OutSystems has announced a significant update to its Developer Cloud with the introduction of OutSystems Data Fabric. Providing unified data across the enterprise, this improved fabric is set to empower organisations with the ability to build dynamic applications, capitalise on data across the enterprise, and enhance developer productivity.

According to IDC research, outdated data costs businesses over $15 million annually. In a bid to combat poor data practices, the OutSystems Data Fabric proposes centralised data management, increased application performance, and seamless integration of data across various systems. The aim is to nurture data-powered apps to tap into their full potential, providing lines of business with necessary information.

Paulo Rosado, co-founder and CEO at OutSystems, stated, "Data is the rocket fuel for business transformation. Unfortunately, it is often locked away in legacy systems and spread across hundreds of disparate SaaS applications". He advocated for the OutSystems Data Fabric, saying it would give firms a "critical view of the full potential of their enterprise data." He highlighted that enterprises could drive operational efficiency and customer satisfaction by "unlocking and controlling siloed data".

As part of the OutSystems Developer Cloud, Data Fabric functions as an integrated, virtual data layer strategized for the IT ecosystem. The implementation features robust security and governance controls, allowing well-administrated access to data, regardless of its location. Datasets united via this method become readily available across the entire application portfolio, aiding the creation of innovative yet dependable applications.

The Data Fabric offers benefits such as data virtualisation, enabling teams to query, combine, and manipulate data from various sources into a unified data experience. It also ensures secure connections between applications and private data or services through refined role-based access controls and a private gateway - consolidated under trusted data practices. Other advantages include built-in data caching, pre-built connectors and limitless data combinations.

To enhance the update, OutSystems also revealed its Event-Driven Architecture feature. This attribute nudges businesses away from dated architecture towards more robust, responsive, and scalable solutions. The future-proof model of event-driven architectures introduces a new standard for application flexibility, simplifying application management for architects and reducing the chances of disruption.

Avowing his support for an Event-Driven Architecture, David Lloyd, Director of Information Technology at Park Industries, stated, "Event-driven architecture brings us what I call extreme agile development." He added that previously, the agile development process was lengthy, "but thanks to this feature, our product and business teams can quickly collaborate and address feedback to improve user satisfaction". Lloyd concluded by sharing that their firm is "now developing applications on average 10 times faster, with extended capabilities - and one OutSystems app consolidates four of our legacy apps".

OutSystems Data Fabric and the Event-Driven Architecture feature are currently available on OutSystems Developer Cloud. The new features aim to assist organisations in meeting present-day innovation and IT transformation demands.