## Where can I find the price of EPAM solutions? For some solutions, there is a bundled price. However, the majority of our solutions are scaled. So, for example, if we need to conduct a cybersecurity audit for a company, the price can't be the same if the company has 50 or 500 employees, since the scope will be significantly different. That's why the prices are discussed during negotiations. First, we need to clearly understand the scope in order to make estimates from terms and cost perspectives. Only after that can we provide a few price proposals. ## How to get additional information about solutions? Each solution has its own dedicated page on the SolutionsHub website where all the main features and benefits of the particular solution are explained. Also, at the bottom of each of these pages, there is the *‘I have a few questions’* button that the visitor can use to ask any related questions. ## How can I request a solution? What's necessary from the client's side? This is also very fast and easy. If a visitor finds a solution they think might be useful for them, they can request it using the *‘Get it now’* button. They fill in a very short form providing basic information such as name, surname, and email address. The solution team checks publicly available information about the requester's company in order to better prepare before reaching back to them. If the solution team realizes that cooperation might be fruitful, they contact the requester and continue discussing the specific needs. If it turns out that the solution can meet the business needs of the requester's company, the Sales/Account Management Team representatives take over the communication regarding all the details and the final offer.6b:T463,## How long does it take for a solution request to be processed? The SolutionsHub team receives solution requests on a daily basis, and we make sure that the requests are answered in a timely manner. Although EPAM is a big company and some solution teams might be overloaded with existing customers and tasks, we always strive to apply a customer-centric approach, and by responding to the requests within 2 to 5 working days, we give our potential clients the highest priority. ## Are there any constraints for requesting products from EPAM? For open-source solutions, there are absolutely no constraints. These can be used even for educational purposes. However, some other, more complex solutions are meant for medium to large businesses. For smaller businesses, the price might not be acceptable. EPAM makes considerable investments in order to create high-quality solutions, and that's why they can't be classified as low-priced ones. On the other hand, we are proud to say that they are best in class in respect of the functionalities, differentiators, and benefits users get, as well as the overall experience.6c:T68a,## How can I get a demo? What demo formats do you provide? After sending the request for a solution and during the initial communication with solution owners, clients can request any additional items, including demo sessions and agree on all the details related to them, such as where and when the demo is to be conducted. As for demo formats, they might be different for each solution. These are the most common ones: * **Sandboxes:** Potential clients can be given trial access to the sandbox environment so they can use and try these solutions on their own. * **Demo Videos:** You can find these on most SolutionsHub pages dedicated to specific solutions. It presents the main features and lets potential clients get a more precise vision of what the solution is like. * **Video-call Demos:** Solution owners demonstrate the solution in a live video call scheduled and prepared in advance so that special attention is focused on the features and benefits that might be useful to that particular client. EPAM solutions and the expert teams behind them have helped hundreds of companies so far in their attempts to become better. We make a change for our clients and contribute to their growth by implementing all the acquired knowledge and experience in the most professional manner. So if you and your company are trying to accelerate development, test, or deploy your technology products, EPAM most certainly has already got a solution that can do it for you. You are at the right place — SolutionsHub is where you should start from. Choose [a solution](https://solutionshub.epam.com/catalog) that will take your company to the next level.6d:T10a4,## What is QA Testing? Quality assurance (QA) testing is the process of checking the product's quality to meet the standards and requirements and deliver high-quality software. Software testing is an integral part of the software development process performed both by developers and QA testers. They aim to find all the errors and defects, usually called bugs, as early as possible in the development process so they are fixed before the product is released. We can talk about various methods, types, and levels of software testing, but the main division can be made between manual and automated testing. As the name suggests, manual testing is performed manually by people. On the other hand, automation testing is performed automatically by testing tools following a code written by automation testers. Usually, these two approaches are combined to test a product as thoroughly as possible. Would like to learn more about the differences between the two? Which test cases should be automated and which not? What are the benefits of automated tests? Check out our blog on [automation testing](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/what-is-automation-testing). ## The Role of Testing in Software Development Life Cycle Testing is an important step in the software development life cycle (SDLC). If we compare Waterfall and Agile SDLC models, we'll see that in Waterfall the testing phase usually comes after planning, analysis, design, and coding. The whole product is tested, bugs are reported, and debugging and retesting are performed. If it turns out that a bug exists in the logic that supports more aspects of the product or any related features, it can be quite difficult and expensive to fix it. This is one of the main disadvantages of the Waterfall model which lead to the development of agile methodologies. In agile, a product is developed in many iterations and each of them includes testing. This makes it much easier and less expensive to fix the issues detected and provide a high-quality product. Regardless of what kind of product is made, testing is a mandatory part of the development cycle. However, different kinds and testing approaches are used depending on the industry or the purpose of the product created. For example, when creating banking software, the biggest focus would be on security testing. When testing a website, the major focus would be on usability testing. In case you really do create websites, we have a blog with some great tips on how to [test websites](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/how-to-test-your-website). ## Difference Between Testing, Quality Assurance, and Quality Control Quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), and testing are quality management activities quite often used interchangeably although there are differences between them. Let's try and figure out what these differences are and use the terms correctly. **Quality assurance** refers to the **processes** established in a way to **avoid defects** and bugs and assure quality. So it is a preventive set of rules usually defined by senior members of teams and leads that are to be followed by all the team members working on a product (BAs, devs, designers, testers, managers, etc.). **Quality control**, on the other hand, refers to the software engineering **activities** performed to **detect all the defects** that happened anyway despite quality assurance being set in place. These activities are performed before the product goes live and ends up in the hands of demanding users. QC usually includes code reviews, peer reviews, and the most important one - testing. As already mentioned, **testing** is one of the QC **activities** that involves performing various kinds of tests, detecting bugs, and reporting them to the developers to fix them. Although it's the most important activity in QC, it's not the only one. In order to deliver a high-quality product, companies need to achieve the right balance in establishing all these quality management activities. If QA processes are not set properly and obeyed, it would be very difficult and expensive to rely on testing and other QC techniques alone to insure the final product meets standards and is bug-free.6e:T1df4,| | Quality assurance | Quality control | Testing | |----------|----------|----------|----------| |

**What**

**Who**

**Why**

| defect prevention | defect detection and quality verification | defect detection | ## **Types of Software Testing** Besides the main division of software testing into manual and automation testing, which is related to how the testing is done, another basic difference is made between functional and non-functional testing. **Functional testing** refers to testing "what" software can do, its features, and all the different functionalities that it has according to functional requirements. On contrary, **non-functional testing** is focused on "how" the software does it, on the non-functional requirements specified. The most common types of non-functional testing are: * performance testing (load, stress, endurance, and spike testing), * security testing, * usability testing, * compatibility testing. If you're curious to find out more than just this brief difference, our article on [functional and non-functional testing](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/the-difference-between-functional-and-non-functional-testing) is the right place to continue. There are three main testing methods: 1. **Black box testing** - the tester doesn't see the code, doesn't know what's inside the software, and is focused only on the inputs he provides, the outputs he gets, and whether they are as expected or not. 2. **White box testing** - involves testing the code itself, and its internal structure and is usually performed by the developers who wrote the code. 3. **Grey box testing** - as a combination of the previous two methods refers to testing both functional and structural parts of the software. Depending on the level at which testing is done, it can be divided into: * **Component/Unit testing** - refers to testing the smallest testable part of the system, a piece of the code that can perform a certain function. Unit tests are usually run in parallel to save time. * **Integration testing** - aimed at testing if separate units are integrated properly and work well. * **System testing** - software system is tested as a whole in order to check its compliance with the functional and technical requirements. * **User acceptance testing** - this is the final testing stage when the software is tested against the end-user requirements and decided if it's ready for shipment or not. [Regression testing](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/regression-testing-test-io) is a separate type of testing that involves testing complete software after some changes were implemented to check whether there were some negative consequences of the changes on already existing functions or system stability and performance. It is often automated in order to avoid manually performing all the same tests every time the software is updated. If you realize the importance of it just like we do, go check our blog post on [regression testing](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/regression-testing-test-io) and find out how to do it properly. ## **Best Practices of Quality Assurance Testing** Apart from the main testing principles, every tester should be aware of, there are some good practices that might help you further improve your testing skills. Here are some of them: 1. Be aware of and analyze all types and methods of testing available so you can choose the ones that suit your current needs. 2. Clearly define what and how you're testing and test one thing at a time. 3. Use regression testing to make sure newly implemented features haven't negatively influenced already existing ones. 4. Bear in mind all the different devices, operating systems, and user profiles that your software might be used by. 5. Report bugs in a clear, concise, and precise way, easy to understand and reproduce. 6. Combine manual and automated testing whenever possible. If you're not quite sure how to do it, here you can find some great [automation tips](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/common-automation-tips). 7. Document your testing activities and formulate comprehensive test cases and scenarios. Sound too demanding? Don't worry - just follow the tips and examples we provided on [test case creation](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/test-case-creation-for-further-automation) and you'll be ready to go. 8. Consider Behaviour Driven Development (BDD) if you haven't already. The approach might help you speed up and improve the testing process. Not familiar with BDD? Learn about it [here](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/how-to-implement-bdd-efficiently). 9. Try implementing [shift left testing](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/shift-left-testing). It can help detect bugs early in the SDLC and thus reduce the costs of fixing them. ## **Software Testing Tools for QA** As the importance of testing and its quality is becoming more obvious, and wishing to improve and speed up the process at the same time, new software testing tools emerge very often. Selenium test automation framework is among the most popular ones. We've put a concise list of the pros and cons of [Selenium](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/selenium-test-automation-framework) for those of you who might be interested. EPAM has a number of automation tools that can bring numerous benefits to your testing team. You can get a glimpse at the most popular ones in a separate article we created or check each of them separately: * [EPAM Tools for Automated Testing](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/epam-tools-for-automated-testing) * [Healenium](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/healenium), a self-healing test automation tool for web * [ReportPortal](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/report-portal), test automation CI/CD report tool. If you've ever wondered [why your automated tests fail](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/reportportal-why-tests-fail), just hit the link and get some hints on how to find out. * [Vividus](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/vividus), a scriptless test automation tool * [test IO](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/test-io), crowdsourced testing platform In case you haven't found a tool you need in the list above, you might want to check a more comprehensive [list of testing tools](https://solutionshub.epam.com/catalog/development-tools). One of them will definitely help you improve the testing process, its speed, and quality, as well as the overall quality of your products.6f:T12b8,We asked Christopher Howard, Lead Open-Source Program Manager, to share his valuable experience, insights and opinions about the state of open-source, types of open source, its benefits and challenges. ## Why Is Open Source Becoming So Popular? Open source provides access to excellent code bases, excellent solutions and products that have been collaborated on and innovated on a global scale, and that's a real benefit to an organization that doesn't have that skill in-house. They're able to use those solutions generally for free. Also, engineering companies are able to customize, enhance or build extra features to make open-source solutions really fit for purpose for those organizations. ## Is Open Source a Business Model? A lot of people in the industry think that open source isn't a business model, that it's the [proprietary software](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/proprietary-software-definition-examples) on top, which happens to have an open-source brother or sister. Typically, there are community and public or free editions of the software. At EPAM, we have a great example of a time series database software called TimeBase. There is a [community edition](https://github.com/finos/timebase-ce), but on top of that, there's the [TimeBase enterprise edition](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/timebase). It generally has the same code base, but some of the connectors to other services or some of the functionality that enables it to be executed at scale in public, for example, have been restricted. So there are those kinds of commercial models on top of it. ## What Industries Are You Seeing More Engagement From? Pretty much all enterprises and industries are using open source. But what we are seeing in the last few years is two changes in the types of organizations. * **Financial Services.** That's being driven out by the need to standardize data, and the need to bring together some of these rather large global banking and financial organizations to collaborate and work in a way that enables the free flow of open data at scale across those organizations. And we're seeing increasingly more and more engagement around building data models, frameworks and mechanisms to share that data, particularly around trading crypto. * **Energy and Sustainability.** Open source is an enabler for sustainable objectives in business. It's closely related to many of the organizations trying to reach net-zero 2050 carbon targets. Open source helps adopt green software practices. And yes, that might apply to all industries, but it's particularly visible within the energy industry. The electric vehicle charging and lots of sustainable investment portfolios leverage open source in a really positive manner, versus building bespoke or one-time solutions for their problems. ## Is Open Source Popular in Data-Security-Sensitive Industries? Open source is an attractive offering for highly secure industries because it's very difficult, a bit like the blockchain, to hide or do things fraudulently or in a negative sense. The fact that the code base is in the open, the fact that any engineer can look at that code, understand how it's working, and where the various artifacts or pieces of data are flowing around, makes open-source software more secure than a single vendor creating a solution. ## Are There Specific Types of Companies That Use Open-Source Software as Solutions for Their Business Needs? Most companies today use technology for their operations. And most of the large enterprise solutions are, in one way or another, using open source. That might be a library or dependency, or it might well be something that's built into a core piece of functionality that they have, but generally, most solutions will have open-source dependencies built into them. There was an initiative a few years ago, and we scanned some of the most popular applications and assessed all the open-source dependencies that they relied upon. And it was a vast number. A very common case is that organizations don't realize they're consuming open source until someone goes in and tells them — this is the case, you are using it. > Check the glove box in your car — you might be driving around with an open-source license printed in the instruction book. Some cars, for example, Mercedes and Audi, have an open source within their SatNav systems, dashboards or computer screens. Because of open-source licenses and the requirements to always ship the license with the code, when you buy that car, you have a printed paper open-source license in the glove box in the front. So, without even realizing it, probably most people are driving around with open source software, not only in their car but also with a license printed out in the instruction book.70:T1d26,## Is Open Source Free of Charge? People's general perception, and it's not necessarily right or wrong, is that open source is free. The important point here is that open source is subject to an [open-source license](https://solutionshub.epam.com/blog/post/open-source-licenses-definition-types-and-comparison). That may well say that you can use this software for free, but it mandates a number of requirements upon the user in terms of copyright protections or not changing the code in a specific way, or even having to ask permission to publish it on the server, etc. Open-source users can reach out to the maintainers and say, *"I want to use it this way. Can it be made available under another license?"* There's a fine line between something being open source and then becoming proprietary. But in terms of charging, typically, if it's going to be charged, then that would be regarded as a proprietary solution and not an open-source solution, irrespective of whether or not the code was exactly the same. ## How Do Different Open-Source Licenses Change the Way You Can Use the Software? Lots of the licenses allow users to do whatever they want to do with it. They can even use it in a commercial sense. But if you want to make it your own IP or your own proprietary solution, then you're restricted from doing so. And if you want to do that, then you have to reach out to the original software author and pay them a fee, and they will then provide you a relicensed version of that code. An open-source version may exist under an MIT or Apache license, a very permissive one, and if you wanted to make a commercial aspect of that, the original author might provide it to you under a different license. And the key part of that is that it has to be the original software author. ## What Types of Open Source Exist? Open source is not a single thing; organizations usually encounter it in several types that differ in how code is shared, governed and monetized. ### 1. Community Open Source (FOSS) These are fully open projects managed by communities or foundations. All the features and source code are freely available and shared under licenses like MIT, Apache 2.0, BSD (permissive licenses) or GPL, AGPL, LGPL (copyleft licenses). Businesses often use these projects as building blocks for their work and sometimes make improvements or fix bugs that they share back with the community. ### 2. Enterprise Open Source This is open source supported by vendors who provide polished versions with added services like security fixes, reliable builds, long-term support and customer help (e.g., enterprise Linux or commercial Kubernetes). Industries like finance and government prefer this model because it offers predictable support and ensures the software is safe and well-managed. ### 3. Open Core This is a mix of open-source and commercial software. The main part of the software is open source, but special features, tools and advanced capabilities are sold under paid licenses. Vendors use this model to build a community around the open-source core while making money from premium add-ons like management tools, clustering or compliance features. ### 4. Source-Available / "Inner Source" This type of software lets you see the code, but it's not fully open source. Sometimes it's shared only within a company or under strict rules, so you might not be allowed to freely distribute or change it. This model is often used for sensitive tools like security software or when companies want transparency without completely sharing everything. ### 5. Open Hardware and Open Data This goes beyond software and covers designs for hardware (like phones, circuit boards or data center gear) or large datasets. These are shared under open licenses so others can study, change and build on them. Open hardware and data are especially important in fields like energy, sustainability and AI, helping boost innovation faster. ## What's the Value That Enterprises See in Open-Source Solutions and Opt for Them Instead of Proprietary Software? > Open source provides diversity in terms of innovating and being at the forefront of the challenges that the industry faces. Enterprises should see open-source tools as innovative, forward-thinking and almost disruptive. As a global audience collaborates on open-source software, it's diverse in its very nature. That means that you're getting a different voice, a different experience and different insights that you will never get within your own organization. You could be the most diverse organization in terms of having product designers, engineers and analysts all coming from different walks of life and different experiences, but you will still never have a kind of worldview or a world outlook on how a product should be built. Enterprises leverage open source by being able to bring those other voices to the table to help shape the direction of solutions and products. If we take financial services as an example, there are so many differences in how banking systems work and function across the world. In the Netherlands, for example, there's a real focus on debit cards and cash. Credit cards are not necessarily used, whereas credit and debit cards are the norms in the UK, and cash is not used at all. So working in an open source space, you can bring together these voices without having to fly people all over the world to go to workshops, to say this solution wouldn't work here because of XYZ or our cultural differences. Enterprises take real advantage of that. ## How Does Open Source Help Avoid Vendor Lock-In? Open source prevents vendor lock-in because it removes the requirement to engage with one commercial organization to build and look after your technology stack. Instead of having to be obligated to work with a vendor for the rest of that solution's life cycle, there's open source, where you can change and rely upon external individuals to help that along. Open source is seen as a really attractive way of reducing what we saw ten years ago in the IT sector, around multi-billion dollar contracts with a single vendor that locked in public sector organizations, for example. Open source is a disruptor to that. It's removing the obligation to work with one supplier and instead crowdsourcing ideas and innovation from a much wider pool. It doesn't remove the challenges related to customization and long-term support, but it does remove the notion of organizations having to call upon one vendor to build their solutions for them. ## As a Vendor, Why Choose Open Source Instead of Proprietary Software? > When using open source, you are using a solution that has potentially tens of thousands of other people there to help your understanding, your implementation, but also the furthering and development of that solution. When you download something online, and it doesn't quite work out, you give up and move on. In the open-source world, versus a single vendor or a single enterprise license, you've got tens of thousands of people ready to help with your problems, but also enhance that solution to help further problems down the line. So it's a really attractive offering in the sense that it's not just a solution, it's an entire community. There's a passion behind it, and many of the people involved in open source are really passionate about it for personal reasons. It's being a part of something much bigger than an off-the-shelf software offering.71:T1584,## Are There Any Barriers to Consuming Open-Source Software? Organizations might be worried about bringing external code into their infrastructure. Typically, organizations will be reluctant to bring in code that they don't either fully understand or don't have full control over, and that potentially brings in security concerns and risks. For example, financial services traditionally haven't been very good about adopting open source. They're concerned about the impact that could have on their existing infrastructure. Also, they don't necessarily want their own engineers to be contributing back to those solutions under their name because of the risk that is potentially associated with that. **Solution** There are many initiatives companies try to promote to clients around building gateways, safety checks and milestones to ensure contributions are done responsibly and with good governance. ## What Are the Most Common Challenges Faced by Companies Utilizing Open-Source Solutions? #### Challenge no. 1: "If something goes wrong, we can't fix it!" The biggest challenge is that open source relies generally upon people volunteering their time and their expertise to build solutions and products. An organization might have an entire technology stack built on one open-source dependency, and when something goes wrong, until that's fixed by the maintainer or the project team, that becomes a blocker and a limitation. So that's the main objection decision-makers put when offered an open-source tool — it's not our solution, and our hands are tied. **Solution** Organizations are trying to build in feature-proofing and mechanisms around this. Some organizations have teams of engineers on call, ready to solve problems when open-source things go wrong. #### Challenge no. 2: "Open source is not a perfect fit for any use case." Companies trying to engage with open-source solutions will rarely find a solution that is 100% what they're looking for. It might have 80% of the functionality they are looking for, and they could probably use it out of the box. But, they will probably have to pay someone to engineer that additional 20% or build it themselves. It's a solution that's offered for free and does the job, but still requires icing the cake and putting all the extra bits on top to make it exactly what it needs to be. **Solution** Companies that have their own engineering teams can develop the missing features themselves. Others can hire an IT company to further customize the open-source tool to serve their needs. ## Can Enterprise Open Source Serve as a Source of Technological Innovation in the Future? Yes, I definitely think it can. Open source has forced organizations to work in the open, and by working in the open and showing what's in progress, you invite other opinions and other ideas and that creates further innovation and disruption to the industry. Open source is the only methodology that allows competitors and organizations to collaborate at scale on solutions, problems and ideas that solve problems for everybody. Let's take sustainability as an example. Organizations are trying to become as carbon-zero as possible. They're trying to reduce their carbon footprint, but no one is doing that secretly. Everyone is collaborating in the open around solutions for the wider, global community as to how we can improve this. And I really believe that things like the climate crisis that we're facing, challenges around conflict or technology poverty are being addressed through open source and open data. > Open source is a hot topic. It's a high note now and lots of industry analyst companies such as Gartner, IDC and Forrester are still very much talking about open source. ## What Is the Expected Future Change in the Use of Enterprise Open Source? I expect to see the increased adoption of open source off the back of mandated government policies around things like Software Bill of Materials (SBOM). It's now mandatory in the US, and there's a similar one about to be rolled out in Europe. SBOM outlines exactly the dependencies, the libraries and the code bases that make up the software. Open-source tools have this out in the open and readily available. On the other hand, enterprises that pay organizations to build bespoke solutions have to release that kind of additional level of governance on top. So enterprise adoption of open source is going to continue to increase. I think more industries as a whole, such as financial services, regulatory industries and life sciences, will continue to adopt it. ## What Open Source Solutions Does EPAM Offer? EPAM actively contributes to open source across testing, DevOps, UI/UX and life sciences. **[Healenium](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/healenium)** is our self-healing test automation tool for Selenium/Appium, using ML to auto-fix broken locators in runtime. **[KubeRocketCI](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/kuberocketci)** is a Kubernetes-native CI/CD platform with Tekton/ArgoCD for progressive delivery. **[Ketcher](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/ketcher)** is a high-performance chemical structure editor for cheminformatics and molecular design. **[MRI Viewer](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/mri-viewer)** is our web-based medical imaging viewer for DICOM files with 3D rendering and annotations. Explore all EPAM open source software products in **[EPAM SolutionsHub Open Source Catalog](https://solutionshub.epam.com/catalog/open-source)**.72:Tb5c,The financial services industry is an integral part of the global economy, and financial software has become a key tool for many organizations. Financial services solutions are designed to help users manage their financial affairs more effectively. These solutions enable users to track and analyze financial accounts, manage investments, and facilitate efficient payments. #### Most Common Types of Fintech Solutions The growth of financial services solutions has been tremendous in recent years. There are various types of financial software that improve business operations in different ways. There are systems that can cover numerous needs such as financial management, customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence, human resources, or some other combination depending on the vendors that make them. Fintech solutions that have recently gained popularity are those designed for cryptocurrency electronic trading. These usually support all different electronic trading strategies and provide access to numerous exchanges. #### What are the Benefits of Financial Software? ##### Workflow Automation Financial software solutions help to reduce the number of manual processes involved in managing finances. Using financial services solutions tasks performed manually can be automated thus reducing the number of errors. ##### Cost Savings Financial services software solutions have become increasingly popular due to cost savings. As more financial institutions look for ways to reduce overhead costs, these solutions are seen as an effective way to do so without sacrificing quality or customer satisfaction. ##### Meaningful Insights Financial services software helps financial services companies gain greater insight into their finances through better reporting capabilities and analytical tools, allowing users to identify industry trends quickly and make more informed decisions faster than ever. Thanks to real-time data, businesses have access to actionable insights that help them stay competitive, build stronger customer relationships and potentially drive growth. Predictive analytics tools provided by different financial services software vendors provide forecasting capabilities based on current market conditions and historical performance data – enabling better risk management, and decision-making at every stage of business operations. #### Financial Solutions for Business from EPAM EPAM, as one of the world's leading software vendors, has various solutions made for the financial services industry. These can be used in capital markets, by investment banks, investment funds, and many businesses. They help businesses keep financial accounts, ensure regulatory compliance, improve customer experience or simply perform any financial services. Besides possessing common features, most of the solutions can be customized to meet the client's specific needs.73:T827,## What is an Enterprise? Before we go any deeper in explaining enterprise software, let's first briefly explain what an enterprise is. A large-scale organization with numerous operations in both the public and private sectors is often described as an enterprise. These are usually multinational businesses and organizations or governmental entities. Enterprises most commonly have many separate departments such as financial, sales, HR, IT, legal, marketing, etc. All of these sectors use some sort of enterprise application software to perform their tasks and improve efficiency. A typical enterprise uses dozens of different business solutions that help it automate and streamline its business processes. This includes everything from financial management and customer relationship management (CRM) to supply chain management (SCM) and human resource management (HRM) software. ## What is Industry-Agnostic Software? Industry-agnostic software can be used across a variety of industries. These software solutions are designed to be flexible, allowing them to be customized or adapted for different applications and use cases. By being industry-agnostic, this type of software can provide scalability and flexibility while allowing companies to maintain control over their operations. Since large companies usually use more than one business solution, it's also important for new enterprise application software to be compatible with the rest of the system. ## What is Industry-Specific Software? Industry-specific software is enterprise software that is designed for use within a specific industry. There are solutions for the healthcare industry, the retail industry, and the manufacturing industry, among others. These enterprise applications are tailored to the needs of the specific industry and can help companies in that industry to streamline their operations and improve their efficiency. For example, there are solutions for chemical structure optical recognition in the life science and healthcare industry or for trading cryptocurrencies in the financial industry.74:Td87,## Enterprise Software Benefits Enterprise software provides powerful and comprehensive functionality to assist various groups of professionals in carrying out their work effectively and in a simplified manner. These solutions are created to cater to the interests and demands of major enterprises. Such software gives managers the resources for handling massive amounts of data and makes it easier for them to oversee the entire company. So, it's clear that the benefits of enterprise software are numerous. Let's have a look at some of the major ones. 1. **Scalable Resources** Flexibility and scalability are among the key enterprise software benefits. In software development, scalability refers to creating solutions that continue to work effectively as the number of users increases. For organizations, this means that the software can manage more users, clients, or demands regardless of how big the company becomes. Since enterprise requirements keep changing it is very important for software solutions to be scalable in order to be able to serve the whole organization and its needs. Organizations may scale up or down as needed to maintain control over expenses, resources, and budgets. It's possible to disable irrelevant features of enterprise software and customize it to suit the preferences and work processes of any particular enterprise or project management needs. 2. **Improved Operational Efficiency** Enterprise software makes it possible to automate tasks enabling people to concentrate on jobs that are more beneficial to the company. Automating business processes and tasks such as payment processing, inventory management, and similar tasks performed manually in the past, improves organizational efficiency in general. For example, different types of accounting software not only speed up the process but also ensure better precision and error-free performance. Marketing tools help create marketing campaigns faster and more efficiently. Also, all jobs related to data are significantly improved thanks to enterprise software. No matter if it's a simple data entry job or analysis of complex data, computer software developed for these purposes can automate the procedure and ensure business efficiency. 3. **Increased Employee Productivity** The performance of employees working on various tasks is improved by different enterprise software types. Workflow automation as we've discussed above is one of the reasons. Numerous other technologies and tools such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, project management software, and data analytics contribute not only to each individual person's efficiency but to better collaboration between teams as well. 4. **Improved Customer Engagement** Organizations are now able to have a thorough grasp of their customers' demands thanks to enterprise software solutions like customer relationship management, marketing automation, and contact center software. Enterprises can provide a tailored service experience that satisfies customer needs by collecting and centralizing customer data. This type of business intelligence also helps attract new customers. ## Types of Enterprise Software There are different ways how to categorize enterprise software, but the most common one is by business functions. It should be noted that these categories may sometimes overlap. We'll list some of the most common and useful types of enterprise software solutions.75:T828,Cloud-based and DevOps software solutions are designed to help companies manage the development process, from the initial idea through to launching it as a product. These types of software are designed to make the process more efficient, so you can focus on your project goals and not waste time on manual tasks. These solutions can be used to improve your development workflow, create and execute test plans, and monitor the performance of your applications. ### What is Cloud-based and DevOps software? * Cloud-based software is any type of software that's hosted on a cloud computing platform, which means it can run from anywhere with an internet connection — in other words, from your computer or mobile device. Cloud-based solutions are often preferred over on-premise solutions because they allow accessing data remotely, without having to install software on your own servers. This makes it easier for the employees to collaborate across departments, locations, and time zones. * DevOps is also a relatively new concept, but it has been around before cloud computing was even invented. The term "DevOps" refers to the process of developing and deploying new software applications — meaning the two terms are closely linked. "DevOps" stands for Development Operations which refers to a culture shift within an organization towards collaboration between developers and operations teams so that they can develop better products faster while maintaining high availability and scalability standards across all environments (production, staging, etc.). ### Cloud & DevOps software from EPAM Cloud and DevOps software is the best way to take your business to the next level. Our team at EPAM has developed a variety of cloud-based solutions to help businesses succeed in every area, from development and testing to security and resource management. Whether your company is just starting out or just looking for a new way to improve its current processes, EPAM will work with you every step of the way so that together we can find the solution that works best for your needs.76:T71c,### Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is a type of business software used for managing and integrating all of the different business processes within an organization. This includes everything from finance and accounting to supply chain management and manufacturing. ERP systems provide a single, integrated view of all of an organization's operations, making it easier for managers to make informed decisions and optimize the use of resources. ERP systems are created to improve a company's cross-functional processes. With ERP software, companies can eliminate redundancies and overlaps in their operations, exchange data transparently from one area of the business to another, standardize practices across enterprises, and access information quickly within a real-time environment. Also, a cutting-edge ERP system offers a superior level of security and privacy, as well as sustainability and low-code customization. Moreover, you have the flexibility to deploy it in the way that works best for your business model. ### Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software As a type of enterprise software, CRM software helps a business manage its customer relationships. It allows companies to track customer interactions, manage customer data, and analyze customer behavior, among other things. By using CRM software, businesses can improve their customer service and increase customer loyalty. ### Human Resource Management (HRM) Software Businesses use HRM software to manage their human resources. This type of enterprise software can be used to track employee data, manage payroll and benefits, and handle employee key performance indicators, among other things. HRM software helps businesses to streamline their HR processes and improve their efficiency.77:T6ee,### Problem statement Retail and CPG brands need a well-thought-out strategy for how they deal with the volume and velocity of customer reviews and other forms of feedback, including social media posts and phone calls ### Solution proposed * Using up-to-the-second text analytics, brands can monitor posts across all platforms for words and phrases that are indicative of unfavorable sentiment, identify high-priority posts and reply to them in a timely manner. Enterprises can also use text analytics to measure share of voice, analyze sentiment and emotion, and qualify buying intent based on consumers’ social posts. * Using a text analytics platform to monitor review sites and analyze content offers a solution to automate the process of determining when and how to respond to reviews. A text analytics engine can also be used to assess customer sentiment and pinpoint areas for improvement in both the response to the customer as well as potential product improvements. * Using voice-to-text transcriptions, enterprises can feed their data into a text analytics engine to generate actionable insights based on what’s discussed over recorded lines. Retailers can then use these insights to make decisions on products, pricing, promotions and customer service policy ### Achieved results By enabling search and text analytics on content from the above sources, enterprises can tap into the voice of the customer and respond with precision. Adding sentiment analysis to the mix can help identify what a brand is doing well and, perhaps more importantly, where there’s significant room for improvement. The data collected can also be used to inform and serve targeted marketing campaigns to consumers who display intent to purchase in their communications78:T42c,* **Text analytics:** InfoNgen extracts high-quality, actionable insights from any form of text to enable robust search, summarize data, analyze sentiment and explain trends as they occur * **Sentiment analysis:** Using a highly sophisticated sentiment index, InfoNgen identifies how people really feel about your products, services, marketing campaigns or even competitors * **Tagging engine:** Helping you further organize the insights you discover automatically, InfoNgen comes ready to use with 600,000+ tags, topics and entities included * **Plug & Play ingestion:** In addition to the 200,000+ public sources InfoNgen delivers updates and news monitoring on a day-to-day basis. You can integrate any number of private data sources or content repositories unique to your enterprise * **Delivery options:** Organize, access and share your discoveries via multiple content delivery options, including email alerts, newsletters, widgets, RSS feeds, APIs and many more * **Deep domain expertise:** InfoNgen comes with prebuilt taxonomies for your industry79:Tb5c,The financial services industry is an integral part of the global economy, and financial software has become a key tool for many organizations. Financial services solutions are designed to help users manage their financial affairs more effectively. These solutions enable users to track and analyze financial accounts, manage investments, and facilitate efficient payments. #### Most Common Types of Fintech Solutions The growth of financial services solutions has been tremendous in recent years. There are various types of financial software that improve business operations in different ways. There are systems that can cover numerous needs such as financial management, customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence, human resources, or some other combination depending on the vendors that make them. Fintech solutions that have recently gained popularity are those designed for cryptocurrency electronic trading. These usually support all different electronic trading strategies and provide access to numerous exchanges. #### What are the Benefits of Financial Software? ##### Workflow Automation Financial software solutions help to reduce the number of manual processes involved in managing finances. Using financial services solutions tasks performed manually can be automated thus reducing the number of errors. ##### Cost Savings Financial services software solutions have become increasingly popular due to cost savings. As more financial institutions look for ways to reduce overhead costs, these solutions are seen as an effective way to do so without sacrificing quality or customer satisfaction. ##### Meaningful Insights Financial services software helps financial services companies gain greater insight into their finances through better reporting capabilities and analytical tools, allowing users to identify industry trends quickly and make more informed decisions faster than ever. Thanks to real-time data, businesses have access to actionable insights that help them stay competitive, build stronger customer relationships and potentially drive growth. Predictive analytics tools provided by different financial services software vendors provide forecasting capabilities based on current market conditions and historical performance data – enabling better risk management, and decision-making at every stage of business operations. #### Financial Solutions for Business from EPAM EPAM, as one of the world's leading software vendors, has various solutions made for the financial services industry. These can be used in capital markets, by investment banks, investment funds, and many businesses. They help businesses keep financial accounts, ensure regulatory compliance, improve customer experience or simply perform any financial services. Besides possessing common features, most of the solutions can be customized to meet the client's specific needs.7a:Te6e,The insurance industry is facing a huge digital transformation improving operational efficiency, policy administration, and customer relations. Various insurance solutions enable workflow automation changing the way insurance professionals deal with complex and time-consuming tasks including: * policy management * document management * risk management * claims management Insurance software is a powerful tool designed to help insurance carriers, agencies and brokerages manage their operations more efficiently. By combining Business Process Management (BPM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) functionalities, insurance software usually provides an all-in-one solution for managing the policy and claims information of customers as well as teams within an organization. In addition, users can do everything from checking policy information to filling out forms and making online payments with ease. This way, both administrative business processes and customer interactions are covered by one single solution. #### Features and Benefits of Insurance Software Solutions There are multiple types of insurance software that have different features. The choice can depend on company size and the specific needs of independent agencies, but most of them provide a comprehensive set of functions and features that can improve insurance business processes in many different ways. Here are some of the benefits insurance software solutions can bring. ##### Automate Workflows Before the development of software solutions designed for insurance agents, they used to perform various tasks manually - manage insurance policies, collect information about existing and potential customers, provide quotes, or generate leads. Thanks to emerging software solutions, these repetitive tasks are mostly automated saving the agents' time and improving customer satisfaction. ##### Meaningful Insights As in many other industries, document management is among the most error-prone and time-consuming tasks. Data dispersed among different document formats received from numerous data sources is difficult to process and use. That's why software solutions like [DEPS](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/deps) or [InfoNgen](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/info-ngen) are used to process all the information and provide meaningful and actionable insights to insurance firms. ##### Improved Customer Experience Insurance software can improve customer experience in a number of ways. Customer-facing applications and website functions enable customers to obtain information or carry out certain tasks without insurance agents' assistance. Also, it helps insurance companies provide customers with accurate and reliable data in a timely manner. ##### Regulatory Compliance Trying to manually follow and implement ever-shifting regulations is not only time-consuming but can also cause quite costly errors. Insurance software can increase efficiency here as well by automatically pointing to any areas that demand action. ##### Costs Efficiency As previously mentioned, insurance solutions can automate workflows and numerous manual tasks thus reducing the number of people performing them and the costs associated with them. Automation also decreases the risk of making errors which also saves money. #### EPAM Insurance Software Solutions As a leading global digital transformation company, EPAM relies on its engineering expertise, experience, and design-driven approach to meet the needs of the ever-changing insurance industry. Using our solutions and advisory services insurance companies are able to deliver outstanding services and optimize the insurance value chain.7b:T1419,The life sciences industry is facing digital transformation just like all the other industries. Global life sciences companies utilize innovative technology in the form of numerous different life sciences software. These range from those designed for clinical trials and developing medical devices to those aimed at improving internal processes in life science companies. These numerous tools and solutions are all designed to support the life sciences sector in specific ways. They serve different purposes and these are some of the features they have: * 3D chemical structure drawing * Genomics analysis * Storing, indexing, and searching chemical moieties * Molecular fingerprinting, substructure search, molecular visualization, and similarity search * 2D chemical structure image recognition #### Main Life Science Software Categories As more and more different software solutions emerge to meet the needs of the life sciences industry, we can categorize them in order to have a more comprehensive view of all the different types of these solutions. These are some of the most popular life sciences software types. ##### Clinical Research Software Clinical trial software or clinical trial management systems (CTMS) is the main type of software platform in this category. These solutions are used in clinical studies and trials to support and manage operations, processes, and data related to clinical trials. A CTMS is designed to organize trial information into a centralized platform that standardizes workflows and tracks the progress of sites, participants, and investigators as well as entire studies or trials. CTMS are utilized by a range of organizations, such as pharmaceutical companies, medical research institutes, and hospital-run research centers. All Contract Research Organizations (CROs), medical researchers, sponsors, or administrators can take advantage of this software to plan and manage the whole lifecycle of clinical trials in full compliance with both institutions' regulations and industry standards. Another important solution related to CTMS is Electronic Data Capture (EDC) software. Some CTMS have this functionality already incorporated, but if not it is usually additionally integrated with it. EDC's main role is to: * Collect and store data gathered during trials * Improve the data export and sharing processes * Enable searching through previously gathered clinical trial data ##### Drug Discovery Software Life science software for medication discovery is used to explore new pharmaceutical products and assess if they will be successful in treating a given ailment. This software automates and makes use of cutting-edge technology to greatly speed up the laborious process of drug research, testing, and commercialization so they reach patients faster. Medication discovery solutions usually include: * Predictive analytics * Modeling * Simulation * Computational capabilities These features support submitting clinical trial findings and other tasks like image analysis while also guaranteeing reliable reproducibility. For example, EPAM has developed [Cloud Pipeline](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/cloud-pipeline), a cloud software designed for genomics analysis, modeling, simulation, and other machine-learning activities required to accelerate patient treatment and medication research. Drug discovery software is used by life science companies, researchers, and scientists to gather market intelligence, benefit from improvements in drug design and synthesis, fight changing and adapting diseases, and manage and maintain data integrity as medications move from the investigation to the trial phase. They help also in decision-making, creating safer therapies, personalized medicine, and enhancing patient outcomes. ##### Drug Inventory Management Software This type of life science solution is designed to keep track of orders, collect data on the availability and consumption of medication that is kept in storage, and make pharmacist billing and verification easier. It's used by pharmacies, labs, or any other life sciences organizations. These solutions also help minimize both operational costs and medication waste. ##### Medical Quality Management Systems (MQMS) Since the life sciences industry is highly regulated, it is necessary to use quality management systems (QMS) specifically designed for life sciences companies which can address all the complex procedures of the product development lifecycle. These solutions facilitate FDA compliance along with compliance with any other specific standards. Moreover, life sciences companies can improve product quality and safety, lower overall costs, boost operational efficiency and unify and standardize processes, documentation, and communication using a medical QMS. #### EPAM Life Sciences Solutions EPAM provides cutting-edge strategies and technology solutions for life sciences organizations to support the full product lifecycle, advancing research and drug development, shortening time-to-market, and improving commercial operations to achieve top-line growth and quality.7c:Ta11,The automotive industry is in the midst of a major transformation, driven by automotive software solutions. Automotive companies are turning to digital technologies to differentiate their businesses and create innovative, software-defined vehicle experiences. This shift from mechanical engineering to automotive-embedded software has had a profound impact on the car industry, as it allows for new levels of customization and personalization within the automotive industry. #### What is Automotive Software? Automotive software is a broad term that encompasses various tools all different members in the automotive chain can benefit from - an automotive company, auto repair shop, car dealer, and finally the driver. Automotive software solutions offer a range of benefits that make them an attractive option for manufacturers. Automotive-embedded software can be used to control aspects such as the engine, brakes, steering systems, and infotainment features. It can also be used to improve vehicle performance and fuel efficiency, implement additional safety measures and provide drivers with enhanced navigation capabilities. Using sensors and cameras, advanced driver assistance systems support drivers to safely navigate cars. Auto repair software is useful for automotive technicians while performing car checking. These automotive solutions can track car maintenance, repair information, and the cost of repairs. #### What is Manufacturing Software? Different kinds of manufacturing software are used not only in automotive but in all the other manufacturing industries. Some of these solutions support the whole manufacturing process from production planning, materials planning, and inventory management to tracking key performance indicators, accessing data-driven insights, and assisting in all business operations. Manufacturing solutions can also provide insight into the sales process and the supply chain. Manufacturing software benefits are numerous. It can shorten lead times, lower costs, improve customer relations and help companies remain competitive, to name a few. #### EPAM Solutions for Manufactories and Automotive Companies As a digital transformation leader, EPAM supports automotive and manufacturing companies by providing innovative and software-defined solutions while applying embedded engineering and digital orchestration expertise. For example, automotive embedded software, [Aos](https://solutionshub.epam.com/solution/aosedge), makes it possible to create and manage cloud applications that run directly in the connected vehicle.7d:T1847,Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies are constantly challenged in a highly competitive market where there is an abundance of brands from which to choose. To remain ahead, these companies must utilize digital technologies and different kinds of CPG software to better their business and supply chain operations while fostering strong retail partnerships as well as providing outstanding customer experiences. Furthermore, with the ongoing growth of eCommerce sales, it's essential for producers and distributors alike to stay on top of trends in order to stay competitive. Consumer packaged goods companies are under immense pressure to launch their new products to market faster and combat the competition's usage of direct-to-consumer marketing strategies. Traditional CPG companies and brands started changing their approach by using CPG software and adopting innovative techniques such as direct marketing, digitally enabled product innovation, and multichannel selling. #### Main CPG Software Features The main goals of consumer packaged goods companies are increased efficiency and profit margins. To achieve this, they use different CPG software solutions which are mainly focused on these areas: * Inventory management * Sales forecasting * Demand planning * Product lifecycle management * Business operations management * Business intelligence (BI) analytics * Improved customer service and customer relationship management #### Retail and CPG Software Types Many different retail and consumer packaged goods software kinds are used today to improve various aspects of business management within retail and CPG industries. Some of them are used as stand-alone solutions while some others are integrated with other tools to perform specific tasks. Here's a list of some of the most popular retail and CPG software solutions. ##### Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software CRM is one of the basic software types used by retailers. It helps them manage customer information and design individualized customer journeys. It can also simplify tracking sales and evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. ##### Analytics Software The purpose of this software type is to give retailers a comprehensive view of every aspect of their business. It provides them with in-depth analytical data to analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) including total sales volume, average transaction size, retail conversion rate, etc. This kind of information helps them make better strategic decisions. Analysts and managers are given the ability to monitor company performance across regions and business units in real-time. Retail analytics tools play a crucial role in understanding customer data and recognizing which items are selling the best, when they sell most frequently, and to what demographics. It can also analyze consumer behavior, market trends and patterns that allow the sales team to create an optimal sales strategy as well as successful customer loyalty programs for marketing. It provides retailers with the data needed to make informed decisions on how to reach customers better. ##### Assortment Planning Software Software for assortment planning assists offline retailers in determining the right product mix (kind of products) and depth (number of items within each category) for their in-store inventory that satisfies customer demand and expectations. By putting the proper assortment in the right location, it helps generate the most revenue. To help stock the appropriate inventory for each store, assortment planning tools collect and analyze data on customer preferences, previous purchasing behavior, and their response to discounts and promotions. In order to support better inventory planning and purchasing decisions, retail assortment planning software also offers certain features to track and decrease out-of-stock and recognize bestsellers. ##### Sentiment Analysis Software Based on artificial intelligence, this software type is used to optimize and increase the effectiveness of marketing campaigns companies organize. It evaluates social media interactions using sentiment analysis technology, detects and classifies audiences across vital adoption stages, and enables hyper-targeted customer engagement. The solution records meaningful exchanges that fit the criteria and builds candidate personas. Conversations on social media are continuously recorded over time to find additional individuals who could profit from an offering. Utilizing this type of software, companies manage to increase sales through accelerated customer acquisition. ##### Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Software As its name suggests, this type of software helps manufacturers manage the entire lifecycle of a product. It's used in all the stages such as planning, design, and development. It also enables data tracking and analysis to enhance product development and guarantee legal compliance. ##### Pricing Software Companies use pricing optimization software to create, control, and analyze the optimal price strategies for their products, which boosts profitability, sales, and customer loyalty. This application may suggest the most appropriate prices for each product based on location or season. In order to support real-time price modifications, it is possible to integrate pricing solutions with ERP systems, marketplace apps, or e-commerce platforms. ##### Supply Chain Management Software With this software, organizations can improve their supply chain management by automating services such as GPS monitoring, inventory control, supplier tracking, and order supervision. It also offers efficient global logistics capabilities. It can be integrated with solutions that provide supply chain transparency across all parties. That way companies achieve trust, control, and security. #### EPAM Retail and CPG Solutions Staying on top of digital transformation trends, EPAM offers cutting-edge solutions for retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. Leveraging artificial intelligence, [blockchain](https://solutionshub.epam.com/catalog/blockchain) technology, and engineering expertise, EPAM empowers its clients for future growth.

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