Digital Innovation

Tackling Tech Debt: A Strategic Guide for Technology Leaders

Technical debt is an ever-present challenge for organizations striving to innovate while maintaining operational stability. Often accumulated through quick fixes, outdated systems, or rushed development cycles, tech debt can hinder agility, increase costs, and stifle growth. At Viderity, we understand that managing tech debt is not just a technical issue. It is a strategic imperative that requires a comprehensive approach. Drawing from industry insights and our expertise, this guide explores the causes and impacts of tech debt, offering a practical playbook for technology leaders to address it effectively.

Understanding Tech Debt: More Than Just Code

Technical debt refers to the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy or limited solution now instead of using a better approach that would...

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Why Human-Centered Design is Crucial for Digital Transformation

In a world where technology evolves faster than most of us can keep up, digital transformation has become a non-negotiable for businesses aiming to stay relevant. But here’s the catch: technology alone doesn’t guarantee success. At Viderity, we’ve seen firsthand that the most effective transformations happen when people—not just systems—are at the heart of the process. That’s where Human-Centered Design (HCD) comes in, and it’s revolutionizing how we approach digital innovation.

The Stakes Are High: Today’s Users Demand More

Let’s face it—modern users aren’t messing around. A recent study found that 66% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and desires intuitively. Many even base their loyalty on how well a brand grasps their habits and preferences. This isn’t just a...

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From DevOps to DevEx: Elevating the Engineering Experience

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, attracting and retaining top tech talent is more critical than ever. As the global developer population is expected to reach nearly 29 million by 2024, companies must do more than just keep pace; they must actively enhance developer productivity and satisfaction. Despite developers being at the heart of innovation, traditional workflows often see them spending only 30-40% of their time on actual feature development, with significant effort wasted on routine tasks, tool configuration, debugging, and integrating fragmented systems. While the widespread adoption of methodologies like Agile, DevSecOps, and cloud engineering has undoubtedly improved collaboration and reduced time-to-market, a critical shift is emerging—focusing on developer experience, or DevEx. DevEx is a holistic, developer-first approach designed to...

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The Key Things You Need to Know About Drupal 11

Drupal’s open-source nature means it thrives on collaboration. Dries Buytaert, Drupal's creator, announced that Drupal 11 core resulted from the contributions of 1,858 individuals across 590 organizations. This extraordinary level of community participation highlights one of Drupal's strongest assets—its collective expertise and dedication. Dries Buytaert’s August 2024 LinkedIn post about Drupal 11.

Why Was Drupal 11 Released So “Early”?

Given that Drupal 10 was released in December 2022, the arrival of Drupal 11 in just over a year and a half might seem unusually swift. However, Gábor Hojtsy, Drupal core initiative coordinator, shed light on the reasoning during his “Drupal 11- Deep dive: what's new, how to prepare” session at DrupalCon Portland 2024.The timing ensures that organizations have ample opportunity...

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The Future of Grants Management: A Comprehensive Exploration of Technological Integration, Strategic Collaboration, and Sustainable Practices

Introduction: The field of grants management is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by rapid technological advancements, an increasing focus on collaboration, and a strong commitment to sustainability. As organizations navigate these changes, there is a pressing need to adapt to new technologies, optimize workflows, and build strategic partnerships to enhance the efficiency and impact of their grant-making processes. This comprehensive article delves into the latest trends and strategies in grants management, covering the role of artificial intelligence (AI), the importance of workflow optimization, the localization of funding, capacity building, and the emergence of sustainable practices.

1. Technological Advancements in Grants Management

Technology is revolutionizing the grants management landscape, making processes more efficient, accurate, and impactful. Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI has become integral to grants...

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Clean Data and Why Federal Agencies Must Prioritize It

Clean Data and Why Federal Agencies Must Prioritize It

Data is crucial for any organization, but for federal agencies, it's absolutely essential. It underpins everything from policymaking to daily operations. However, similar to water, data can become contaminated and unfit for its intended use. As federal agencies increasingly rely on big data and intelligent automation to drive decisions, the necessity for clean data becomes paramount. Just as contaminated water can adversely impact public health, dirty data can compromise the integrity of an agency. Making policy or operational decisions based on poor-quality data can affect an agency's effectiveness and might lead to misguided policies. To ensure data is fit for use, it must undergo rigorous cleaning and processing. In a world increasingly guided by...

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The Impact of AI on Cybersecurity: Challenges and Opportunities in 2024

Embracing the Future: The Dual Role of AI in Cybersecurity

As we delve into 2024, the synergy between artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity is becoming increasingly pivotal. AI, with its advanced algorithms and learning capabilities, not only strengthens our digital defenses but also, conversely, equips cybercriminals with sophisticated tools. This dual role of AI represents a defining challenge and opportunity in the realm of digital security.

 The AI-Enhanced Shield: Strengthening Cyber Defenses

Automated Threat Detection: AI-powered systems like Darktrace excel in detecting intricate patterns of malicious activity, often surpassing traditional methods. For example, Darktrace uses machine learning to identify and respond to threats in real-time, a capability beyond the reach of conventional security tools. Predictive Analytics for Proactive Defense: Tools like Cylance...

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Navigating the Transition from Drupal 7 to 10

In the ever-evolving realm of technology, where innovation and progress are the norm, even the most revered software eventually reaches its twilight. Such is the case with Drupal 7, a stalwart CMS that once revolutionized content management but now faces its official support sunset. As we bid adieu to this venerable platform, it's an opportune moment to reflect on its legacy, delve into its pivotal features, and chart the course ahead.

Drupal 7 at a Glance

First introduced on January 5, 2011, Drupal 7 was a game-changer in its time. Let's explore some of its significant contributions: Entities: Drupal 7 introduced the concept of entities, offering flexibility by allowing anything to be treated as an entity, from user profiles to comments. Multisite Support: It...

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Viderity Helps Overhaul NSF App

The National Science Foundation has supported research in all fields of science and engineering for over 70 years. In 2018, the NSF worked with Viderity to overhaul its “NSF Science Zone” mobile app. The primary purpose of overhauling the app was to increase awareness for the NSF’s grant recipients by publicizing images and video of research results in a fun and easily digestible way. Viderity built a new, visually compelling app through ongoing collaboration with the stakeholders at NSF. Viderity used Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to accomplish this, and also used Adobe XD for the first time for prototyping and testing. Since the relaunch of the app went incredibly well, Viderity is now using XD to redesign NSF’s website and sub-domains,...

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Virtual is the New Face of Government

As customers and consumers become more comfortable using technology it only stands to reason that government, traditionally behind the private sector when it comes to things like process innovation, would also be utilizing technology more and more. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been playing an ever-expanding role into public systems for years. However, the bridge between government-based AI and citizens appears to be ready to evolve. According to industry leaders, the next phase of customer contact and information sharing will be Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR). And, as AR and VR are expected to play ever increasing roles in the coming decade, systems and those associated with them will have to find new ways to grow...

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