HCL Research
Research is the hallmark of any organization that wants to develop thought leaders, analyze and stay ahead of futuristic trends, and make significant contributions in critical domains. In this section, we wish to showcase some of our key research initiatives from across HCL in various categories, including whitepapers, technical research, high impact case studies, and reports on emerging trends.
Accelerated Web Content Delivery
In 1995, when the Internet was still in its infancy there were about 16 million users compared to about 2 billion users today. Over the last fifteen years not only has the number of people using the Internet grown exponentially, but we have also witnessed an evolution of technology standards, protocols, and information consumption patterns. The Internet is no longer limited to desktop/laptop computers. An increasing number of people on the go, are using handheld devices to access their preferred websites. The easy access of websites has resulted in a significant increase in Web traffic and the right design and infrastructure are required to handle the extra load, failing which websites are likely to experience difficulties. The performance of a Web application is determined by multiple factors such as design and application architecture, quality of code and hardware infrastructure. Performance needs to be built at every layer of the technology stack to get a finished product that is solid.
To read more, click hereMainframe Application Reverse Engineering: Key to Unlocking Your Business Content
More than ever before today's end users are very intolerant of delays in obtaining relevant information, non-interactive Websites, and non-collaborative applications. Naturally, businesses need to incorporate changing user demands and preferences into their IT strategy. Whereas for modern systems that may not be a very tall order, for mainframe systems it is. Although there is a gradual trend to migrate to newer systems, the bulk of global business transactions continue to be processed by mainframes, especially in industrialized economies. For that reason mainframe systems continue to remain relevant to enterprises. Instead of throwing out the baby with the bath tub, mainframe customers are warming up to the idea of mainframe migration and modernization.
To read more, click hereMainframe Performance Management: Can Make the Dinosaur Dance
Businesses want to know how IT can help in expanding their company's customer base, increasing products and services portfolios, increasing the profit margin, tapping into new markets, identifying activities for outsourcing, and much more. The alignment of IT activities and deliverables to business goals gains even more significance in the world of mainframes, given the high investments associated with them. It is no longer enough to show mainframe performance metrics only in terms of operational efficiency; we need metrics that can reflect the extent to which mainframes help their organization fulfil business goals.
To read more, click hereCost of Quality: Needs Your Attention Not Sometimes But Always
If the goal of software solutions is to improve the way a business is run so that it becomes more profitable and healthy, then Cost of Quality (CoQ) is a key approach for achieving that kind of improvement. The principles of CoQ are well established in the manufacturing industry, given its long history. Their relevance in determining the quality of software solutions has been understood only in the last couple of decades, mostly in the context of the costs incurred as a result of delivering poor quality software. The main idea behind a CoQ approach is to increase revenue and decrease operational cost by reducing rework and maximizing opportunities.
To read more, click herexFIT: Framework for Integration Testing
Wherever there are two or more individuals, departments in an organization, or components in a machine, common rules of etiquettes, communications, agreements, disagreements, and other norms of integration are required in order for the whole to function in a harmonious manner. Conceptually it is no different in the world of software. In a given company several applications and solutions need to integrate without problems in order meet the demands of end users. To ensure that it is so, integration testing has become an indispensable aspect of software development.
To read more, click hereCRM Trends in the Insurance Industry
Contemporary CRMs in the insurance industry are expected to overcome the boundaries placed by 'siloed' development of solutions, and to not only give a 'complete picture of their customers,' but also interpret, analyze, and predict the behaviour of customers as well as facilitate strategic business decision-making. Furthermore, as that 'complete picture' changes, CRMs are supposed to keep up with those changes as dynamically as the changes themselves. This may sound like a talk order (from IT) but that is the demand of insurers and customers.
To read more, click hereThermal Design and Management of Servers
In today’s digital age of rapid knowledge development, an enormous amount of information is being generated every day across the world. This data needs to be stored, processed and secured so the user can access this data quickly. Servers play a major role in this type of data-intensive business applications. The advancements in hardware, software and miniaturization technologies, along with the information evolution, has led to a vast increase in servers power densities and computing power. To improve the reliability and to enhance performance, thermal management needs to be performed in servers by removing the heat generated by the devices.
To read more, click hereThermal Management in Electronic Equipment
Development in the electronics industry has come a long way from nascent low performing devices to advanced devices with high computational speed and power. The advancement in the industry led to an exponential increase in power densities, which in turn drove the innovation of smarter and smaller products. These advanced technologies, coupled with miniaturization requirements, guided innovation-driven thermal management in electronic devices. Thermal management is essential in electronics, as it improves reliability and enhances performance by removing heat generated by the devices.
To read more, click hereApplication Security - An SDLC Imperative
Businesses, institutions, and government organisations are now acknowledging the fact that it is not enough to protect only their IT infrastructure with firewalls and various intrusion detection systems (IDS). Since the focus of attackers has shifted to exploiting vulnerabilities in application design, source code, runtime code, and deployment configurations, there is a consensus among software experts that security needs to become an integral part of the software development life cycle (SDLC).
To read more, click hereSemantic Web Beyond Science Fiction
Although not new, Semantic Web is creating a lot of excitement among many techies and businesses whose efforts have started to bear fruit. In fact, Semantic Web proponents are predicting that we are likely to see the world they are visualizing, belong less to science fiction and more to the real world we live in. Yes, Semantic Web is expected to be that pervasive!
To read more, click hereGreen Edging Through Energy Efficiency
World’s economic activities are generating tremendous strain on natural resources in terms of higher energy demand. Increased energy demand is being met by sacrificing our green planet, through higher generation of pollutants and Green House Gases. This paper focus on abatement of energy demand through Energy Efficiency and role of IT in enabling energy efficiency. This paper is co-authored by HCL and Frost & Sullivan consultants and demonstrates an unique example of industry level collaboration for green environment
To read more, click hereIntelligent APM for Enterprise Transformation
Optimal management of IT budgets has gained importance in light of the fact that IT departments are being required to offer innovative solutions, while maintaining existing services. Application Portfolio Management is a growing market that enables companies to create an inventory of their applications and analyze which applications are useful and which ones are redundant.
To read more, click hereEmbedded GUIs : Can Impact the Bottom Line of Your Business
How many of you software developers feel that if only users were willing to educate themselves about your application, then it would work like a charm? How many of you (end) users feel that if only software applications could do their job without you having to acquire IT skills, then there would be no problems at all? The gap between the two communities can be bridged by a well–thought out and-designed (i.e., highly usable and easy-to-use) Graphical User Interface (GUI).
To read more, click hereRich Internet Applications in Perspective
If you are at the receiving end of the high-tech revolution, as a user, then do you feel overwhelmed by some of the current high-tech trends and the debates as well as the acronyms that accompany them? If so, then you are not alone, but what is important in such moments is to not throw out the baby with the bathtub! There is, indeed, a lot of hype about Rich Internet Applications (RIA) among software engineers, some of which has to do with 'techies getting excited over technological breakthroughs' but more importantly the real excitement about RIA pertains to what it can do for end users and various lines of business.
To read more, click hereMDA Approach: Foundation for Designing Software the Intelligent Way
Today’s consumers do not appear too interested in getting to know the internal workings of products or services; what they care about the most is their practical use(s). So when it comes to business (domain) solutions, clients don’t much care about its technical sophistication; they simply want to know if, for instance, that solution will give them greater flexibility, faster time-to-market, increased productivity, interoperability, reusability, portability and the like options. To cater to the demands of such clients, the software community has been considering alternative ways of developing software. This is the context for the emergence of Model Driven Architecture (MDA).
To read more, click hereService Innovation: New Kid on the Block?
Innovation and profitability are two sides of the same coin for companies that wish to stay competitive in the market place. In fact, innovation is the mainstay of companies that aspire to lead in their area of expertise, irrespective of whether they are offering products and/or services.
To read more, click hereWeb 2.0 - The Evolution and Growth of the Interactive Internet
Today's generation is spawned in the digital age and is extremely comfortable with the concept of collaboration. Using the Web as a platform to facilitate that collaboration fits rather well with the Web 2.0 approach. This paper takes the reader through a brief description of Web 2.0 and its components and explains how Web 2.0 has thrown open new opportunity areas for business in domains such as pharma, retail, travel, mobile, tourism, and entertainment to mention only a few.
To read more, click hereTrue Relationship Based Pricing Engine
The act of reciprocating is age old. In fact, it is something we all do unconsciously and we don't think of it as a big deal, but in the commercial world it is taking on a whole new meaning. Financial institutions, especially banks are taking customer relationship to another level. Have you heard of Relationship Based Pricing, Relationship Based Profitability, or Relationship Based Billing? No! Well, then you will find this paper quite fascinating.
To read more, click hereData Profiling: A Quick Primer on the What and the Why of Data Integration
A company's database contains information that touches most aspects of its business activity, and since it is also the basis for decision-making, companies are turning to Data Profiling to ensure that the data in the database be consistent, accurate and reliable.
To read more, click hereTaming the SaaS Delivery Channel
Fueled by the popular interest generated by some recent offerings, Software as a Service (SaaS) has emerged as one of the buzzwords of the Web 2.0 lingo. The SaaS channel holds a special promise for ISVs, since it provides them with a mode of reaching out to a wider customer base, including small and medium businesses (SMB), whose collective strength is significant.
Agora is HCL's service delivery platform. It is designed to give ISVs a head start by automating critical aspects of SaaS enablement.
Content 2.0: Network Publishing Platform for New Age Publishers
Content 2.0 is HCL’s Network Publishing Platform. It is a comprehensive framework that integrates the existing tools, editorial and production applications, and that implements a workflow driven environment on one platform. Consequently, Content 2.0 not only protects investments already made in specific technologies, but also acts as a launching pad for entering the era of new age publishing via XML technology for digital readiness.
Click here to download this paperReaching Across: Guidelines for Globalizing Web Resources
Winner of the Award for Merit in the 2007-08 STC India Technical Publications Competitions.
This research paper focuses on the linguistic, cultural, statutory and business aspects of globalization, so as to give analysts and decision makers the real picture of the tasks at hand when they set out to give their organization a global Web identity.
Mobile Micropayment: Opportunities and Technical Considerations
In recent years, a number of articles and research papers have been published on the subject of Mobile Banking and Mobile Payment, all emphasizing the point that whereas in 2000 consumers were not ready for mobile financial and payment services, today they are.
Click here to download this paperDisclaimer : The views expressed in above listed papers on the HCL-Research page are those of the authors and do not represent the official policy or position of HCL Technologies Ltd.
