer service management product solution that helps you extensively manage customer
complaints, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction
2 - The Information Bus Company
4 - Set of values of subjects with respect to qualitative or quantitative variables

1 2 6
5
4
3

9
7

10

HINT: Answers to the crossword are based on products & services that we offer to customers. It also includes information
from the articles written in this magazine
A note of
Gratitude
We would sincerely like to express our gratitude to all the contributors of Digital Digest
Your involvement has definitely paved a way for knowledge dissemination among all our readers and has created a unique dimension
to learning
_________________________

On this note, we would like to encourage and call upon more contributors to this magazine.
Kindly share your content in the form of articles, case studies, white papers etc. and send them to BCT-L&D@bahwancybertek.com

_________________________

Special note of thanks to Raj for shaping this magazine with his valuable insights
___________________________

We thank all the readers of Digital Digest and wish all of you a happy learning