Sparx Systems

Upcoming Community-based End User Events in Europe - September & October, 2017

Two European User Group events will be held during late September and early October. The Scottish Gathering of Enterprise Architect Users will be held again in Livingston, as well as a new 2 day User Group event to be hosted at the Aeropolis in Brussels.

Scottish Gathering of Enterprise Architect Users - 29th September, 2017

Hippo Software will be hosting their next User Group event at Livingston, Scotland; the single day event costs just £48, including lunch and refreshments. Previous Scottish End User events have been very popular and is an excellent opportunity to share knowledge and network with like-minded professionals.

Delegate registrations are open now, event hosts are also requesting Speaker submissions until August 31; for more details please visit the event website.

Event Details & Registration

Brussels Enterprise Architect User Group - 5th & 6th October, 2017

The 2 day event includes an 'EA training day' and a typical User Group day. Delegates can register for either or both days, early bird discounts end on the 18th of August. Previous User Group events held in the region have been very popular, the new 2 day format will provide additional value to delegates.

Event hosts are currently requesting Presentation submissions and Sponsorship opportunities are also available, please visit the event website for details.

Event Details & Registration

Sparx Systems has been identified as an exemplar model regarding the firm's approach to Agile in an article published in the August issue of BA LENS online magazine.

The feature highlighted that in order to fully understand Agile, an organisation needs to embed the principles of Agile into it's DNA.

"Sparx Systems has built the agile mindset into the organization’s culture and to the delivery of the recognized products they provide to their global network of users."

In partnership with the International Institute of Business Analysis, Sparx Systems released the Tools & Techniques for BABOK Guide v3, a digital reference for IIBA's Business Analysis Body Of Knowledge. Tools & Techniques for BABOK Guide v3 can be accessed freely via the new Pro Cloud Server, viewed on any mobile device browser.

With the recent inclusion of OSLC RESTful API within Sparx Systems products, and increasing number of web-based integrations will be available to users of Enterprise Architect, Web EA and Pro Cloud Server in the near future. The Beta release of Enterprise Architect 14, slated for late 2017, will prove to be another quality product as a result of Agile methodologies and best practices.

http://balens.iiba.org/?q=content/being-agile-agile-world

In this month's SD Times 100 Winner's Supplement, Sparx Systems CEO, Geoffrey Sparks discusses Enterprise Architect's new collaborative tools supported by the Pro Cloud Server. The Pro Cloud Server released in June, offers secure access for enterprise-wide discussion and review of the model via web-enabled devices, as well as new ways to exchange model repository information with other systems.

“Our new Pro Cloud Server, WebEA and OSLC-based RESTful API are integrated so Enterprise Architect repositories can be hosted in the cloud or on a corporate intranet to provide optimized web-based access from browsers, mobile devices, Enterprise Architect and other network-based devices,” said Sparks.

The SD Times 100 honors companies, consortia and projects that have put their stamps on the industry through innovation and leadership. 

A copy of the entire article is attached to this article.

David Rubinstein, Editor in Chief at SD Times, recently interviewed Geoffrey Sparks regarding Enterprise Architecture and how effective collaboration platforms assist in delivery of business value.

In this month's SD Times, Sparx Systems is in the industry spotlight, discussing the new Pro-Cloud Server, WebEA and RESTful API for OSLC, as well as the role of dynamic collaboration in digital transformation.

In the interview, Geoffrey Sparks, CEO of Sparx Systems, comments "The ability to dynamically create models, collaborate and integrate models over multiple domains and technical platforms is a remarkable and highly agile solution that has the capacity to radically improve the quality, accuracy and effectiveness of model-based project."

The article also calls attention to the collaboration between Sparx Systems and the IIBA, resulting in the development of a toolkit for IIBA's Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide v3). On the collaboration Sparx Systems COO, Tom O'Reilly commented " It is the first time business analysis techniques have been actualized in this way and we are excited about the outcome."

Read the full article on the Sparx Systems website (PDF, 1.4Mb)

On the 30th of June, Catherine Vance was awarded the Sparx Systems Award for her exceptional project work and dedication to her studies at Federation University, Australia.

The award was presented at the Faculty of Science and Technology Student Award Ceremony by Sparx Systems' Communications Manager, Scott Hebbard, who noted "I was pleasing to present an award to a student so dedicated and passionate about learning programming and software engineering using Enterprise Architect."

On her award win, Catherine has commented: "I would like to thank Sparx Systems for presenting me with the Sparx Systems Pty Ltd award, along with a copy of Enterprise Architect Ultimate Edition and a cheque for $500. I am a mature aged student studying Bachelor of IT, Professional Practice at Federation University Australia. I recently completed a software engineering subject where I found Enterprise Architect to be invaluable for creating sequence diagrams, class diagrams, domain model diagrams and various other models. I also found the reverse engineering function to be particularly useful. I have used Enterprise Architect in programming subjects throughout my degree and it is a great program for all IT students to use. I enjoy programming, and software engineering was one of my favourite subjects so far. I work very hard in my studies and greatly appreciate this award. Thank you very much to all at Sparx Systems."

All of us at Sparx Systems congratulate Catherine on her win, and wish her all the best in her career.

A series of global knowledge exchange sessions will be held during the month of July, the inaugural Sparx University Week will be hosted by Sparx Systems Japan, Sparx Systems Central Europe, and Sparx Services North America.

The format of each course will be varied, depending on the subject, audience and location; sessions being held in July feature a mix of both online and face-to-face seminars and courses.

It is anticipated that Sparx University Week will be run on a global basis every few months, in conjunction with Sparx Systems Sister and Services Partner network.

Seminars being held in Japan have already proved to be popular, requiring an additional seminar scheduled for early August to cater for market demand.

Sparx University Week Schedule:

Sparx Systems has once again made it to the 2017 SD Times 100 list in the ALM & Development Tools Category.  SD times indicated that "Application life-cycle management needs sound methods coupled with up-to-date tools and platforms for requirements so that teams know what to do and when to do it by. These companies helped developers stick to the plan and avoid falling behind in 2017."  Enterprise Architect provides a solid platform for the delivery and support of new applications, services, and technologies, by encouraging and facilitation of increased productivity between development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). Sparx Systems is pleased to be on the 2017 SD Times 100.

Read the full article to read more about the 2017 SD Times 100 list.

2017 is an exciting year with the introduction of the all new Pro Cloud Server, allowing a real-time view of content contained in an Enterprise Architect Cloud repository to be shared with anyone with a smart phone, tablet or computer simply using a web-browser.

To learn more about the Pro Cloud server, we would encourage you to read about the product on the Sparx Systems website below:

http://www.sparxsystems.com/products/procloudserver/

In an in-depth and illuminating interview with Sparx Systems Founder and CEO Geoffrey Sparks, Alexandra Weber Morales from SD Times identified several key aspects surrounding the company's continued growth in the DevOps space.

Geoffrey illustrated how Enterprise Architect provides a solid platform for the delivery and support of new applications, services, and technologies, by encouraging and facilitation of increased productivity between development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). The Sparx CEO also explained the importance of UML as the established standard for software modeling.

"Within those organizations that are undergoing digital transformation
to improve operational efficiencies (many of whom are Sparx Systems
customers), there is a prevalence of UML tools deployed to manage application
delivery, a process which relies implicitly on code quality assurance."
- Geoffrey Sparks, CEO & Founder, Sparx Systems

Read the full article in PDF - available on the Sparx Systems website here

Visit SD Times website here

Read More about Sparx Systems and DevOps here

In the February edition of CIO Review, Sparx Systems has been recognized by a distinguished panel of CEO's, CIO's, CMO's, VC's, analysts and the CIO Review editorial board, from a select group of over 300 companies as one of the "most promising BPM technology solution providers".

First awarded the honor in 2015, this is a continuing recognition of Sparx Systems' ability to provide technology solutions to streamline operations in a faster, less resource-intensive manner, while keeping costs under control. 

For more information regarding CIO Review's 20 Most Promising BPM Solution Providers - 2017, please view the PDF here.

An interview with Founder and CEO Geoffrey Sparks is also featured in this month's edition titled 'Architecting' Agile Enterprises, where Geoffrey discusses Enterprise Architect's unique market position as the go-to platform for enterprise-wide digital transformation. 

Read the in-depth article between CIO Review and Geoffrey Sparks here: Sparx Systems - Architecting Agile Enterprises (PDF)

The February edition of CIO Review can be read at the CIOReview website: http://magazine.cioreview.com/magazines/February2017/BPM

Sparx Systems, together with the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA®), has announced the public Beta release of a reference model for IIBA's Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide v3), supported by Sparx System's Pro Cloud Server and an MDG Technology within Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect.

Considered as the Ultimate Toolkit for Business Analysts, Sparx System's Tools & Techniques for BABOK Guide v3 has been developed in close conjunction with key stakeholders within the IIBA community, supporting the global business analysis community with improved efficiency and practical real-world modeling examples.

Easily accessible from within the browser of any Internet connected mobile device, the Tools & Techniques for BABOK Guide v3 represents BABOK Guide v3 Knowledge Areas as columns, while each cell represents a specific Task within the Knowledge Area. Enterprise Architect sample models are also contained within the online solution, offering Business Analysts with a comprehensive array of modeling resources to assist in attaining a high level of proficiency in the shortest possible time-frame.

Further information regarding the Enterprise Architect Tools and Techniques for BABOK ® Guide v3, delivered via the Pro Cloud Server collaboration platform or MDG Technology plug-in, plus a wealth of reference materials, is available at the Sparx Systems website: www.sparxsystems.com/babok