What is Hubware, and how can it help you?
We're coining a new term (at least a cursory Google and a quick consult with ChatGPT suggests we are).
"Hubware".
As our software has developed, we've come to believe the "middleware" moniker just doesn't quite fit anymore. Amazon define middleware as "software that different applications use to communicate with each other". Ferrio has become much more than that.
Middleware visualised.
Hubware is "software that connects applications, and provides a central location for data". Hubware does everything middleware does, but also stores data, allowing organisations to create a single point of truth for reporting and even distributing data. The main advantage of this approach is that the stored data is not just available for dashboards and analytics, but can also be used in integrations and automations.
Hubware visualised.
Why the "hub" in hubware? We think of our software sitting at the centre of an organisation connecting everything together, just like a bicycle hub.
Many large enterprises tackle the need for a central location for data with data warehouses. This approach typically only makes data available for reporting and is not necessarily the single point of truth for other business applications. Data warehouses make sense when working with data with millions to even billions of rows, but can be incredibly expensive and time consuming to set up and is huge overkill for most SMEs.
Hubware provides a simple, lower-cost alternative to data warehouses for SMEs, as well as all the advantages of middleware.
So what does hubware mean for SMEs?
Hubware ultimately means three things for SMEs, and all of this at a much lower cost than a "traditional" data warehouse and middleware solution:
- Reliable data
- Accessible data
- Automated data & processes
Reliable and accessible data means businesses can make better decisions. Having a central location for all data means dashboards and reports can be built on analytics in real time, without the need to hunt down data from teams around the business. Hubware pulls data from the source and tightly controls the flow, so data surfaced to decision makers is always reliable and accurate, and free from human error. SMEs that use hubware find cost-savings and new opportunities that their competitors miss.
Not only can hubware automatically pull data into one place, it can also move data between applications and transform data within applications. This means time consuming processes can be automated and processes with high human error rates can be controlled. A good hubware implementation can save a typical SME hundreds of hours just in the first month, before the advantages or reliable and accessible data are even realised.
A good hubware implementation should also cost a fraction of a traditional middleware and data warehouse implementation.
How can Ferrio help?
With our hubware platform, Ferrio can help you realise all of the above benefits. We offer a guaranteed implementation of our platform to all our partners and work with them to continue generating value from our hubware. Here are just a few examples of what our partners have achieved with hubware:
- KPI dashboards using data from applications and sources across a 100+ employee business.
- Automatic sync of order data between a warehouse management system and Sage finance system.
- Detailed financial reports including payroll calculations for field engineers with complex overtime contracts.
- Integration with client systems for real time updates on job progress.
- Complete automation of a sales funnel using WhatsApp, SMS and email.
For more detailed examples, we are constantly updating our partner case studies: https://ferrio.com/case-studies
If you have any further questions on what hubware is, what it replaces or augments, and what it can do for you, our team are always available to chat and offer free advice. Just contact us via the form at https://ferrio.com