The age of information in which we live presents many challenges. With data flows growing, even a small error in its management can lead to large errors. Quality data processing is also essential in the application of artificial intelligence, which is especially important for regulatory organizations and large businesses that carry out complex projects and seek to compete in the digital space.
“The larger the business or organization, the larger the data flows it operates, both internal and external. Advanced technologies and integrated solutions are needed to manage and work effectively with such data flows,” – says Elena Vengrienė, CEO of Novian Systems.
According to her, by managing data and combining relevant IT tools, organizations can notice new operational factors and make targeted, analysis-based decisions and increase their operational resilience.
One example is the global modernization project of the Lithuanian population and housing census. Ten years ago it was held in a traditional way with 6 thousand censors. This required a lot of financial and time costs and the involvement of the population of the whole country.
Meanwhile, when Novian Systems implemented the necessary IT solutions, the same work can now be done by 5 people, and the 2021 census takes place without the direct involvement of the country’s population, which is especially important during the pandemic.
Using IT technologies such as microservices, cloud computing and data analytics, systematized data from the main state registers and information systems are used for this purpose.
Large organizations need integrity
Presenting the aforementioned project, E. Vengrienė said that the main indicators needed for census are collected, compiled and updated in state registers and information systems, and in order to be used for census, they need to be combined and systematized accordingly.
The decision of the Department of Statistics of Lithuania to modernize the census process by using new IT solutions, was implemented by Novian Systems having the necessary experience and skills to implement such a project and acting as Algoritmų Sistemos to the end of 2020.
According to the manager, the process took place in several stages. One of the biggest challenges was to integrate and process extremely large amounts of data obtained from different sources of information in a targeted and secure manner.
“We had to ensure that the data connection process was smooth and included all the elements — from data selection, depersonalization, security assurance to migration and interconnection for the required result. In this way, we were able to guarantee that the complex result would be accurate and timely,” said E. Vengrienė.
Microservices give more flexibility
The Lithuanian population and housing census survey component was implemented using microservices architecture principles, and the solution was implemented and installed using cloud computing tools.
“An important role at this stage was played by microservices. They made it possible to divide large, complex monolithic programs into smaller, autonomous ones, having their own purpose and closely cooperating with each other. In this way, the speed of development of the system was ensured, the possibilities of development were facilitated, and the quality of the installation was increased,” the Head of the company said.
Well, finally, it is important to mention the fact that the process of installation and implementation was carried out through DevOps (Development & Operations) best practices and products. DevOps principle enables applications to be delivered much faster and more reliable in their own infrastructure or in the cloud. At the same time, human, financial and IT resources are saved”, — said E. Vengrienė.
Summarizing the project of modernization of the Lithuanian population and housing census, she stressed that the measures developed and implemented by Novian Systems allow not only to receive and combine administrative data from different data sources, but also to quickly develop statistical indicators and publish them in the cyber space.
These indicators are provided to the Lithuanian Official Statistics Portal, data cubes required by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), and other users of census information. “The most important result of this project is that population and housing censuses are carried out remotely and as often as needed. Moreover, the data is obtained very quickly and is the basis, allowing to make relevant decisions”, — said E. Vengrienė.
“The software developed by Novian Systems, the modernized census data subsystem of the integrated statistical information system allowed to significantly improve the work. For the preparation of census indicators, we use data from 19 state registers and information systems. This way of census allows us to improve the quality of the results by avoiding the presentation of false data, data scanning, processing, coding errors, and also allows us to publish earlier information and saving state funds. This method is more convenient for residents as it is no longer necessary to fill out census sheets, or to bring strangers into the house, fearing for security,” – says Vanda Vaitekūnienė, Head of the Population statistics division of the Department of Statistics of Lithuania.
The process of creating and implementing a modern country’s population and housing census project was implemented using “DevOps” best practices and products. Used technologies, platforms, architecture: Oracle database, Oracle Data Integrator, PostgreSQL database, Java Spring Boot, VueJS, Kubernetes, Docker, Jenkins, Microservices, Cloud, etc.
Solutions based on data analysis
The Novian Systems representative said that during modern times, organizations and businesses can work effectively with data and make decisions based on data analysis only with the help of modern technologies that allow data integration. “The ability to connect IT technologies: microservices and data analytics, can help achieve the desired result,” – she said.
According to her, it is important to emphasize the fact that qualitative analysis of data, especially large quantities, is essential for the introduction of artificial intelligence. This allows minimizing the likelihood of errors and subsequent significant margins of error, which is particularly relevant for regulatory organizations and large businesses carrying out complex projects.
“Integrated data management solutions provide double benefits for businesses and organizations: decisions are made more correctly, based on data, and quality solutions increase the value created by the business or organization,” said E. Vengrienė.
Data integration options are relevant for most business processes: large financial companies, insurance, banking, trading and similar enterprises.
They are also important in areas where it is necessary to combine and process large amounts of data from different data sources, and to deliver the result to end users as soon as possible, ensuring high reliability and security of data.
Integrated look at digitization
E. Vengrienė recalls that with increasing digitalization, an integral approach to the IT becomes an important condition for success. As a result, since the end of 2020, Novian group companies have joined forces and can provide customers with a general IT solution based on their needs, ranging from developing and maintaining IT infrastructure to the development of information systems.
“We can offer clients not only optimization of individual needs, but also a unified approach to IT solutions, harmonizing the needs of new programs and the entire IT”, – assures E. Vengrienė.
She also mentions the fact that Novian group companies have a lot of experience, which is especially good for combining both classical and state-of-the-art technological solutions, as one of the important advantages of digitalizing. In addition, acceleration in challenges is granted to Novian by its priority for topical areas such as high-performance computing devices, digital transformation, big data, and artificial intelligence.
Source: project in vz.lt.
