We’re about to spill the beans on everything you need to know about low-code in financial services. Buckle up; it’s gonna be a fun ride!

Rapid App Building

Low-code platforms are like the turbo boost for financial institutions. They come with a user-friendly, drag-and-drop playground and a treasure chest of pre-made components, making app development a walk in the park. Even folks in suits, like financial analysts and operations managers, can roll up their sleeves and get creative. With this speed boost, new solutions hit the market quicker, cutting down on wait time and ramping up how smooth things run behind the scenes.

Bend It Like Beckham – Agility and Flexibility

Finance is a dynamic game, with rules that change as often as the weather. Low-code platforms let you pull off those fancy agile moves and keep up with shifts in the market, those never-ending legal requirements, and the constant chatter from customers. Thanks to low-code’s magic, you can prototype and tinker with your apps at lightning speed, making it a breeze to adjust to whatever curveballs the business world throws your way. Whether it’s adding new features or tying into your existing systems, you won’t need an army of coders or disrupt your core operations.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

In the old days, IT teams and business folks used to speak different languages, and that led to some pretty epic misunderstandings and delays. But low-code is like the United Nations for business and tech. It brings them together, lets them hash things out, and builds apps that everyone can agree on. No more lost-in-translation moments, just smooth sailing toward those big goals.

Plug and Play

Financial institutions have a pretty tangled web of IT stuff going on. Low-code platforms are like the master key that fits all the locks. They’re pros at connecting with your existing systems, databases, and even those third-party apps you can’t live without. This seamless integration means data can flow like a river, manual tasks can vanish, and your whole operation can get a fresh boost of energy. Plus, they speak the same language as the hottest new tech, so you’re ready for whatever buzzwords come your way.

Playing By the Rules – Compliance and Security

The finance world has some pretty strict rule-makers, like the data privacy gurus and the financial regulation police. When you bring in low code, you’ve got to make sure it plays by the book. Look for low-code platforms that follow the rules, pack a punch with data encryption, let you set the right permissions, and give you a watchful eye with audit features. This way, you can keep the important stuff safe and stay in the good books with the regulators.

Roadblocks and Things to Think About

Even though low-code development brings a ton of perks, you can’t just jump in without a plan. Here are a few speed bumps to keep in mind:

1. Learning the Ropes: Introducing your team to low-code might require time and training investment.

2. Picking the Right Partner: Not all low-code vendors are made equal. You’ve got to be picky and look for the ones with a track record of awesomeness, top-notch security, and the ability to scale to your needs.

3. Tech Debt Pileup: Building apps faster is great but can lead to messy code and a mountain of technical debt. You’ve got to set some rules and keep things in check to avoid this pitfall.

4. App Life Support: Once you’ve got your shiny new apps, you’ve got to look after them. That means managing different versions, testing, and getting them out there into the world. You need processes and tools to keep everything running smoothly.

Digitalization takes center stage: Almost two decades ago, major financial institutions established separate units to explore e-commerce. Today, 70% of BFSI executives consider digital transformation essential (McKinsey & Company). The sector now focuses on payments, retail and online banking, and wealth management, extending into institutional banking. Despite progress in 2020, the insurance sector lags in digitization. To thrive, insurers must shift to a digital-first approach, offering personalized services to boost customer loyalty through unified views.

Replacing Legacy Systems with Modern Infrastructure: Change is vital as modern platforms offer superior benefits at lower costs. 79% of banking, fintech, and insurance CIOs recognize the influence of real-time, hyper-relevant experiences on customer expectations.

Rethinking Emerging Payments: Emerging payments are consolidating, not slowing down. It’s the right moment for the BFSI industry to develop frictionless, embedded, and native solutions for customer interaction, setting the stage for success.

Low code is like a superhero for financial institutions looking to make big digital changes. It hands the power to the business folks, speeds up app creation, and makes teamwork between business and tech a breeze. But there’s a catch. You’ve got to be ready for these challenges and always keep an eye on the rules and security stuff. If you do it right, low-code can change the game in finance, bring in some cool innovations, and give your customers the best experience they’ve ever had.

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The post Spilling the Deets: Low-Code in BFSI Made Simple! appeared first on Indium.

The 1-Click Deployment Framework for Mendix applications on public cloud(s) simplifies and accelerates the deployment process. With just a single click, you can seamlessly deploy your Mendix applications onto public cloud platforms, unlocking the benefits of scalability, reliability, and cost-efficiency. This framework eliminates the complexities of traditional deployment methods and empowers organizations to launch their Mendix applications quickly and efficiently on the public cloud, enabling faster time-to-market and enhanced agility. Experience the ease and convenience of deploying your Mendix applications with a single click on the public cloud.

Let’s look at a use case and the remedy:

• Mendix MPC customers are unable to employ a flexible custom build process. The Mendix native build pipeline does not let clients implement their own build process because Mendix MPC maintains total control over CI/CD.
• The customer won’t have any control over the application, infrastructure, or security in Mendix MPC. They are forced to pick and choose which security features to use.

Solution:

• Deploying a Mendix application in any public cloud provides one-click deployment, total control over the infrastructure, high availability, and built-in security features. The one-click deployment framework for Indium is reliable and has been tested across multiple clouds with minimal to no adjustments.
• With the most flexible and secure cloud computing environment currently available, such as AWS/Azure/GCP, this architecture gives you the control and assurance you need to safely manage your organization.
• You can become more adept at upholding fundamental security and compliance standards, such as those relating to data localization, protection, and confidentiality, with the help of public clouds.

The rigidity of this structure was examined in this blog post using AWS, the current market leader in public cloud adoption. We can see how the customer has the freedom to choose the infrastructure and the application to be deployed thanks to the powerful integration of the trio Jenkins, Mendix, and AWS.

How to use our own framework to deploy the Mendix application.

1. Set up a VPC with two availability zones and private and public subnets.

2. To secure the nodes and application while preventing external connections, private subnets were created for Kubernetes nodes.

3. We can utilize CloudWatch and Grafana for log monitoring.

4. Configuring Jenkins to automate the CI/CD pipeline.

5. Integrating Jenkins with the Mendix team server.

6. Create a Docker image using the Mendix Docker file and our application code.

7. Upload the Docker image to artefacts like the Docker Hub, ECR, or ACR.

8. Create YAML Scripts to deploy the application. These scripts pass parameters like the database host name and password and the Mendix admin password as secrets using a secrets manager.

9. Using YAML, deploy the docker image in EKS and get the saved images from the artefacts.

10. For high availability and dependability, use EKS’s load balancer, replica sets, and autoscaling.

Also read: How to Secure an AWS Environment with Multiple Accounts

Architectural Overview:

Jenkins begins downloading code from Team servers after a developer clicks a single button, using Mendix docker files and source code to create a docker image that is then used to deploy in Elastic Kubernetes Service in AWS. 

Benefits of Mendix Application Deployment on Public Cloud

 1. Giving the client the ability to take charge of the CI/CD process.

2. The isolated Kubernetes environment allows users to create and administer their own cloud Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), with the potential to increase security.

3. The application auto-scales loads based on traffic and is highly accessible.

4. Logs are simple to monitor, and setting warnings for high CPU usage is simple. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the 1-Click Deployment Framework for Mendix applications on public cloud(s) revolutionizes the way organizations deploy their applications. By simplifying the deployment process and providing a seamless experience, this framework empowers businesses to leverage the scalability and reliability of the public cloud. With just a single click, organizations can effortlessly launch their Mendix applications, accelerating time-to-market and driving business agility. Embrace the power of 1-Click Deployment and unlock the full potential of your Mendix applications on the public cloud.

The post 1 Click Deployment Framework for Mendix Application on Public Cloud(s) appeared first on Indium.

Introduction:

AMQP stands for Advanced Message Queuing Protocol, and it is an open standard application layer protocol. AMQP Message Protocol also deals with publishers and subscribers for the consumer.

One of the key features of AMQP is the message broker, which acts as an intermediary between sender and receiver. The broker receives messages from senders, stores them, and delivers them to their intended recipients based on predefined routing rules. The broker provides a range of features such as message persistence, message acknowledgment, and message prioritisation to ensure reliable and efficient message delivery. 

Several industries, including telecommunications, healthcare, and financial services, use AMQP. It has been widely adopted as a messaging protocol due to its reliability, interoperability, and flexibility.

Now there are four different exchange types:

• Direct Exchange
• Fan Out Exchange
• Topic Exchange and
• Header Exchange

Direct Exchange:

A direct exchange works by matching the routing key, when there is a match, the message is delivered to the queue. Each message sent to a direct exchange must have a routing key. 

If the routing key match, the message can be forwarded to the queue of the message.

For example, suppose there are three nodes named node A, node B, and node C, and a direct exchange named X. If node A is connected to X with a routing key of “key 1”, node B is connected to X with a routing key of “key 2”, and node C is connected to X with a routing key of “key 3”, then when a message is sent to X with a routing key of “key 2”, the message will be routed to node B.

Fan Out Exchange:

A fanout exchange works by sending messages to all of its bound queues. When a message is sent to a fanout exchange, the exchange simply copies it and sends it to all the currently bound queues.

For example, A real-time example of a Fanout Exchange can be a social media platform where a user posts a message that needs to be sent to all the users.

Topic Exchange:

When a message is sent to a topic exchange, the exchange will forward the message to all the queues. If queues have a binding key that matches the routing key, the message is routed to that queue, and finally each customer will receive the message from the queue.

Header Exchange:

A header exchange works by allowing the sender to attach a set of header attributes to each message. The header exchange looks at the headers and compares them to the header values specified in the bindings of each queue. If there is a match between the header of the message and the bindings of a queue, the message is delivered to that queue.       

Also read: Internet of Things in the Automotive Industry Blog.

Advantages of AMQP:

Message orientation, queuing, routing (including publish and subscribe and point-to-point), dependability, and security are the characteristics that set AMQP apart.

It employs techniques to ensure the secure transmission of critical data.

Flexibility:

AMQP includes publisher and subscriber request responses among the many message patterns it supports and point-to-point messaging, which makes it suitable for a variety of business use cases.

These services are provided using AMQP:

Healthcare services:

AMQP can be used to transmit medical data from wearable and implantable devices to healthcare providers, enabling remote monitoring and personalised treatment. It can be used to transmit patient data, test results, and other medical information securely and in real time. By using AMQP, healthcare providers can establish a reliable and secure communication channel to exchange data and messages between different services. The transfer of patient information among various healthcare providers, including hospitals, clinics, and laboratories

Financial services:

AMQP can be used to build reliable and secure messaging systems for financial institutions, including stock exchanges, banks, and trading platforms. It can be used to transmit market data, trade orders, and other financial information securely and efficiently. By using AMQP, financial services providers can improve the speed and efficiency of their communication systems and reduce the risk of delays or errors.

Internet of Things (IoT) services:

the AMQP protocol is designed for reliable, interoperable, and secure communication between different components of distributed applications, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Device-to-cloud communication:

The AMQP protocol enables IoT devices to transmit messages to cloud services for further processing and analysis. For instance, a temperature sensor can utilise AMQP to transmit temperature readings to a cloud-based analytics service.

Overall, AMQP provides a flexible and scalable messaging infrastructure that can support various IoT services, from simple device-to-cloud communication to complex event processing and analytics.

Security:

AMQP provides a range of security features, such as authentication and encryption, to protect messages and prevent unauthorised access.

Conclusion

AMQP is a powerful messaging protocol that enables different applications to communicate with each other reliably, securely, and flexibly. With its client-server architecture and components such as a broker, exchange, queue, producer, and consumer, AMQP provides a robust framework for message-oriented middleware.

The post Seamless Communication: Exploring the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) appeared first on Indium.