Five Innovative Apps Built on IBM’s Bluemix PaaS

by Darryl K. Taft

Designed for creating rich, interactive applications that run in a Web browser without any plug-ins, Vaadin is a Java developer tool that is utilized everywhere from maritime to space applications, open-source projects to internal business applications and single-day prototypes to yearlong build-outs. Primarily used as a management or back-office dashboard for Fortune 500 and public sector organizations, Vaadin hosts its reference applications within Bluemix’s cloud-based platform—rather than deploying through company hardware—to enable users to simplify processes and stay more responsive.

Push Technology’s Diffusion software enables developers to build responsive, real-time apps that rapidly scale as business demands. Now available on IBM Bluemix, Diffusion delivers enterprise app performance in the cloud, removing the complexities of not only delivering data over unreliable networks but also on-premises deployments. With Diffusion, developers can create engaging mobile applications that truly satisfy user expectations.

To develop, test and deploy customized application sets globally, aPersona needed to transition from a labor-intensive DevOps setup to a scalable, cloud-based and open-source environment to shore up its capabilities. The Bluemix platform easily integrates with existing systems, allowing aPersona developers to initiate new servers and run apps in any language, as well as access a vast selection of IBM, open-source and third-party applications; APIs; software development kits (SDKs); and services available through the Bluemix catalog. The company is able to reduce server deployment time from hours to 30 seconds.

Phoenix’s mPower Revenue Scout is a cloud-based revenue protection system for power, gas, water and other utilities. Revenue Scout addresses the major pain points of utilities experienced around the world, due to discrepancies in consumer data that cascade into metering, billing and collection deficiencies. The closed-loop solution leverages data analytics, dynamic workflows and mobile field force management to identify areas of revenue leakage and recover money that would have been lost. Revenue Scout then measures, records and highlights revenue recovered or saved daily, making it easier to measure ROI.

Verdafero helps organizations such as cities, gas stations, hotel chains, health clubs and other businesses owning multiple properties to manage utility costs and usage across all locations with the help of cloud-based analytics. Through a centralized dashboard, organizations can visualize, compare and analyze their entire electric, gas, water, waste, fuel and carbon footprints across all of their properties and usage histories. With this level of understanding of entire utility usage, Verdafero’s Web platform has helped users reduce utility consumption by as much as 30 percent and ultimately cut costs.